James Tells Young Ospreys to take their chance against Leinster

"More importantly for the individual players, if we can get the performance right, then some of the boys who have been given an opportunity can find themselves in contention for a place in the team when we play Gloucester in the EDF Energy Cup semi-final. It's a real opportunity for someone to step up and show what they are capable of."

Topping the all-time Ospreys appearance list with 116 going into Friday's game, James is almost at the veteran stage despite still being only in his mid-twenties, and he says that the role of mentor sits comfortably with him:

"It's a bit strange to be talked about as a veteran as I'm still young for a prop really, but I've played plenty of games and have been around since the very first days of the Ospreys so I suppose that I am one of the senior guys in the camp, particularly when so many are away on international duty. I'm just enjoying playing for my home region and honoured to be able to lead the team as captain, but to be honest, there are still a few senior guys around the camp, the likes of Sonny, Filo, Marty, Jamie Nutbrown and now Filipo Levi as well, and in games like this it's up to the older players to lead by example. It's not about one person as captain leading the team, we all have to take responsibility.

"We've done a lot of work off the field this season on things like values and leadership skills, encouraging individuals to take more responsibility and I think that it's having a positive effect throughout the squad. If you get the little things right off the field then it can make a big difference on it and we are definitely moving forward this season. We are in contention in all three competitions with just a couple of months to go, so it's an exciting time to be an Osprey. Hopefully we'll get a good crowd on Friday night and they'll be up for the challenge as well. We certainly appreciate their fantastic support, they've been great all season long and we want that to continue. We are all Ospreys, we're all in this together, and if we are going to achieve our aims then we all have to give it our best, starting on Friday."