Ospreys Fever Takes A Grip As Ticket Sales Soar

Ospreys fans are being warned to act immediately or face missing out on the biggest game in the region's history, as South-West Wales appears to be catching a big dose of Ospreys fever.

Bosses at the region today revealed ticket sales for forthcoming matches had reached 'unprecedented' levels as fans clamour to get behind the side following their recent run of good form.

The historic npower renewables Challenge against the touring Australian side on November 1^st will set a new Liberty Stadium attendance record, with the game expected to sell-out completely by the end of this week, almost two weeks ahead of the big match. However, this week, the season's highest crowd to-date will get behind the Ospreys for the visit of reigning Guinness Premiership Champions Sale Sharks on Friday evening in the opening fixture of the 2006/07 Heineken Cup.

Roger Blyth, Ospreys Managing Director, said:

"It's fantastic to see how rugby fans across the Ospreys region are getting behind the side, and everyone is looking forward to these two exciting fixtures. The reality of the situation is that we are going to have two fixtures at Liberty Stadium in a short space of time with in the region of 35,000 supporters present, a statistic that would have been impossible to achieve just a short period of time ago.

"This level of support is unprecedented in regional rugby. Last season we established ourselves as the best supported Welsh region and everybody involved with Ospreys rugby is proud that our support continues to grow, enabling us to continue leading Welsh rugby on and off the field."

Ospreys chiefs are expecting a crowd of around 15,000 on Friday evening for an intriguing clash that will pit Lyn Jones' squad against the very best in the English game. Sale Sharks will arrive at the Liberty Stadium with a squad packed full of internationals and some very familiar faces, amongst who is a batch of players with strong links to the Ospreys region. Dual code Lions and England legend Jason Robinson tops the bill, with support from fellow Lions Charlie Hodgson, Andrew Sheridan and former Swansea favourite Mark Taylor. Ex-Ospreys Nathan Bonner-Evans and Elvis Seveali'i could feature, as might former Neath and Swansea prop Ben Evans and yet another ex-Swansea player, Tongan scrum-half Sililo Martens.

Roger Blyth added:

"This fixture is a particularly mouth-watering one, offering Lyn Jones and his squad the chance to test themselves against the very best, a side with just one defeat in seven games so far this season having taken the Guinness Premiership title in May.

"It's no wonder that supporters in the region will be flocking to Liberty Stadium on Friday night, as it looks like being a classic match between two strong squads packed with top class internationals and household names. Everything that Heineken Cup rugby should be all about in fact."

Following the Sale Sharks clash, the next home game for the Ospreys is the npower renewables Challenge against Australia, and Roger Blyth is warning supporters still to buy tickets that time is running out:

"There has been a phenomenal response to this historic fixture as you would expect, and there are now only a handful of tickets remaining. Given the way that tickets are continuing to sell, we would expect that by the end of this week the match will completely sell-out, which is fantastic news. If anyone is planning to come to the game but haven't yet purchased tickets, do it now as if you wait until next week, it will be too late, simple as that.

"We do have five hospitality boxes remaining so if there any groups of supporters who want to come to the game then possibly your best option may be to contact our commercial team at Liberty Stadium direct to discuss it. Once again though, I wouldn't hang around as I'm sure these won't be available for long."

Fans are being urged to buy their tickets for Friday night's game in advance wherever possible, and to arrive at Liberty Stadium well ahead of the 7.30pm kick-off, to ensure to avoid congestion. Tickets for the Sale Sharks game and the npower renewables Challenge, Ospreys V Australia can be purchased in person at the Liberty Stadium Ticket Office, via the Ticket Hotline on 08700 400004 or at www.ospreysrugby.com.