Tandy names Ospreys team for Sunday lunchtime's Heineken Cup clash against Northampton Saints at the Liberty Stadium
The Ospreys team to play Northampton Saints at Liberty Stadium on Sunday 12th January, KO 12.45pm, is as follows:
15 Richard Fussell
14 Jeff Hassler
13 Tom Isaacs
12 Ashley Beck
11 Aisea Natoga
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Ryan Bevington
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Aaron Javis
4 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt)
5 Ian Evans
6 Sam Lewis
7 Justin Tipuric
8 Joe Bearman
REPLACEMENTS
16 Scott Baldwin
17 Duncan Jones
18 Adam Jones
19 James King
20 Morgan Allen
21 Tom Habberfield
22 Sam Davies
23 Jonathan Spratt
Head Coach Steve Tandy said:
“Sunday is going to be a massive game. There’s a big, typically English team, who are flying high in the league and Europe, coming to the Liberty and both teams need the win, so it’s going to be explosive and physical. I’m sure it’ll be a great contest.
“These are the kinds of games that players, coaches and supporters want to be involved in. The results in the last round mean that there is a chink of daylight for us and you can guarantee that we’ll going for it. We know that to have any hope of progressing we have to do our bit, which means a win on Sunday is essential.
“We’ve put together a decent run of wins in recent weeks, starting with the win over Castres here in the last round, but we aren’t kidding ourselves about where we are at in terms of performance. We are improving week on week, but to get a result against a team of Northampton’s stature then we will need to move up several levels.
“There’s been a great mood in the camp this week, the boys are determined to represent the jersey positively and we’re looking forward to a big afternoon of rugby. It’s important that we get big support here for the match, it’s no coincidence that the teams who win big matches get big crowds, creating a special atmosphere. We had a taste of what the Ospreys supporters can do at last week’s game against the Scarlets, and we need them to do the same again on Sunday afternoon.
'There's still everything to play for this season. We can still make it through the pool stages in Europe if we get the performance right and things fall into place elsewhere, and we are I'm a good position in the PRO12 so it's crucial we remain focused, believe in what we are doing, and keep the momentum we've built in recent weeks going.'
The following players were unavailable for selection through injury:
Dmitri Arhip – Achilles
Dan Baker – Shoulder
Andrew Bishop – Back
Hanno Dirksen - Thigh
Ryan Jones - Hamstring
Lloyd Peers - Ankle
Tom Smith – Knee
Tito Tebaldi - Ankle
Eli Walker - Hamstring
Forthcoming Fixtures
Fri 17 Jan 8.00pm KO – Leinster v Ospreys – Heineken Cup
Sat 25 Jan 3.00pm KO – Exeter Chiefs v Ospreys – LV= Cup
Fri 31 Jan 7.30pm KO – Ospreys v Sale Sharks – LV= Cup
Fri 7 Feb 7.05pm KO – Ulster v Ospreys – PRO12
14/15/16 TBC – Ospreys v Benetton Treviso – PRO12
Sun 23 Feb 4.00pm KO – Ospreys v Munster – PRO12