Following today's PRO12 disciplinary verdicts, the Ospreys team to play Benetton Treviso on Friday 13th January 2012 at Liberty Stadium, kick off at 8.00pm, will be as follows:
15 Barry Davies
14 Tommy Bowe
13 Andrew Bishop
12 Ashley Beck
11 Shane Williams
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Paul James
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Adam Jones
4 Ian Gough
5 Ian Evans
6 Tom Smith
7 Justin Tipuric (Capt)
8 Joe Bearman
Replacements:
16 Huw Bennett
17 Ryan Bevington
18 Aaron Jarvis
19 Jonathan Thomas
20 Chauncey O’Toole
21 Kahn Fotuali’i
22 Matthew Morgan
23 Tom Isaacs
Chauncey O’Toole will make his Heineken Cup debut if he comes off the bench
George Stowers is suspended
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Ryan Jones - Calf
James King - Ear
Richard Fussell – Ankle
Ben John - Groin
Joe Rees - Hamstring
Alun Wyn Jones – Foot
Gareth Owen – ACL
Nikki Walker – ACL
Ospreys Head Coach, Sean Holley, commented:
“We’ve still got something to play for in Europe and we’ll strive for that. We’re going to try and finish as strongly as we can and then see what happens at the outcome.
“We’re still smarting at the Saracens games, we gave them a head start, but we can’t dwell on that, we’ve got to look at these next two games now and getting as much as we can out of them. It’s about giving a good account of ourselves and at least putting ourselves in a position where should all the other permutations work out we are well placed. If they don’t, then we at least need to be in the best position to achieve an Amlin place, which could be on the cards.
“There’s been plenty of straight talking about the place and everyone knows what is at stake. There’s still plenty to play for. Pride is there at the bottom line of it, our reputation is at stake in Europe and it’s important that we get as many ranking points as we can, and to do that we have to achieve as positive a finish as we can. Ranking points and the pool draw is crucial moving forward in this competition.
“We aren’t going to be throwing the towel in, that’s not the Ospreys way. We are committed to the cause 100 per cent and we’ll fight for everything. We have to look to give a home performance that will get us the desired result and will make our supporters proud. Any game in Europe is a tough test and It’s important that we’re all together for this one, team and supporters alike.”
Forthcoming fixtures
Sun 22 Jan – Biarritz v Ospreys – Parc des Sports Aguilera – Heineken Cup – 2.00pm (Local)
Fri 27 Jan – Ospreys v NG Dragons – Riverside Hardware Brewery Field – LV= Cup – 7.05pm
Sat 4 Feb – Worcester v Ospreys – Sixways – LV= Cup – 3.00pm
Fri 10 Feb – Edinburgh v Ospreys – Murrayfield – RaboDirect PRO12 – 7.35pm