The Ospreys team to face Newport Gwent Dragons in the Magners League on Friday 25th April at Liberty Stadium, kick off at 7.35pm, will be as follows:-
15 Lee Byrne
14 Johnny Vaughton
13 Sonny Parker
12 Andrew Bishop
11 Shane Williams
10 James Hook
9 Justin Marshall
8 Ryan Jones (Capt)
7 Marty Holah
6 Filo Tiatia
5 Alun-wyn Jones
4 Ian Gough
3 Adam Jones
2 Richard Hibbard
1 Paul James
Replacements:
16 Huw Bennett
17 Duncan Jones
18 Ian Evans
19 Jonathan Thomas
20 Gareth Owen
21 Jonathan Spratt
22 Aled Brew
Injury and squad availability news
Three players are not available for selection this week:
Gavin Henson has been given another week to recover from the ligament damage to his left ankle suffered against Saracens earlier this month. The Ospreys medical team is hopeful that he will be involved against Edinburgh next week
Mike Phillips recently underwent surgery to repair damage to his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments and will be out of action until next season
Nikki Walker is recovering well from a stress fracture of the fibia in the right leg and it is still hoped that he will return to action this season.
Head Coach Lyn Jones commented as follows:
"Friday night's game looks sure to be another tough challenge, Welsh derby matches always are, but it is a fixture that we must win if we are to achieve our double aims of Heineken Cup qualification for next season and to finish as the highest placed Welsh side. We have two games on the sides immediately above us, both against the Dragons, and if we can win both of those we will move up to 4th place, ahead of the Scarlets, so the message we will be giving the players ahead of the match will be a simple one; go out there and win.
"There is no question about it that we will be paying full respect to the Dragons despite their recent form. It is likely that they will include nine players in their starting fifteen who have experienced international rugby over the last two seasons so they have experience and talent. I've no doubt that they will be fired up for this match, given that it is a local derby and Heineken Cup qualification is at stake, so we must ensure that we do a professional job and secure the points as efficiently as possible.
"All the players are looking forward to 'going home' as it were, this will be only the fourth home match we have had in 2008. It will be the first opportunity for the squad and the management team to say a big thank you to the fans who got behind them so well at Twickenham in the EDF Energy Cup Final recently, to acknowledge their contribution to our success, and we're hoping that there'll be another large crowd present to help cheer us on to another important win."
Forthcoming fixtures are as follows:
(All Magners League)
Friday 25th April - Ospreys V Newport Gwent Dragons - Liberty Stadium - 7.35pm Friday 2nd May - Ospreys V Edinburgh - Liberty Stadium - 7.10pm Friday 9th May - Connacht V Ospreys - The Sports Ground - 6.30pm
TBC - Newport Gwent Dragons V Ospreys - Rodney Parade