Ospreys can return to haunt Munster

Just three weeks ago Tony McGahan's men thought they had knocked the defending champions out of Magners League play-off contention with a 22-20 win at the Liberty Stadium.

In the build up to that crucial clash Munster stalwart Denis Leamy revealed his determination to remove the Ospreys from the play-off equation.

But a slender 12-10 win over Aironi last weekend saw the Ospreys squeeze into the top four after the Scarlets beat Cardiff Blues in the final round of regular season matches.

Now Jones is confident the star-studded Welsh region can return to Thomond Park to maul Munster.

"Whatever Leamy said before, it has come back to bite Munster," said Jones.

"Every dog has its day and hopefully we can have ours on the weekend."

Munster have racked up three victories over the Ospreys this season. But the Welsh region can look back with fondness to their 14-11 triumph in Limerick last season which put them on the road to Celtic glory.

The British & Irish Lions lock anticipates another red hot atmosphere at the home of Munster but he insists the Ospreys know what it takes to win in the feverish Thomond Park cauldron.

"You go out there and are very away of where you are and who you're playing," said Jones.

"They haven't got a small hardcore, they have a large hardcore of devoted fans.

"But we've beaten them at Thomond Park before. We know how to win and lose to Munster.

"When we won out there last year we really dug in and showed maturity. Other times we haven't been astute or mature enough in games.

"Looking to the European clash over there this season, we were leading half-way through the game and had we been more tactically astute we would have won.

"There is no pressure on us this time because people don't expect us to win out there. We are the underdogs."

Despite being in the midst of a major dip in form which has seen the crack Welsh region secure just one win in their last five games, Jones insists the Ospreys will need no extra motivation come kick-off.

"We are not afraid to say we haven't been playing well," added Jones.

"But we're in the semi-finals now and there are two one-off games. There's the possibility of the title, but first and foremost we'll focus on this game.

"I won't need to say a lot because all of the players know what's at stake. They're all aware that we're two wins away from the title.

"We're very confident tha we can win and we want that silverware."