The Ospreys team to face Newport Gwent Dragons in the Magners League on Friday 19th December 2008 at Rodney Parade, kick off at 7.35pm, will be as follows:-
The Ospreys team to face Newport Gwent Dragons in the Magners League on Friday 19th December 2008 at Rodney Parade, kick off at 7.35pm, will be as follows:-15 Gavin Henson 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Sonny Parker 12 Andrew Bishop 11 Jonny Vaughton 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhodri Wells 8 Ryan Jones © 7 Marty Holah 6 Tom Smith 5 Jonathan Thomas 4 Ian Gough 3 Cai Griffiths 2 Ed Shervington 1 Paul James
Replacements:
16 Marc Breeze 17 Adam Jones 18 Filo Tiatia 19 Steve Tandy 20 Mike Phillips 21 Ashley Beck 22 Kristian Phillips
The following players were not considered:
Nikki Walker suffered a partial tear of his hamstring muscle origin on his left leg during the home game against Treviso and will undergo surgery to 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 undergone repeat ACL reconstruction surgery to his right knee having encountered further problems, and is unlikely to feature again this season
Jamie Nutbrown is recovering well after tearing his Pectoralis Major tendon and a decision will be made early next week on whether he will be available for selection for the Scarlets fixture on December 27th
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 had undergone ACL reconstruction surgery after damaging his right knee in the Wales V New Zealand fixture and faces a 6-month rehabilitation period, ruling him out until 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 targeting a comeback mid April 09
Huw Bennett has been sidelined with ankle ligament damage following the EDF Energy Cup fixture against London Irish. A decision will be made early next week on whether he will be available for selection for the Scarlets fixture on December 27th
Gareth Owen is recovering well from surgery to repair ankle ligament damage, and is targeting a mid January return to action
Jonathan Spratt has been sidelined with disc trouble in his lower back, but is now working hard on his fitness with a view to getting back on to the field over the next two weeks
Lyndon Bateman has suffered ankle ligament damage and is facing a 4-6 week lay-off
Ospreys Coach Sean Holley commented:
"Everybody within the camp is looking forward to the start of the traditional Christmas derbies. It's always an exciting time, for players, coaches and supporters alike, when traditional rivalries are played out in front of big crowds, with a great atmosphere and local pride at stake. We don't expect the next few weeks to be any different, starting at Rodney Parade on Friday.
We've taken the decision to rest a few of our international players for this week. Players like Shane Williams, Lee Byrne, James Hook and Alun-wyn Jones have had a lot of rugby recently, and will do so over the coming months, but we felt that the time was appropriate to allow them some time off. All season long we've looked to rotate players, to ensure that they remain fresh and to help develop the depth of the squad and this is just an extension of that policy.
We are able to do this because of the faith that we have in the squad as a whole, and in fact, the form of some of the young players warrants selection in itself. The likes of Tom Smith, Dan Biggar, Kristian Phillips and Ed Shervington epitomise this, and in Marc Breeze and Ashley Beck we have two of the most consistent players in the Welsh Premiership this season. We also have the likes of Ryan Jones, Gavin Henson and Mike Phillips available again which has increased our options so we're confident that our 22 will deliver the performance we want."
Forthcoming fixtures are as follows:
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
Saturday 17th January - USA Perpignan V Ospreys - Heineken Cup - Stade Aime-Giral - 4.35pm
Saturday 24th January - Ospreys V Leicester Tigers - Heineken Cup - Liberty Stadium - 5.35pm
All fixtures are subject to change