Tandy enjoying Ospreys hooker conundrum

British & Irish Lions hooker Hibbard has switched South Wales for Gloucester, vacating his No.2 shirt at the Liberty Stadium.

And Tandy, whose side narrowly missed out on a PRO12 play-off berth last season, is expecting a fascinating battle to emerge between the contenders.

"There's an intriguing battle in prospect," he said. "We have Scott Baldwin, who has forced himself into Wales contention, but there's also Scott Otten, who made a huge impact at the end of last season, Matthew Dwyer and Evan Yardley and we have just signed Sam Parry.

"That's a crop of hookers who are hungry to wear the Ospreys jersey and that is a huge positive for us for the coming season.

"It's not just about this season. We have a young squad and we believe he can help to drive this team for a number of years."

Tandy will have to cope without a few of last season's older heads, after Ryan Jones and Ian Evans joined Hibbard in heading for the exit, but he insists there is plenty of experience left at the club.

"Every coach would like experienced players but it isn't as if we are without any at the Ospreys," he added.

"We have the Lions and Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones in our squad, plus Dan Biggar, plus other senior players such as Duncan Jones, Joe Bearman, Andrew Bishop and even Ashley Beck, who has been around a while now."

Follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the PRO12.