Ospreys team to face Ulster

Sonny Parker comes into the squad to replace Jonathan Spratt, who has shown signs of fatigue in training this week and has been rested. He is expected to train as normal over the coming week and will be available for selection next weekend.

Ospreys Coach Jonathan Humphreys commented:

"We welcome back Jonathan Thomas after a lengthy lay-off and it's great to see him back again, he's had a pretty frustrating time of it but he's on the comeback trail which is great news. Likewise, with Tommy returning to action after the Lions tour, it's good to see the options available to us as coaches increasing.

"We're pretty satisfied with the result in Connacht last week, to come away from what is a difficult place with a win. It could have been far worse, there were some surprising results in the first week. It was our intention to get off to a positive start and we did that. There's still a lot for us to work on, which is quite pleasing really, we don't want to be hitting the ground at 100 per cent, we are building into it and as the season progresses we'll pick up the percentages as we go.

"We've looked at the video of last weekend's game, we've worked hard to improve in certain areas, and I'd expect to see us stepping up a level on Saturday evening. We want to go out on Saturday and send the right messages out to our supporters, in terms of what we want to achieve this season. We're very excited about coming back for the start of the season and it'll be great to see a big crowd waiting for us. As long as our mentality is right, as long as we show the pride I expect in the performance for the first home game and set the standards, we'll be alright and it will set us off in good stead for the rest of the season. The rest will follow."

The Ospreys team to face Ulster in the Magners League on Saturday 12th September 2009 at The Liberty Stadium, kick off at 6.30pm, will be as follows:-

15 Barry Davies
14 Jonny Vaughton
13 Sonny Parker
12 Andrew Bishop
11 Nikki Walker
10 James Hook
9 Mike Phillips

1 Paul James
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Cai Griffiths
4 Ian Gough
5 Andy Lloyd
6 Jerry Collins
7 Marty Holah
8 Ryan Jones ©

Replacements:
16 Huw Bennett
17 Duncan Jones
18 Jonathan Thomas
19 Tom Smith
20 Jamie Nutbrown
21 Dan Biggar
22 Tommy Bowe

Forthcoming Fixtures
Friday 18th September - Ospreys V Leinster - Magners League - Liberty Stadium - 7.05pm
Friday 25th September - Glasgow V Ospreys - Magners League - Firhill - 7.05pm
Sunday 4th October - Ospreys V Edinburgh - Magners League - Liberty Stadium - 4.00pm