Ospreys Team To Face Benetton Treviso

The Ospreys team to face Benetton Treviso in the Heineken Cup on Saturday 13th December 2008 at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo, kick off at 1.35pm (GMT), will be as follows:-

The Ospreys team to face Benetton Treviso in the Heineken Cup on Saturday 13th December 2008 at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo, kick off at 1.35pm (GMT), will be as follows:-

15 Lee Byrne

14 Tommy Bowe

13 Sonny Parker

12 Andrew Bishop

11 Shane Williams

10 James Hook

9 Rhodri Wells

8 Filo Tiatia

7 Marty Holah

6 Jonathan Thomas

5Alun-wyn Jones

4Ian Gough

3 Adam Jones

2 Richard Hibbard

1 Paul James ©

Replacements:

16 Ed Shervington

17 Cai Griffiths

18 Tom Smith

19 Steve Tandy

20 Rhys Webb

21 Dan Biggar

22 Jonny Vaughton

Ospreys Coach Sean Holley commented:

"We are looking forward to this match, which is the second game in a nine week, second phase of the season, that will take us up to the Six Nations. It's an important time for us, with key fixtures in the Heineken Cup and the Magners League, and there's a real sense of excitement in the camp at the moment.

Last week we recorded an excellent victory at the Liberty Stadium, and the challenge this time around is to ensure we deliver a similar performance on Saturday. We are aware of the challenge that Treviso will present at home, they will be looking to put the record straight. We are under no illusions that it will be difficult, but we've worked hard this week on making sure that we stay focused, we've worked on a few areas for improvement from the last game and we are confident of producing a performance to the required standard.

I was pleased by the ruthlessness we showed in the first Treviso game, we didn't let up in the second half, after we had secured a bonus point, we kept on going until the final whistle and scored some late tries to round off the win. What made me particularly happy though was that having conceded an early try we were able to close them out of the game and didn't concede a second, meaning we have only conceded one try in three ERC games so far. A lot of the attention we receive is based on the flair players that we have available to us, but we take great pride in our defence, which has proven to be the basis of our successes to date."

The following players were not considered:

Nikki Walker suffered a partial tear of his hamstring muscle origin on his left leg during last weekend's game against Treviso. After careful review of his scans it has been decided that the best course of treatment will be to surgically reattach the avulsed portion back to the bone in order to ensure the best outcome. He will require a lengthy period of rehabilitation before returning to action and faces a lay-off in the region of 5-6 months

Ben Lewis has this week undergone repeat ACL reconstruction surgery to his right knee having encountered further problems, and is unlikely to feature again this season

Ryan Jones has responded well to treatment for an inflammatory problem in his right forefoot, which flared up during the recent Autumn International series, causing him significant pain when bearing weight. It was felt by the Ospreys medical team that this is an opportune moment for him to get some rest ahead of a busy month of rugby and it is anticipated that he will feature against Newport Gwent Dragons

Gavin Henson has recovered from the chronic Achilles tendon problem that has kept him out of action recently. However, he has not been selected for this match to allow him to be with his partner who is due to give birth imminently

Jamie Nutbrown is recovering well after tearing his Pectoralis Major tendon and is targeting next week's Newport Gwent Dragons fixture for a return to action

Mike Phillips is now back in full training and will return to action during the Christmas fixtures

Duncan Jones is recovering from surgery to fix a chronic stress fracture in his right foot, and will be in plaster for up to 12 weeks. At this stage it looks unlikely to feature again this season

Ian Evans ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee playing against New Zealand recently and will undergo surgical reconstruction next week. He will then face a 6-month rehabilitation period, which rules him out till next season

Andy Lloyd ruptured elbow ligaments playing in an 'A' team fixture at the end of October and needed surgery to fix the underlying instability. He is targetinga comeback mid April 09

Huw Bennett has been sidelined with ankle ligament damage following the EDF Energy Cup fixture against London Irish. He is responding well to treatment and we remain optimistic that he will be available for the Christmas fixtures, although we will continue to assess his condition on a week-to-week basis

Gareth Owen is recovering well from surgery to repair ankle ligament damage, and has stepped up his rehab this week with a view to getting back on the field mid January

Jonathan Spratt has been sidelined with disc trouble in his lower back, he's doing well and is hopeful of making a comeback around Christmas

Lyndon Bateman pulled out of last weekend's Treviso match after rolling his ankle in training on the Friday. He is resting at the moment and his injury will be assessed further next week

Forthcoming fixtures are as follows:

Friday 19th December - Newport Gwent Dragons V Ospreys - Magners League - Rodney Parade - 7.05pm

Saturday 27th December - Ospreys V Scarlets - Magners League - Liberty Stadium - 5.30pm

Wednesday 31st December - Cardiff Blues V Ospreys - Magners League - Cardiff Arms Park - 2.05pm

Friday 9th January - Ospreys V Munster - Magners League - Liberty Stadium - 7.05pm

All fixtures are subject to change