The Ospreys team to face Glasgow Warriors in the Magners League on Friday 30th October 2009 at Liberty Stadium, kick off at 7.05pm, will be as follows:-
15 Barry Davies
14 Tommy Bowe
13 Sonny Parker
12 Andrew Bishop
11 Nikki Walker
10 Gareth Owen
9 Liam Davies
1 Ryan Bevington
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Cai Griffiths
4 Ian Gough (Capt)
5 Filo Tiatia
6 Jerry Collins
7 Marty Holah
8 Tom Smith
Replacements:
16 Ed Shervington
17 Ross Davies
18 James King
19 Steve Tandy
20 Rhodri Wells
21 Jonathan Spratt
22 Nicky Thomas
Ian Gough is named Ospreys captain for the first time
Liam Davies makes his competitive Ospreys debut
Ryan Bevington makes his first Ospreys start
Ross Davies, James King and Nicky Thomas will make their Ospreys debuts if they come off the bench
Ospreys Director of Coaching Scott Johnson commented:
“We are up against a good side on Friday night, Glasgow have had a good start to the season with some excellent results under their belt, and I’ve absolutely no doubt that they will come to the Liberty Stadium looking to make life difficult for us, and thinking that they can get something from the game. The challenge for us is to make sure they don’t.
“It’s been an interesting week for us, preparing for an important Magners League game minus so many players, with 10 players in the Wales squad and a growing injury list. But, what circumstances like this do, is allow someone else the chance to shine. You certainly won’t hear us complaining about the situation, we understand that one of our remits is to develop players for Wales, and also, to develop Ospreys players. We’ve got a considerable record in developing players that we are extremely proud of, and we are always aware that this leads us to situations like now when we have to cope without our international players, which is why we’ve made changes to our development system to enable us to cope better this year, and this is now the first real test of the system.
“When you look at the list of players unavailable to us for whatever reasons, the size of the task we face hits home. With three props and two outside halves away with Wales, and four scrum halves injured for example, you can begin to see that it’s been something of a balancing act to get the right players and combinations for the weekend.
“But it’s an exciting challenge. As has been the case in previous years, when the internationals are away, it gives other players a chance to shine. We’ve got some exciting talent coming through, and the next few weeks will give us as coaches, and our supporters, the chance to see what the new wave of Ospreys are capable of. The likes of Dan Biggar, James Hook and Alun-wyn Jones have all excelled when they’ve been given the chance during international windows, who is going to be next? Hopefully, these boys will take their chances, we’ve told them that it’s up to them now and they have a chance to nail down a place.”
The following players are currently on international duty with Wales:
James Hook, Shane Williams, Dan Biggar, Huw Bennett, Craig Mitchell, Duncan Jones, Paul James, Alun-Wyn Jones, Jonathan Thomas, Ryan Jones
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Andy Lloyd misses the game due to a calf strain but is expected to be available next week
Mike Phillips is recovering from surgery last week to repair ligament damage to the distal tib/fib joint suffered during last weekend’s game against Clermont Auvergne, and is expected to be out for four months
Jamie Nutbrown also came off during the Clermont Auvergne game, after suffering an injury to the posterior cruciate ligament, coupled with damage to the medial collateral ligament. He is facing a period on the sidelines of around 8/10 weeks.
Tom Isaacs has undergone reconstructive surgery after injuring his shoulder playing for Swansea RFC earlier this month and is unlikely to feature again this season
Ben Lewis is rehabbing following a minor operation to clean out some debris from his right knee and is looking at possible returning to action during November
Conor McInerney has progressed to the functional stage of rehab and continues to target an early 2010 return
Rhys Webb is progressing very well after undergoing double surgery in the summer, on ACL and shoulder reconstructions, and is now looking at returning to action ahead of schedule in December
Richard Kelly is recovering well from a broken metatarsal and is hopeful of a November return
Lee Byrne underwent an operation to repair ligament damage in his right foot last weekend, and will remain in plaster for another 4 weeks
Lyndon Bateman underwent keyhole surgery to clear out his knee earlier this month, which it is hoped will alleviate symptoms that have been limiting his return to functional rehab
Adam Jones is continuing his rehab and continues to target a Christmas return to action
Ian Evans is still around five/six weeks from a return to action after tearing his pec major tendon playing for Swansea recently
Forthcoming Fixtures:
Fri 30th Oct - Ospreys V Glasgow - Magners League - Liberty Stadium - 7.05pm
Thurs 5th Nov – Ospreys V Northampton Saints – AW Cup - Liberty Stadium – 7.45pm
Sat 14th Nov – Bath V Ospreys – AW Cup – Recreation Ground – 1.00pm