The Ospreys team to play Connacht on Saturday 26th November 2011 at The Sportsground, kick off at 6.30pm, will be as follows:
15 Barry Davies
14 Tommy Bowe
13 Andrew Bishop
12 Ashley Beck
11 Richard Fussell
10 Matthew Morgan
9 Rhys Webb
1 Duncan Jones
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Aaron Jarvis
4 Ian Gough
5 James King
6 Tom Smith (Capt)
7 Chauncey O’Toole
8 Joe Bearman
Replacements:
16 Mefin Davies
17 Cai Griffiths
18 Joe Rees
19 James Goode
20 George Stowers
21 Tom Isaacs
22 Sonny Parker
23 Hanno Dirksen
Duncan Jones makes his 150th Ospreys appearance
Ian Gough makes his 100th Ospreys appearance
Chauncey O’Toole makes his first Ospreys start and his PRO12 debut
The following players were unavailable because of international duty:
Huw Bennett, Ryan Bevington, Dan Biggar, Ian Evans, Ryan Jones, Justin Tipuric, Shane Williams are all with the Wales squad ahead of the Wales v Australia game
Tom Habberfield, Will Price and Tom Prydie are with Wales Sevens
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Jonathan Thomas – Thigh
Kahn Fotuali’i – Rib
Adam Jones - Calf
Ben John - Groin
Alun Wyn Jones – Foot
Eli Walker - Shoulder
Gareth Owen – ACL
Nikki Walker – ACL
Paul James – Thumb
Ospreys Head Coach, Sean Holley, commented:
“Connacht away at the Sportground is always a tough fixture It’s a difficult place to play with tough conditions and a partisan crowd, so it’s going to be a real experience for some of the youngsters in the squad who may not have played there before. We were very fortunate to secure the win at the Liberty earlier in the season so we are well aware of what to expect on Saturday night.
“The next two weeks provide a great opportunity for the group that started the season to work closely together again, to build on the fantastic start they got us off to in the PRO12 and to work to keep us up there at the top. Some of the boys who came in at the start of the season have stayed in the group for the fixtures since then, so that shows what’s at stake for boy coming in this week.
“Connacht away and then Munster home next Saturday will provide a real test of our strength in depth, but it’s an exciting time for us all. It’s up to us over the next couple of weeks to perform well, be clinical and accurate, and these boys can make a real impact. I’d like to think we’d have a decent crowd at the Liberty next weekend for the Munster game to cheer on the boys who’ve done so well for the cause in the early part of the season.”
Forthcoming fixtures
Sat 3 Dec – Ospreys v Munster – Liberty Stadium – RaboDirect PRO12 – 6.30pm
Sat 10 Dec – Saracens v Ospreys – Wembley Stadium – Heineken Cup – 6.00pm
Fri 16 Dec – Ospreys v Saracens – Liberty Stadium – Heineken Cup – 8.00pm
Mon 26 Dec – Scarlets v Ospreys – Parc Y Scarlets – RaboDirect PRO12 – 2.05pm
Sun 1 Jan – Ospreys v Cardiff Blues – Liberty Stadium – RaboDirect PRO12 – 6.30pm