Ospreys team to play Ulster

The Ospreys team to face Ulster at Kingspan Stadium on Friday 4th September 2015, KO 7.35pm, is as follows:

 

15 Dan Evans

14 Kristian Phillips

13 Jonathan Spratt

12 Ben John

11 Tom Grabham

10 Sam Davies

9 Tom Habberfield

 

1 Marc Thomas

2 Sam Parry

3 Dmitri Arhip

4 Lloyd Ashley (Capt)

5 De Kock Steenkamp

6 Joe Bearman

7 Lloyd Evans

8 Gareth Delve

 

REPLACEMENTS

 

16 Scott Otten

17 Nicky Smith

18 Cai Griffiths

19 Rory Thornton

20 Dan Baker

21 Sam Underhill

22 Brendon Leonard

23 Ashley Beck

 

 

Tom Habberfield makes his 50th Ospreys appearance

 

De Kock Steenkamp and Gareth Delve make their Ospreys debuts

 

Lloyd Evans makes his PRO12 debut

 

Kristian Phillips makes his first Ospreys appearance since October 2011 after re-signing for the region this summer

 

Sam Underhill and Brendon Leonard will make their Ospreys debuts if they come off the bench

 

Ospreys Head Coach, Steve Tandy, said:

 

“We’ve had a pretty good pre-season, there’s been a good mood in the camp and everyone has worked very hard ahead of this weekend’s game. Everything we’ve done since the end of June has been geared up towards building the foundations for the new campaign, part of a bigger picture to be ready for Ulster on Friday night.

 

“It’s no secret that we’ve got a young group, but we’ve been able to add some experience over the summer, and we want to keep growing as a team, building on the promise we showed at times last season. There’s a real sense of excitement around the environment and we’re all looking forward to getting the season underway.

 

“As a coaching group, we have had some difficult decisions to make this week, and that is exactly how it should be. There are individuals who have really put their hands up in pre-season and are disappointed to miss out for the opening weekend but, without exception, they have shown real Ospreys spirit this week, recognising that it’s about the wider group and have worked hard to help the team prepare. It’s been good to see.

 

“Ulster is always a tough place to go. They have a strong squad and a big, passionate and loud crowd who get behind whoever is wearing the Ulster shirt, whatever the circumstances. It can be a real test of character out there so we need to be sure that we are 100 per cent switched on and everybody is completely focused on the job in hand. It’s about the small things, attention to detail, that can make a big difference on the night.

 

“We’ve spoken in training about controlling the things that we can control, focusing on performance and getting that right. If we look after that then, hopefully, we’ll get the desired outcome. We want to put on a positive performance so that we can come back to the Liberty next weekend for the Round 2 game against Munster, in front of a big Ospreys crowd buying into what we are working to achieve at this region.”

 

The following players were unavailable for selection due to Rugby World Cup selection:

 

Scott Baldwin, Dan Biggar, Paul James, Aaron Jarvis, Alun Wyn Jones, James King, Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb (Wales)

 

Tyler Ardron and Jeff Hassler (Canada)

 

Josh Matavesi (Fiji)

 

The following players were unavailable for selection due to injury:

 

Adam Beard – Shoulder

Rynier Bernardo - Knee

Ryan Bevington – Groin

Andrew Bishop - Back

Olly Cracknell – Concussion

Daniel Suter - Neck

 

Forthcoming Fixtures

 

Sun 13 Sep - 2.30pm KO – Ospreys V Munster – Liberty Stadium - PRO12

Fri 2 Oct - 6.00pm KO – Edinburgh v Ospreys – Murrayfield - PRO12

Sat 17 Oct – 2.30pm -  Benetton Treviso v Ospreys – Stadio Comunale di Monigo – PRO12

Sat 24 Oct – 1.30pm KO - Ospreys v Connacht - Liberty Stadium - PRO12

Sun 1 Nov - 2.30pm KO – Glasgow v Ospreys – Scotstoun – PRO12