The Ospreys team to play Munster on Saturday 3rd December 2011 at The Liberty Stadium, 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 Jonathan Thomas
6 Tom Smith (Capt)
7 James King
8 Joe Bearman
Replacements:
16 Mefin Davies
17 Cai Griffiths
18 Joe Rees
19 George Stowers
20 Sam Lewis
21 Tom Isaacs
22 Sonny Parker
23 Hanno Dirksen
Rhys Webb makes his 50th Ospreys appearance
Sam Lewis will make his PRO12 debut if he comes off the bench
The following players were unavailable because of international duty:
Huw Bennett, Ryan Bevington, Dan Biggar, Ian Evans, Ryan Jones, Justin Tipuric and Shane Williams are all with the Wales squad for the Wales v Australia game
Tom Habberfield, Will Price and Tom Prydie are with Wales Sevens
Eli Walker is playing in the Help For Heroes match at Twickenham
The following players were not considered because of injury:
James Goode – Back
Kahn Fotuali’i – Rib
Adam Jones - Calf
Ben John - Groin
Alun Wyn Jones – Foot
Gareth Owen – ACL
Nikki Walker – ACL
Paul James – Thumb
Ospreys Forwards Coach, Jonathan Humphreys, commented:
“Any game against Munster is a tough one and this weekend will be no different. We’ve been involved in some really tight games against them over the years and there generally doesn’t tend to be more than one score in it. We’re expecting them to come over fully loaded with their internationals and they’ll definitely be targeting this one so we’re going to have to be at our best. There’s no doubt about that.
“We’ve got a good record in the PRO12 this season, we’ve only lost the one game, but we’re not kidding ourselves about where we are. We know that we’ve got to continue improving our game, working hard and find that clinical edge.
“That’s not to take anything away from this group of players who have done so well. They’ve worked hard, they are playing for the cause and they’ve been getting results. This will be the toughest test for them yet, no doubt about it given the circumstances of the game, but they have shown already that they are prepared to front up and wear the shirt with pride. They are going to have to do that again on Saturday night, and hopefully, they’ll be able to send our supporters home happy.”
Forthcoming fixtures
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