The Ospreys team to play Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park on Saturday 21st January 2017, KO 5.00pm, is as follows:
15 Dan Evans
14 Hanno Dirksen
13 Kieron Fonotia
12 Josh Matavesi
11 Dafydd Howells
10 Sam Davies
9 Rhys Webb (Captain)
1 Gareth Thomas
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Rhodri Jones
4 Adam Beard
5 Rory Thornton
6 Olly Cracknell
7 Sam Underhill
8 James King
REPLACEMENTS
16 Scott Otten
17 Nicky Smith
18 Daniel Suter
19 Lloyd Ashley
20 Rob McCusker
21 Brendon Leonard
22 Jonathan Spratt
23 Ben John
The following players were unavailable for selection due to injury:
Dmitri Arhip - Shoulder
Bradley Davies – Knee
Ma’afu Fia – Ankle/Knee
Keelan Giles - Hamstring
Tom Grabham – Knee
Jeff Hassler – Achilles
Dan Lydiate – Knee
Eli Walker - Back
Owen Watkin – Knee
Head Coach, Steve Tandy, commented:
“It’s great that we are going into the final round knowing that we’ve already secured a home quarter-final, but we aren’t going to settle for that. We want to keep going and ensure that we finish on a high.
“What’s happened so far in this pool is behind us now, we are only concerned about what’s in store for us on Saturday and ensuring that our prep is right and we get the performance we want. Anything else is irrelevant.
“Newcastle are traditionally very strong at home. They’ve only lost once at home in this competition over the last three seasons and beat Bath in their last home league fixture, so we know it’s going to be tough.
“We’ve got another important block of fixtures for us, we are in contention in the Anglo Welsh and we are doing well in the PRO12 so it’s important that this group of players keep the momentum going. With the internationals set to be away now for a couple of months the onus is on those still here to maintain standards, keep pushing on and ensure that we continue challenging on all fronts.”
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sat 28 Jan – 3.00pm – Ospreys v Bristol – Bridgend Ford Brewery Field – AW Cup
Sun 5 Feb – 3.00pm – Wasps v Ospreys – Ricoh Arena – AW Cup
Fri 10 Feb – 8.00pm (Local) - Zebre v Ospreys - Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi – PRO12
Sat 18 Feb – 5.15pm – Ospreys v Munster – Liberty Stadium – PRO12