The Ospreys team to play Leinster at the Liberty Stadium, on Saturday 8th April 2017, KO 3.00pm is as follows:
15 Sam Davies
14 Keelan Giles
13 Kieron Fonotia
12 Josh Matavesi
11 Dan Evans
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb (Capt)
1 Nicky Smith
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Brian Mujati
4 Lloyd Ashley
5 Rory Thornton
6 Olly Cracknell
7 Justin Tipuric
8 Dan Baker
REPLACEMENTS
16 Scott Otten
17 Paul James
18 Ma’afu Fia
19 Bradley Davies
20 Tyler Ardron
21 Sam Underhill
22 Tom Habberfield
23 Jonathan Spratt
Dan Biggar plays his 200th game for the Ospreys, the youngest player to achieve that landmark
Rhys Webb make his 100th PRO12 appearance
The following players were unavailable for selection due to injury:
Dmitri Arhip – Shoulder
Adam Beard – Elbow
Hanno Dirksen - Knee
Jeff Hassler – Achilles
Ben John – HIA
Alun Wyn Jones - Shoulder
Dan Lydiate – Knee
Rob McCusker – Ankle
Sam Parry - Neck
James Ratti - Shoulder
Eli Walker – Back
Owen Watkin – Knee
Head Coach, Steve Tandy, commented:
“It’s been a tough week off the back of the Stade game. There’s been a lot of soul searching at the start of the week and some pretty difficult questions being asked, but as the week as gone on we’ve had to put that behind us and focus on the challenges ahead of us instead of looking back.
“The last two weeks have been incredibly disappointing and frustrating but we’ve got to show that we have what it takes to bounce back from those setbacks. I don’t think there’s a bigger challenge in European rugby this season than Leinster, but this group has to step up and show what they’re about. It’s as much a test of character as it is of ability, but we know that this is a proud group capable of performing to a much higher standard than they achieved in the last two games.
“Just as we weren’t the best team in the world when the PRO12 broke for a few weeks at the start of March off the back of a decent run of results, losing the last two games doesn’t makes us the worst in the world. What we are, is a group of players who this season, when they have got their performance right, have shown that they can compete and play good rugby. We have to get to that level this Saturday at the Liberty. It’s about knowing your roles, attention to detail and being clinical, small things where we have let ourselves down recently.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position and now is the time to see the job off, with Ulster and the Scarlets breathing down our neck. It’s challenging, definitely, but it’s exciting. You look at the fixture list for the coming weeks and you can see what we’ve got to do, but we know that we are in a position where we control our own destiny. What we’ve got to do now is finish the job off, starting this weekend in front of our own supporters, and really give them something to get excited about.”
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sat 15 Apr – 2.45pm – Cardiff Blues v Ospreys – Principality Stadium – PRO12
Sat 29 Apr – 3.00pm – Ospreys v Ulster – Liberty Stadium – PRO12
Sat 6 May – 5.15pm – Scarlets v Ospreys – Parc y Scarlets – PRO12