Ospreys have named their squad to face Zebre Parma in Round 13 of the BKT URC. The game will take place at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi and is kicking off on Sunday 29th January at 3pm UK time and 4pm local time.
The team is heavily changed from the Ospreys’ historic win over Leicester Tigers last week, with 15 players being called up to Warren Gatland’s Wales squad.
Stephen Myler returns from injury and finds a place on the bench while Nicky Smith is set to captain the side. Elvis Taione is set to start at hooker, with new signing Tom Cowan-Dickie picking up a place on the bench.
With the injuries to Sam Parry and Dewi Lake, and Scott Baldwin receiving a Wales call up in Dewi’s place, the Ospreys took the opportunity to bring in Cowan-Dickie as a replacement.
The Ospreys bench sees a few youngsters come into the fold, with Iestyn Hopkins in line to possibly make his debut.
Starting XV:
15. Max Nagy
14. Luke Morgan
13. Michael Collins
12. Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler
11. Keelan Giles
10. Jack Walsh
9. Reuben Morgan-Williams
1. Nicky Smith ©
2. Elvis Taione
3. Tom Botha
4. Bradley Davies
5. Huw Sutton
6. Jack Regan
7. Harri Deaves
8. Morgan Morris
Replacements:
16. Tom Cowan-Dickie
17. Garyn Phillips
18. Rhys Henry
19. James Fender
20. Tristan Davies
21. Matthew Aubrey
22. Stephen Myler
23. Iestyn Hopkins
Head Coach, Toby Booth, said: “Zebre are a team that like to play in the right areas of the pitch. They can be unpredictable.
“They’ll see an opportunity, being at home and with the players we have that are unavailable for selection. But we see this game as a great opportunity to see where our next crop of players are and to keep the momentum going.”