First up is the EDF Energy Cup semi-final with Gloucester in the Ricoh Arena, and the coach said: “Saturday’s game marks the start of a huge month for us as we look to keep alive our involvement in three competitions. It’s going to be a difficult period in terms of rugby, but it’s an exciting time, everything we’ve done as group over the last eight months or so has been geared towards being in contention on three fronts come the end of March, and here we are.
“We welcome back almost a whole team of players who have been away on international duty, and that has certainly made selection for this match interesting. This week has been about reintegrating these players; it’s not an easy task but its something that we have been used to at the Ospreys over the last few seasons. Such is the culture that we have established here, that the players know what is expected of them, they know what the Ospreys mindset is and they are able to deal with a difficult situation very professionally.
“We have fantastic memories of the EDF Energy Cup, it has provided us with two great days out at Twickenham, and importantly, it has put us on the map when it comes to English rugby and the media. We are proud of our status as current holders of the EDF Energy Cup, beating Leicester made a lot of people sit up and take notice. With the tournament coming to an end in its current guise, it would be fantastic if we can go out and make it a hat-trick of Twickenham appearances and bring the trophy back to the Liberty Stadium for keeps.”
15 Gavin Henson
14 Tommy Bowe
13 Sonny Parker
12 Andrew Bishop
11 Shane Williams
10 James Hook
9 Jamie Nutbrown
1 Paul James
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Adam Jones
4 Ian Gough
5 Andy Lloyd
6 Tom Smith
7 Marty Holah
8 Ryan Jones (C)
16 Huw Bennett
17 Cai Griffiths
18 Alun-Wyn Jones
19 Filo Tiatia
20 Mike Phillips
21 Dan Biggar
22 Jonathan Spratt
