Ospreys Head Coach, Steve Tandy, says he’s looking forward to seeing the team step up its pre-season preparations against Worcester Warriors at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday afternoon (KO 3.00pm).
The Ospreys have faced Principlaity Premiership opposition in a series of opposed training sessions over the course of the last month or so, but he admits that the visit of Worcester will take things onto another level.
“It’s going to be a good contest and a real measure of where we are at the moment” said Tandy as he looked ahead to the Ospreys’ first game of the new campaign.
“We’re all looking forward to Saturday afternoon. We’re going up against a team that has already got two games under their belt and that could make it all the more difficult for us.
“They’ve got a new coaching team and plenty of new faces. Expectation is high there for the new season and we are going to have to make sure that we rise to the challenge. We can’t wait to get back into action at the Liberty Stadium.”
Although the Ospreys’ Lions contingent will be sitting out the weekend clash, Tandy stressed that he will be picking the strongest possible team for the game as he looks to ensure they are ready for the start of the PRO12 season in under three weeks. He said:
“This game is an important building block for the new season to ensure we are ready for the trip to Treviso at the start of September. We’ll be taking this seriously and will be selecting the strongest team available once injury and conditioning requirements have been taken into account.
“It’s important that we get out of the game what we need and we’ll be preparing for the game as if it were a regular PRO12 match There’s nothing worse than a pre-season game without any focus as you don’t get anything from it. Training has been going well, there’s a buzz about the environment, and the boys are enjoying their pre-season which is good.
“Saturday is when we really start to get down to business though as it’s when the start of the new season becomes reality. We want to get a positive performance from the group that will kick-start us on for the challenges ahead. It should be a good contest. Hopefully we’ll see plenty of at the Liberty enjoying summer rugby on a Saturday afternoon.”
As well as being the first game of the new season Saturday marks the opening of the O-Zone, a brand new matchday environment for all the family located in the North Stand concourse.
Replacing the existing Supporters Village, the O-Zone will provide a season long pre-match destination for young fans, safe from the elements of an Ospreylian winter, with fun and games, child friendly activities, inflatables, and music from the Wave who will be broadcasting the Chart Show live from the O-Zone.
Ozzie the Osprey will be in attendance while there’ll also be a chance for supporters to meet the team, with the matchday squad present in the O-Zone between 12.45 and 1.15pm, and non playing squad members mingling with supporters until 2.45pm.
Tickets for the match are on sale now at the Liberty Stadium Ticket Office, online at ospreysrugby.com/buytickets, or via the Ticket Hotline on 0844 815 6665, with prices starting at just £5 for children with adult prices from £20.
Alternatively, season memberships remain on sale, with kids going free when accompanying a paying adult, and bring a friend deals meaning you can watch 17 home games including the Worcester match from just £92.50 per person which means that an entire family of two adults and two children could watch every game for just £185 in total – that’s £10.88 per match for the whole family, the best value in British rugby!
For more details visit the website or call or 0844 815 6665.