The Ospreys team to play Edinburgh at The Liberty Stadium on Friday 22nd February, KO 20.00, is as follows:
15 Richard Fussell
14 Tom Habberfield
13 Tom Isaacs
12 Jonathan Spratt
11 Kahn Fotuali’i (Capt)
10 Matthew Morgan
9 Rhys Webb
1 Ryan Bevington
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Cai Griffiths
4 Lloyd Peers
5 Jonathan Thomas
6 James King
7 Sam Lewis
8 Morgan Allen
REPLACEMENTS
16 Matthew Dwyer
17 Marc Thomas
18 Dmitri Arhip
19 Sam Williams
20 George Stowers
21 Arthur Ellis
22 Ashley Beck
23 Tom Grabham
Sam Williams and Arthur Ellis will make their PRO12 debuts if they come off the bench
15 players were unavailable for selection because of international duty with Wales senior and U20 squads
Joe Bearman and Ross Jones were unavailable for selection due to suspension
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Duncan Jones - Knee
Ben John – Ribs
Ian Gough - Calf
Andrew Bishop – Back
Hanno Dirksen – Knee
Tom Smith – Groin
Joe Rees - Neck
Aaron Jarvis - Knee
Head Coach, Steve Tandy, said:
“This is a huge game for us in terms of shaping the rest of the season. There’s no margin for error after last weekend’s defeat, we are realistic enough to know that we need to put in a winning performance to maintain our push for the play-offs. With teams in the top four playing against each other this weekend, the right performance and result could see us back into the top four and with six games left then it’ll be in our hands. It’s going to be tough whatever the outcome on Friday night, but as coaches we have belief in this group to tough it out when they have to.
“It’s on night’s like Friday that titles are won and reputations are made. If you look back at last season we bounced back from two defeats against Ulster and Glasgow at this time of the year and went on a winning run that took us right through to Dublin at the end of May. It’s going to have to take something similar, so we’ll roll up our sleeves and get stuck into the task. Just as last year players like Hanno and Eli came to wider attention because we were missing people on international duty, it’s time for those involved to step up and follow in their footsteps.
“The fans have just as important a role to play, we need them to be with us this weekend and for the two remaining home games. The cause is all about times like this, when we have to pull together to get through difficult periods.”
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sat 2 Mar – 18.30 KO – Munster v Ospreys – RaboDirect PRO12
Fri 22 Mar – 19.05KO – Ospreys v NG Dragons – RaboDirect PRO12
Sat 30 Mar – 17.15KO – Cardiff Blues v Ospreys – RaboDirect PRO12