The Ospreys team to play Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday 8th October 2011, kick off at 7.30pm will be as follows:
15 Barry Davies
14 Hanno Dirksen
13 Tom Isaacs
12 Andrew Bishop
11 Richard Fussell
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Duncan Jones
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Cai Griffiths
4 Ian Gough
5 Ian Evans
6 Joe Bearman
7 Justin Tipuric (Capt)
8 Jonathan Thomas
Replacements:
16 Mefin Davies
17 Aaron Jarvis
18 Joe Rees
19 Tom Smith
20 James King
21 Matthew Morgan
22 Sonny Parker
23 Kristian Phillips
Sonny Parker will become just the third Ospreys player to reach 150 appearances for the region if he comes off the bench
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Scott Baldwin - Shoulder
James Goode - Groin
Gareth Owen – ACL
Nikki Walker – Medial Ligament
Ashley Beck - Shoulder
Forwards Coach, Jonathan Humphreys, commented:
“We’re expecting a tough evening. You wouldn’t expect anything else when you play Munster, home or away. Both teams may have a different look to them from when we last played, but it will still be intense and will still be a real battle.
“We are well aware that we have to raise our game several levels from where we were against Connacht. We weren’t at our best, and a lot of credit for that has to go to Connacht for stopping us playing, but we have to expect that and learn how to deal with it. Munster won’t be any different in that area of the game, so we need to learn how to combat it.
“Our tenacity, our spirit and work ethic is spot on. This group of players are displaying all the characteristics we want from Ospreys players, but they need to improve on their accuracy and attention to detail because Munster will make us pay if we don’t get it right on Saturday.”
Forthcoming fixtures
Sat 15 Oct – Exeter Chiefs V Ospreys – Sandy Park – LV= Cup – 7.45pm
Sat 22 Oct – Ospreys v Northampton Saints – Brewery Field – LV= Cup – 6.00pm
Fri 28 Oct – Glasgow V Ospreys – Firhill – RaboDirect PRO12 – 7.05pm
Sat 5 Nov – Ospreys v Scarlets – Liberty Stadium – RaboDirect PRO12 – 7.30pm
Sat 12 Nov – Ospreys v Biarritz – Liberty Stadium – Heineken Cup – 3.40pm