The Ospreys team to play Biarritz on Sunday 22nd January 2012 at Parc des Sports Aguilera, kick off at 2.00pm (local time), will be as follows:
15 Barry Davies
14 Tommy Bowe
13 Andrew Bishop
12 Ashley Beck
11 Eli Walker
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Paul James
2 Huw Bennett
3 Adam Jones
4 Ian Gough
5 Ian Evans
6 Tom Smith
7 Justin Tipuric (Capt)
8 Jonathan Thomas
Replacements:
16 Richard Hibbard
17 Ryan Bevington
18 Aaron Jarvis
19 Ryan Jones
20 Joe Bearman
21 Kahn Fotuali’i
22 Matthew Morgan
23 Shane Williams
Eli Walker makes his Heineken Cup debut
George Stowers is suspended
The following players were not considered because of injury:
James King - Ear
Richard Fussell – Ankle
Ben John - Groin
Joe Rees - Hamstring
Alun Wyn Jones – Foot
Gareth Owen – ACL
Nikki Walker – ACL
Ospreys Director of Coaching, Scott Johnson commented:
“The focus among our group has been excellent this week. It’s a big challenge that we face, but we know what we’ve got to do. There’s no margin for error on Sunday. We’ll know by kick-off time what we are playing for, if it’s a Heineken Cup place or an Amlin place, but one thing you can guarantee is that we’ll be giving it everything.
“Biarritz is always a difficult place to go, any French club is the same, particularly when we’re in a straight shoot-out for a qualification place. There’s a little bit of history between us after that magnificent quarter-final match a couple of years ago, and I’d expect another good match. They are a damn good team, but so can we be if we get our jobs right on the day.
“It’s important that we represent the region well, our fans will be looking to see that last weekend wasn’t a one-off. It was good to get some tries under our belt against difficult opponents that can be bloody tough to put away. We looked sharper, more clinical, but there’s plenty of room for improvement yet and no one is under any illusions that we can get anything in Biarritz if we under perform. Everyone will have to be on top of their game, play well, know their roles, and if we get that right, we’ll be hopeful of extending our European season into the knockout stages. I’m sure all our fans will be behind us on that score.”
Forthcoming fixtures
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