The Ospreys will kick off their 2008/09 Magners League campaign across the Irish sea to face Connacht on the first weekend of September (5th/6th September). That game will be followed by the first Welsh derby of the new season against Cardiff Blues.
The Ospreys will kick off their 2008/09 Magners League campaign across the Irish sea to face Connacht on the first weekend of September (5th/6th September). That game will be followed by the first Welsh derby of the new season when Cardiff Blues visit the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday 9th September, before the region rounds off a busy opening week with a trip to Glasgow the following weekend.
The other opening weekend fixtures include an intriguing tussle between 2007/08 champions Leinster and last season's runners-up Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park, whilst elsewhere European champions Munster visit Scotland's capital city to face Edinburgh. The visit of Llanelli Scarlets to Ravenhill and Glasgow Warriors to Newport Gwent Dragons make up the rest of the fixtures for the opening round.
The Ospreys will face a busy Christmas and New Year period with three Welsh derbies, with trips to the Dragons (19/20 December) and the Blues (2/3 January) sandwiching a Boxing Day clash against Llanelli Scarlets at the Liberty Stadium, when the Ospreys will be hoping for a repeat of the 2006 fixture when a 20,520 sell-out crowd packed into the Ospreys home to witness a 50 point demolition of their nearest rivals. The region's first trip to Parc y Scarlets will be on the weekend of 17/18 April, whilst the Dragons visit the Liberty Stadium on the final weekend of March.
The season will conclude the weekend of 16 May in time to avoid any potential clash of dates with the opening fixture of the British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa, with the Ospreys facing a tough final fixture away to Munster.
These fixtures are weekend only dates; specific dates, kick-off times and in some cases venues, will be released later in conjunction with broadcast partners and individual teams.