Finally we get our captain back and possibly AWJ and North although the belief is that they will return on Boxing Day against the Scarlets.
I think the team will look something like this:-
N Smith, S Otten, M Fia, BBBD, A Beard, D Lydiate, J Tipuric, M Morris
A Davies, M McKenzie, H Dirksen, S Williams, T Thomas Wheeler, L Morgan, TBD (depending on what happens today).
This is a game we simply have to win.
Every game is like Groundhog Day, nothing changes. Why pay a skills coach when we never try anything new? Our game is so boring and predictable you cannot blame fans staying away.
Totally agree gaffer. I’ve always thought it, being an Ospreys supporter is actually quite hard work 😳
For the last few seasons our game has lacked intensity and sustained excitement, we go from phase to phase like donkeys and that flat feeling is transferred to the fans. Why pay good money to be bored?
Yet again we had plenty of ball yet created virtually nothing. We had to rely on a a PT for our main score. We used Cai for some of the drop-offs where he gained plenty of height allowing players to put them under pressure, then reverted to McKenzie for others. What is Sherratt getting paid for? How many time have we pressed on the line playing pick and go , finally either knocking on or giving away a penalty? Our line-out and scrum looks solid for the most part, and if it wasn't for our defence it could have been worse. We had enough ball to have won that match. The fact that we would have been grateful for a draw indicates where we are at the moment. I don't hold out much hope for the other two derbies.
The other problem with Aled is who he’s training with. Seemed to me every pass he gave was about 2’ higher than it needed to be so most players were jumping to catch it. Why aren’t we seeing his 8’ training partner on the pitch eh??
Poor game management and lack of vision with no individual flair or creativity. We should have won that game by twenty points
A very winnable game was thrown away although they were the far more inventive side. I thought Cracknell was the worst 7 I have ever seen. Well tonight he was the worst 8. He just collapses like a sack of spuds in contact. They waited nearly 70 minutes to bring Morris on and then took of Lydiate. Aled Davies gave a master class in running around like a headless chicken and Venter was not brought on until 76 minutes. We turned down a kickable penalty on 75 mins that may have got us a draw but they deserved the win.
Well that was frickin awful. I don't think I've ever seen an Ospreys side look so totally disjointed. They really need to decide if Ruddock is going to take over or not.and if not get a coach quick.....................
Or maybe they think he’ll have a greater impact coming off the bench when there are tired bodies on the other side.
Happy enough with that I guess, apart from Cracknell.
I was almost right...
Ospreys captain, Justin Tipuric returns to skipper the side in his first match of the season on Saturday!
Cai Evans retains the fullback jersey from last weekend, and a change on both wings sees Luke Morgan and Hanno Dirksen make up the back three. Scott Williams and Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler form the centre partnership, with Marty McKenzie and Aled Davies lining up as the half-backs. Last week’s try-scorer Shaun Venter provides the cover off the bench, alongside Luke Price and Kieran Williams.
The front row is unchanged from last week as Nicky Smith and Ma'afu Fia pack down either side of Scott Otten, who will make his 100th appearance for the Ospreys. Adam Beard holds onto the number four shirt partnering up with Bradley Davies in the second row. Workhorse Lydiate starts on the blindside alongside Tipuric marshalling the openside, with Olly Cracknell at number 8 to complete the pack. Young Morgan Morris provides solid reinforcements on the bench, alongside Marvin Orie. Dewi Lake, Rhys Fawcett and Simon Gardiner complete the 23.
The Ospreys team to play Cardiff Blues in round eight of the Guinness PRO14 at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday 21st December, K.O 7:35pm has been named:
Starting XV:
15. Cai Evans
14. Hanno Dirksen
13. Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler
12. Scott Williams
11. Luke Morgan
10. Marty McKenzie
9. Aled Davies
1.Nicky Smith
2. Scott Otten
3. Ma’afu Fia
4. Adam Beard
5. Bradley Davies
6. Dan Lydiate
7. Justin Tipuric ©
8. Olly Cracknell
16. Dewi Lake
17. Rhys Fawcett
18. Simon Gardiner
19. Marvin Orie
20. Morgan Morris
21. Saun Venter
22. Luke Price
23. Kieran Williams
Scott Otten will make his 100th appearance for the Ospreys
The following players were unavailable for selection due to injury:
Gareth Anscombe
Harri Morgan
Cory Allen
James King
Rhys Henry
Ben Glynn
Keelan Giles
Sam Parry
Gareth Evans
Tom Botha
Dan Baker
Owen Watkin
Gareth Thomas
Rhodri Jones
George North
Alun Wyn Jones
Forthcoming Fixtures:
Thursday 26th December – 5:15pm – Scarlets v Ospreys, Parc Y Scarlets.
Saturday 4th January – 3pm – Dragons v Ospreys, Rodney Parade.
Saturday 11th January – 1pm – Ospreys v Saracens, Liberty Stadium.
Just saw that the ref for the game is Dan Jones from Bristol but the kicker is that he used to be a part of the Blues Academy system when he was younger but stopped playing due to injury, hmmmm???
If they are fit they should at least be on the bench for the blues game, they will. Be rusty for the first game so are unlikely to hit the ground running.......
I agree with the pair of you I don't think the other 2 will appear Saturday, so if I've calculated properly they are the last 2 of the Wales team that played in the World Cup Semi-Final yet to appear for their team unless injured. I think it makes a mockery of the so called détente between the Regions and the WRU, considering our position and what games are coming up, everybody should be available for these derby matches, and please nobody say that these 2 are injured because I have it on good authority that at least 1 of those are not injured.
A couple of reports mention Justin for Saturday but nothing about AWJ or North.
Gutted about Owen Watkin not available