Tandy welcomes back six players from Wales duty for Sunday's PRO12 clash against Treviso at the Liberty Stadium
The Ospreys team to play Benetton Treviso at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday 16th February, KO 4.00pm, is as follows:
15 Sam Davies
14 Jeff Hassler
13 Jonathan Spratt (Capt)
12 Ashley Beck
11 Aisea Natoga
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Ryan Bevington
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Aaron Jarvis
4 Lloyd Peers
5 James King
6 Tyler Ardron
7 Sam Lewis
8 Joe Bearman
REPLACEMENTS
16 Matthew Dwyer
17 Duncan Jones
18 Dan Suter
19 Ryan Jones
20 Dan Baker
21 Tom Habberfield
22 Matthew Morgan
23 Hanno Dirksen
Rhys Webb makes his 100th Ospreys appearance
Head Coach Steve Tandy said:
“It’s good to be heading back to the Liberty after five weeks away. There has been plenty to like about the performances in recent weeks, with a largely young group of players setting about the job in the absence of our international contingent. They’ve shown a good attitude, a desire to play in a positive way, and have shown an understanding of how we are trying to take our game,
“After the win against Sale in Bridgend it was a different kind of challenge out in Ulster last week, and we were very unlucky to have to settle for a losing bonus. It was particularly pleasing to see a squad missing more than 20 players through injury and international duty really going toe-to-toe with a far more experienced, star-studded team. With a little more composure, a little more experience, we could have snatched a well deserved win at the death which would have been a fantastic boost for us going into back-to-back home games.
“As it is, we have no margin for error these next two weekends. Treviso will provide us with a tough challenge and we know that we’ll need to sharpen up from where we were last weekend. It gets even tougher then next week when we have the league leaders, Munster, here at the Liberty. The games at this time of the year will shape the end of season placings so it’s crucial we get the right performance in these games, on and off the field, if we are going to secure a place in the top four.
“Even with the players coming back to us from Wales this weekend, for which we are grateful,
this is still a young group we’ve got. They are growing game by game, and are enjoying having this opportunity to show what they can do. With the young talent coming through, there is a genuinely positive feeling about our future, and I hope that is shared by the supporters. It’s important that they get behind the boys, not only this week but between now and the end of the season - and beyond. We are doing our bit for the future in terms of developing local young talent, but we need the community to do their bit as well, Bums on seats give us the cash to keep these boys here.”
The following players were unavailable for selection through injury:
Dmitri Arhip – Achilles
Andrew Bishop – Back
Tom Isaacs – Ankle
Ben John - Shoulder
Tom Smith - Knee
Eli Walker - Hamstring
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sun 23 Feb 4.00pm KO – Ospreys v Munster – PRO12
Fri 28 Feb 7.35pm KO - Edinburgh v Ospreys - PRO12
Fri 21 March 7.05pm KO - Ospreys v Cardiff Blues - PRO12
Fri 28 March 7.35pm KO - Glasgow v Ospreys - PRO12
Fri 11 April 7.05pm KO - Ospreys v Leinster - PRO12
Sun 20 April - 4.45pm KO - NG Dragons v Ospreys - PRO12