The Ospreys Premiership Select are back in action on the weekend, the squad travel to the Lady Bay Stadium for their rearranged fixture British & Irish Cup against Nottingham on Friday, K.O 7:45pm.
With heavy snow forcing the postponement of the original fixture back in December, the Premiership Select side are looking to end their season with a win in the final game of this year’s pool stages.
Looking ahead to the game, captain of the side Luke Price said:
“The boys are really looking forward to it, it’s a chance for some of the boys who haven't played a lot of rugby the last couple of weeks to go out and have a game. There’s a lot of younger boys have been called up and it’s a great opportunity for them to show they can play at a higher level.”
Whilst neither the Ospreys or Nottingham can qualify for the next round in the British and Irish Cup competition, the boys are looking for redemption from the last time these sides met back in December.
The PS came up just short in their last game against the Championship side, at the Gnoll just before Christmas. They thought a last gasp try from Harri Morgan had secured the young side the win before a penalty in overtime let fly-half Tiff Eden kick the three points to take the lead and clinch the victory for Nottingham at 15-17.
Reflecting on the previous game, Price said:
“We had a good game against Nottingham last time round in the competition and we know we’re facing a tough game up there. We know where we went wrong, and I thought we deserved more from our first half performance but we did let it slip going into the second.It’s been a similar story across our games this season so hopefully we can put it right on Friday night."
Despite results not going quite in their favour this season, the young side have produced some competitive performances throughout the competition.
Strong individual performances have also earned a number of players in the Premiership Select the opportunity to step up to the senior Ospreys team. Price himself has notched up eight appearances this season after overcoming a foot injury back in August. Other members of the squad have also added to their experience, playing in the Guinnness PRO14 and Anglo-Welsh Cup with many featuring in the Wales U20’s side.
Price said: “I think that the experience we’ve all gained is invaluable and huge. Just with training today you can see the difference how the boys who’ve played for the senior side lead. We’re really helping the youngsters out who’ve come into the squad and more importantly it helps ourselves. Taking all the knowledge you learn from the more experienced players is priceless which we all try to take and put into our own game. Hopefully we’ll be able to pull out the performance on Friday night and finish the league on a high.”