The Ospreys team to play Newport Gwent Dragons on Saturday 30th October at the Liberty Stadium, kick off at 6.30pm, will be as follows:
15 Gareth Owen
14 Nikki Walker
13 Sonny Parker
12 Ashley Beck
11 Richard Fussell
10 Dai Flanagan
9 Jamie Nutbrown
1 Ryan Bevington
2 Mefin Davies
3 Craig Mitchell
4 Andy Lloyd
5 Ian Evans
6 Tom Smith
7 Marty Holah
8 Jerry Collins (Capt)
Replacements
16 Richard Hibbard
17 Duncan Jones
18 Cai Griffiths
19 Conor McInerney
20 Justin Tipuric
21 Rhys Webb
22 Tom Isaacs
23 Barry Davies
Dai Flanagan makes his Ospreys debut
If he comes off the bench, Conor McInerney will make his Magners League debut
If he comes off the bench, Tom Isaacs will make his Ospreys debut
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Jonathan Spratt – ACL
Ben Lewis – Neck
Morgan Allen - Ankle
Fifteen players were unavailable because of international commitments
Forwards Coach, Jonathan Humphreys, commented:
“It’s going to be a tough evening for us. You know what to expect when you face the Dragons, and that is that they will look to make life as uncomfortable as possible for you. They won’t be as affected by international calls as us so they will bring a settled team that has been playing together for a period of time, and we are aware of the threats they have across the pitch.
“It’s always a challenge for us at this time of the year, coping with the absentees away with the various national squads, but that’s why we’ve tried to build a squad that has plenty of depth. Aspects of the 23 may have an unfamiliar look to them, but we'd expect the attitude and approach of everyone involved to be spot on.
“It’s an exciting time. There’ll be players coming in who haven’t had much game time and they now have their opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the longer term. We don’t pick on reputation here, we pick on form, and if players put their hands up, it will make life difficult for us as coaches in the weeks and months to come, which is exactly how it should be.
“We need to bounce back from what was a disappointing performance and result in Glasgow last weekend. It’s important that we win our home games, it’s the basis of any successful season, and it’s what we expect from whatever team we send out to represent the Ospreys.”
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sat 6 Nov – Newcastle Falcons V Ospreys – Kingston Park – LV= Cup - 6.30pm
Fri 12 Nov – Ospreys V Leicester Tigers – Brewery Field – LV= Cup – 7.45pm
Fri 19 Nov – Connacht V Ospreys – The Sportsground – Magners League – 7.00pm
Sun 28 Nov – Ospreys V Leinster – Liberty Stadium – Magners League – 5.00pm