The Ospreys team to play the Scarlets at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday 26th December, KO 17.30 is as follows:
15 Richard Fussell
14 Ross Jones
13 Andrew Bishop
12 Ashley Beck
11 Eli Walker
10 Dan Biggar
9 Kahn Fotuali’i (Capt)
1 Ryan Bevington
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Adam Jones
4 Ian Gough
5 James King
6 Ryan Jones
7 Justin Tipuric
8 Joe Bearman
REPLACEMENTS
16 Scott Baldwin
17 Duncan Jones
18 Cai Griffiths
19 Lloyd Peers
20 Morgan Allen
21 Rhys Webb
22 Matthew Morgan
23 Tom Isaacs
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Alun Wyn Jones – Shoulder
Hanno Dirksen – Knee
Joe Rees – Neck
Tom Smith – Groin
Aaron Jarvis – Knee
Owen Williams - Hamstring
Ian Evans – Knee
Tom Grabham - Hip
Head Coach, Steve Tandy, said:
“This game marks the start of a very busy month for the Ospreys and it’s crucial that we perform consistently, putting in top level performances in every single game now so that we can push for a top four spot in the PRO12 and the knockouts in Europe.
“This is the type of game that everybody wants to be involved in so training has been full on this week, which is great when you are a coach. We’ve got three big games in nine days so the challenge for us is to make sure the team is properly prepared for each one, and that will mean making a few changes along the way to keep people fresh and to give us the best chance of getting the performance levels in that we’ll need if we are going to get the result we want from these games. After Boxing Day we go to the Dragons and then we play Zebre at the Liberty on 4th January in another crucial home game and we know that we have to be at our very best for each game if we want to move into the top four and stay there.
“With the biggest crowd in two years already confirmed for Boxing Day we know that there’s going to be a great atmosphere, which is fantastic. It’ll be pretty special, we’ve got good memories of playing the Scarlets at Christmas at the Liberty and it’s up to these boys to make their own history this week. We know that they’ll come here confident after winning at the Blues last week, they are a very dangerous team so we will have to be at our best if we are going to send our supporters home with the best Christmas present they could ask for.”
A SMALL NUMBER OF TICKETS REMAIN ON SALE FOR THIS GAME. YOU CAN BUY FROM THE LIBERTY STADIUM TICKET OFFICE, ONLINE AT www.ospreysrugby.com/buyticketsOR VIA THE TICKET HOTLINE ON 0844 815 6665
Forthcoming Fixtures
Mon 31 Dec – 16.15KO – Newport Gwent Dragons v Ospreys – RaboDirect PRO12
Fri 4 Jan – 19.05KO – Ospreys v Zebre – RaboDirect PRO12
Sun 13 Jan – 15.00KO – Ospreys v Leicester Tigers – Heineken Cup
Sun 20 Jan – 16.00KO (Local) – Benetton Treviso v Ospreys – Heineken Cup
Sat 26 Jan – 18.30KO – Newport Gwent Dragons v Ospreys – LV= Cup