Ospreys team to face Russia

The Ospreys team to play Russia at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday 21st August 2011, kick off at 3.00pm will be as follows:



15 Richard Fussell

14 Kristian Phillips

13 Tom Isaacs

12 Ashley Beck

11 Hanno Dirksen

10 Dan Biggar

9 Rhys Webb

 

1 Duncan Jones

2 Mefin Davies

3 Cai Griffiths

4 Ian Gough (Capt)

5 Ian Evans

6 Tom Smith

7 James King

8 Joe Bearman

 

Replacements

16 Matthew Dwyer

17 Ken Dowding

18 Joe Rees

19 James Goode

20 Sam Lewis

21 Morgan Allen

22 Tom Grabham

23 Matthew Morgan

24 Will Price

25 Andrew Bishop

26 Sonny Parker

27 Barry Davies

 

The following players were not considered because of injury:

Eli Walker – Haematoma

Scott Baldwin - Hamstring

Aaron Jarvis – Ankle

Craig Cross – Knee

Tom Prydie – ACL

Tom Habberfield – Wrist

Gareth Owen - ACL

 

Director of Coaching, Scott Johnson, commented:

“Sunday will be about stepping up our preparations for the new season, with some more of the senior guys coming into get some action at the Liberty. Training has gone well but there’s no substitute for game time and the guys are busting a gut to get the shirt on and get out there onto the paddock.

“It’s going to be an interesting occasion, make no mistake about that. It’s an international team coming to the Liberty, something that doesn’t happen every day, and I hope that the fans who come here will get behind us and make themselves heard as they always do. We want to build something special as a group, and that includes the supporters, the people of Ospreylia. They are our cause, and everything we do this season will be for them.

“The team definitely has a more familiar feel to it than last week against Lyon, but we’ve rewarded one or two boys who were involved in that game like we said we would. It’s a time of year when everybody is excited, anticipation is high and there’s a lot of competition for places, and we are aiming to keep that feeling in the group.

“There’s a lot of good kids in this group, all proud to be wearing the shirt and keen to establish themselves as Ospreys and it’s been pretty refreshing working with them. We’ll see what some of them can do on Sunday when they come up against a Russia side that is gearing up for the World Cup and has already shown this summer that they are capable of hurting teams given half a chance so we know that the boys will have to be on top of their game.

“With our internationals away during the World Cup, it’s a fantastic opportunity for these players to make a name for themselves. We saw what they were capable of at stages last season when they were involved in our LV= Cup campaign really embracing the kind of game we want to establish as the Ospreys way and getting fans onto their feet in excitement. While we want them to kick on this season, it’s important that they continue to train well, know their roles and work as a team. If they do that, then they’ll have a fighting chance of representing the Ospreys for a long time to come.”

Forthcoming fixtures

Fri 2 Sep – Ospreys V Leinster – Liberty Stadium – Rabodirect PRO12 – 7.05pm

Sat 10 Sep – Ospreys V Edinburgh – Liberty Stadium – Rabodirect PRO12 – 6.30pm

Sat 17 Sep – Benetton Treviso V Ospreys – Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Rabodirect Pro12 – 3.00pm

Sun 25 Sep – Ospreys V Ulster – Liberty Stadium – Rabodirect PRO12 – 4.30pm

Sun 2 Oct – Ospreys V Connacht – Liberty Stadium – Rabodirect PRO12 – 3.45pm