The Ospreys team to play Ulster on Sunday 13th February 2011 at The Liberty Stadium, kick off at 5.10pm, will be as follows:
15 Richard Fussell
14 Tom Prydie
13 Sonny Parker
12 Ashley Beck
11 Hanno Dirksen
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Duncan Jones
2 Huw Bennett
3 Cai Griffiths
4 Ian Gough
5 Ian Evans
6 Tom Smith
7 Marty Holah
8 Jerry Collins (Capt)
Replacements
16 Mefin Davies
17 Ryan Bevington
18 Craig Cross
19 James King
20 Justin Tipuric
21 Jamie Nutbrown
22 Gareth Owen
23 Tom Isaacs
Hanno Dirksen makes his Magners League debut
Tom Prydie makes his first Magners League start
Craig Cross will make his Ospreys Magners League debut if he comes off the bench
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Jonathan Spratt – ACL
Conor McInerney – Knee
Andrew Bishop – Ankle
Adam Jones – Elbow
Tommy Bowe – Knee
Barry Davies – Groin
James Goode - Ankle
17 players were unavailable on international duty with Wales, Scotland, Wales U20 and Wales 7’s
Ospreys Forwards Coach, Jonathan Humphreys, said:
“The last few weeks and the LV= Cup has been a great experience for the Ospreys as an organisation, and undoubtedly, we will be stronger for it. We aim to compete in every competition we participate in so obviously we are disappointed not to be involved in the next stage, but when we review our performance there’s a lot that we can take great pride in.
“A very young group of players did exceptionally well to record some good wins and it definitely bodes well for the future, while the young coaches involved have also benefited from the experience. I think we’ve seen clear signs that the investment we are making into development structures are starting to bear fruit. Longer term, we’ve still got a long way to go, but we are heading in the right direction in terms of development from within.
“There’ll be a reliance on a lot of these younger players over the next four Magners League games, and you can’t fail to be excited by the potential we have on display. These boys have got to continue fronting up. We are targeting becoming the first team to retain the Magners championship, and to do that there’s a lot of work ahead. We need the likes of Tom Prydie, Hanno Dirksen, Rhys Webb, Craig Cross, James King and Justin Tipuric who are involved on Sunday to really step up – and that’s not counting the likes of Dan Biggar and Ryan Bevington who themselves are still very young despite the experience they have personally.
“It’s an exciting time for the Ospreys and we are all really up for the challenge.”
Forthcoming fixtures
Sat 19 Feb – Benetton Treviso V Ospreys – Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Magners League – 5.30pm
Sun 27 Feb – Ospreys V Connacht – Liberty Stadium – Magners League – 2.30pm
Sat 5 Mar – Ospreys V Glasgow – Liberty Stadium – Magners League – 6.30pm
Sat 26 Mar – Edinburgh V Ospreys – Murrayfield – Magners League – 6.30pm