15 Dan Evans
14 Tom Grabham
13 Jonathan Spratt
12 Hanno Dirksen
11 Eli Walker
10 Dan Biggar
9 Brendon Leonard
1 Ryan Bevington
2 Sam Parry
3 Dmitri Arhip
4 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt)
5 Rory Thornton
6 Dan Lydiate
7 Justin Tipuric
8 Dan Baker
REPLACEMENTS
16 Scott Otten
17 Nicky Smith
18 Aaron Jarvis
19 Lloyd Ashley
20 James King
21 Tom Habberfield
22 Sam Davies
23 Ben John
The following players were unavailable for selection due to injury:
Tyler Ardron - Knee
Scott Baldwin - Shoulder
Ashley Beck - ACL
Rynier Bernardo - Ankle
Gareth Delve - Shoulder
Jeff Hassler - Knee
Dafydd Howells - Hamstring
Paul James - Calf
Josh Matavesi - HIA Protocols
Rhys Webb - Foot
Ospreys Head Coach, Steve Tandy, said:
"This is another big game for us. They are coming thick and fast now and will keep coming right through December and Christmas into the New Year. It's a real test of our resources and will stretch the squad but we are in a pretty good place at the moment and really want to build on the momentum we've started to generate over the last few weeks.
"We've played two of Europe's form teams over the last two weekends and have come out the other side in a pretty good place. Exeter and Clermont provided us with two different kinds of challenges but we stood up to them and exceeded any expectations on us from outside the environment.
Last weekend in France was particularly pleasing as we showed a real maturity about our play. There was a game plan, a target for the afternoon, which was to go out there and try to ask questions of them by playing our own game and going for tries.
"At different points in the game it would have been easy to throw the towel in but this group of players won't do that. There's a strong culture in place that we've worked hard to build and that meant they kept pressing on and got their reward on the day.
"This weekend is a different kind of challenge, but one with its own pressures. We've got to park up Europe for a few weeks and concentrate on climbing the PRO12 table. We'll only do that by bringing the same intensity and desire we've seen the last few weeks, combined with attention to detail and a level of accuracy and understanding that has maybe been missing in the first part of the PRO12 campaign.
"The Blues will come here believing they can get the win they want and, like us, need, so that they can move up the table. It's a contest that will bring with it all the usual stuff you get with a derby and there'll be a bigger than normal crowd with plenty of passion. That's fantastic for everybody but we can't get caught up in that. We have to feed off the energy and give the supporters something to sing about, but not let the derby become the be all and end all. We have to be bigger than that and stay focused on what we want to achieve. If we do that we can put together the right level of performance."
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sun 6 Dec - 3.00pm KO (Local) - Zebre v Ospreys - PRO12
Sat 12 Dec - 5.15pm KO - Ospreys v Bordeaux Begles - ERCC
Sat 19 Dec - 6.15pm KO (Local) - Bordeaux Begles v Ospreys - ERCC
Sat 26 Dec - 2.05pm KO - Scarlets v Ospreys - PRO12
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