The Ospreys suffered injuries to Gareth Thomas (knee) and Gheorghe Gajion (ankle) during their Heineken Champions Cup defeat to Racing 92, on top of having three other props sidelined. The loan deal is for the remainder of the season and the pair have linked up with the Ospreys squad ahead of their match in Paris this weekend.
“We have been running pretty light on props and front row cover since the start of the season and unfortunately we took another couple of knocks against Racing 92,” said Ospreys forwards coach Carl Hogg. “We’ve been very fortunate to pull in two players from the Scarlets and we’re very grateful to them to have Simon and Rhys over the next few weeks.
“It’s been well documented we’ve had players away and an injury crisis which hasn’t been seen before. It’s one of those situations where it gives these players an opportunity to come into our environment and put their hands up.
“They will be involved in Paris on Friday.” The Ospreys face Racing in their Champions Cup rematch on Friday. The two sides met at the Liberty Stadium last Saturday with Racing emerging 40-19 winners.
Wales centre Owen Watkin suffered a knee injury in the first half of that game and was forced off. He won’t play against Racing this weekend. On the latest on Watkin – who played for Wales at the recent Rugby World Cup in Japan – Hogg added: “He’s out and he has a scan this week. Once we get the scans back we’ll make an assessment and then a plan off the back of that.”
