The Ospreys team to play Zebre at Liberty Stadium on Friday 4th January, KO 19.05 is as follows:
15 Matthew Morgan
14 Ross Jones
13 Tom Isaacs
12 Andrew Bishop
11 Eli Walker
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Duncan Jones
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Adam Jones (Capt)
4 Ian Gough
5 Lloyd Peers
6 James King
7 Sam Lewis
8 Jonathan Thomas
REPLACEMENTS
16 Richard Hibbard
17 Ryan Bevington
18 Campbell Johnstone
19 George Stowers
20 Morgan Allen
21 Kahn Fotuali’i
22 Jonathan Spratt
23 Richard Fussell
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Ashley Beck - Ankle
Justin Tipuric - Shoulder
Alun Wyn Jones – Shoulder
Hanno Dirksen – Knee
Joe Rees – Neck
Tom Smith – Groin
Aaron Jarvis – Knee
Owen Williams - Hamstring
Ian Evans – Knee
Tom Grabham - Hip
Head Coach, Steve Tandy, said:
“We’ve built up some good momentum over the last few weeks which have put us in a decent place in terms of pushing into the top four of the PRO12 and keeping our European hopes alive. We mustn’t let that hard work and effort go to waste now though, and it’s important that we perform well against Zebre on Friday night.
“As with any Italian team they are a tough, physical bunch and going into the game on the back of two Welsh derbies in five days we need to use the squad as much as we can for this one. We know that they will make life difficult for us but we have to focus on our own game, and concentrate on what we need to do to ensure we get the performance levels we expect from the group.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Matthew at 15. He’ll give us attacking options, we know what he can do with ball in hand. We’ve got to look at different options because we have a relatively small squad and having him and Dan on the pitch together is something to look forward to.
“Adam will lead the team on Friday night. He’s a true Osprey and anyone who has watched him during the Scarlets and Dragons games will understand what it means to him to play for his region. He’s got plenty of experience, and has the respect which comes from his achievements with the Ospreys, and he will make a good captain.”
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sun 13 Jan – 15.00KO – Ospreys v Leicester Tigers – Heineken Cup
Sun 20 Jan – 16.00KO (Local) – Benetton Treviso v Ospreys – Heineken Cup
Sat 26 Jan – 18.30KO – Newport Gwent Dragons v Ospreys – LV= Cup
Sun 3 Feb – 17.00KO – Ospreys v Harlequins – LV= Cup
Fri 8 Feb – 19.05 KO – Ulster v Ospreys – RaboDirect PRO12
Fri 15 Feb – 19.45 KO – Connacht v Ospreys – RaboDirect PRO12
Fri 22 Feb – 20.10KO – Ospreys v Edinburgh- RaboDirect PRO12
Sat 2 Mar – 18.30 KO – Munster v Ospreys – RaboDirect PRO12