The Ospreys team to play Munster on Saturday 24th April 2010 at Thomond Park, kick off at 6.30pm, will be as follows:-
15 Lee Byrne
14 Tommy Bowe
13 Andrew Bishop
12 James Hook
11 Shane Williams
10 Dan Biggar
9 Mike Phillips
1 Paul James
2 Huw Bennett
3 Adam Jones
4 Ian Gough
5 Jonathan Thomas
6 Jerry Collins
7 Marty Holah
8 Ryan Jones (Capt)
Replacements:
16 Ed Shervington
17 Ryan Bevington
18 Alun Wyn Jones
19 Filo Tiatia
20 Jamie Nutbrown
21 Sonny Parker
22 Nikki Walker
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Ross Davies - fractured ankle/ligament damage
Duncan Jones - broken bone in foot
Lyndon Bateman - knee
Barry Davies - groin
Richard Hibbard - knee
Ospreys Head Coach, Sean Holley, commented:
"We are at the make-or-break stage of the season now, we've got two games left with everything to play for in the Magners League. It's an exciting time, we know exactly what we need to do. Everybody in the group is looking forward to these next couple of matches, and hopefully, extending our season beyond early May. It's not going to be easy, we face two difficult matches in Munster at Thomond Park and the the Dragons, both of whom will be looking to secure a play-off place as well.
"I think the introduction of the play-off system has clearly been a good thing for the competition. Along with the changes to Heineken Cup qualification, it's certainly generated a lot more excitement at the business end, and just about everybody is going into the last two weekend's of the regular season with something on the line. We are well placed at the moment, we're in second place after picking up six points in Ireland last week, but we can't take anything for granted. We are up for this challenge, and will want to build on the good work we've done so far.
"The boys fronted up well last week, to play three games in such a short space of time. You could argue that we should have got three wins, but that wasn't to be, We've obviously been through all the emotions over the last couple of weeks, but this is a pretty tight knit group, they are playing for each other and for the supporters, the Ospreys shirt means a lot to them. They've had a few days to get over the physical effort last week and to be honest with you they are raring to go again. At this stage of the season, with everything to play for, you want to send out your strongest available side, and we are fortunate that thanks to the efforts of our medical and conditioning teams we've got a pretty clear treatment room which is obviously god for us as we look to make one final push.
"It's always difficult going out to Munster, who once again this season have shown what a quality outfit they are. They don't lose too many at Thomond Park, so we realise that it's going to be a difficult evening. But, we've won out in Munster before, and we have confidence in our ability as a team. I'd suggest that it's going to be another good game to watch, and with a home play-off very much up for grabs, there's everything to play for."
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sat 24th Apr - Munster V Ospreys - Magners League - Thomond Park - 6.30pm
7/8/9 May - Ospreys V Newport Gwent Dragons - Liberty Stadium - TBC