The Ospreys team to play the Dragons at the Liberty Stadium on Friday 27th October 2017, KO 7.35pm, is as follows:
15 Sam Davies
14 Keelan Giles
13 Ashley Beck
12 Owen Watkin
11 Dan Evans
10 Dan Biggar
9 Tom Habberfield
1 Nicky Smith
2 Sam Parry
3 Dmitri Arhip
4 Bradley Davies
5 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt)
6 Olly Cracknell
7 Sam Cross
8 James King
REPLACEMENTS
16 Scott Baldwin
17 Paul James
18 Ma’afu Fia
19 Adam Beard
20 Rob McCusker
21 Brendon Leonard
22 James Hook
23 Cory Allen
Sam Cross makes his Guinness PRO14 debut
The following players were unavailable for selection due to injury
Dan Baker - Knee
Hanno Dirksen – Knee
Kieron Fonotia - HIA
Ben John – HIA
Jeff Hassler – HIA
Dan Lydiate - Back
Brian Mujati – Shoulder
Scott Otten - Shoulder
Justin Tipuric - Thigh
Eli Walker – Back
Rhys Webb - Knee
Ospreys Head Coach, Steve Tandy, said:
“This is another derby match, another big game, something for supporters and players to get excited about again. The Dragons have got a real energy about them this season with some good young players starting to make an impression so they’ll come here full of belief that they can get a result.
“In the last three games we’ve gone toe-to-toe with the PRO14 champions, the French champions and the European champions and shown that we can compete at that level, really making a positive impression and starting to build some momentum.
“The challenge for us all now is to build on the good form we’ve shown over the last three weekends and make sure that our hard work and effort is reflected on the scoreboard on Friday and beyond that in the coming weeks.
“It promises to be a cracking derby match, with two teams full of positive intent and interesting match-ups across the pitch. We have to kick-start our PRO14 campaign. There’s plenty of work to be done to ensure we are where we want to be in the conference table, and that work started as soon as the final whistle went against Saracens.
“The supporters who were there on Saturday did a fantastic job of lifting the boys in some difficult circumstances, everyone pulling together in adversity. We need that collective spirit on and off the field moving forward, with the supporters playing their part.”
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sat 4 Nov – 5.30pm KO – Edinburgh v Ospreys – Myreside – PRO14
Fri 10 Nov – 7.30pm KO – Ospreys v Wasps – Liberty Stadium – AW
Fri 17 Nov – 7.15pm KO – Cardiff Blues v Ospreys – Arms Park – AW
Sun 26 Nov – 1.00pm KO – Ospreys v Glasgow – Liberty Stadium PRO14