Osprey's ready for Benetton challenge
- 1026
The team sees wholesale changes to the squad that beat Scarlets in the West Wales Derby last week.
Morgan Morris will captain the side for the second successive week.
Gareth Thomas starts at loosehead, with Marnus Van Der Merwe lining up at hooker and Rhys Henry completing the front three.
James Fender partners with Rhys Davies at lock. Tristan Davies lines up at six, with Harri Deaves on the other flank and Morgan Morris starting at eight.
Luke Davies lines up at scrum half, with Dan Edwards also getting his first start at 10 following on from his try scoring debut last week. Keiran Williams starts with Luke Scully in the centres.
In the back three, Max Nagy starts at full back, with Luke Morgan and Iestyn Hopkins on the wings.
The bench sees a few young faces, including exciting prospects Harri Houston, Lewis Jones and Morgan Morse.
Owen Williams also returns to action on the bench after returning from injury.
Starting XV:
15. Max Nagy
14. Iestyn Hopkins
13. Luke Scully
12. Keiran Williams
11. Luke Morgan
10. Dan Edwards
9. Luke Davies
1. Gareth Thomas
2. Marnus Van Der Merwe
3. Rhys Henry
4. Rhys Davies
5. James Fender
6. Tristan Davies
7. Harri Deaves
8. Morgan Morris ©
Replacements:
16. Ethan Lewis
17. Garyn Phillips
18. Ben Warren
19. Lewis Jones
20. Morgan Morse
21. Rewan Kruger
22. Owen Williams
23. Harri Houston
First Team Coach, Richard Fussell, said:
“Benetton are a good side at the minute, they’re sitting in sixth in the league and they’ve only lost one game so far this season.
“They’re a big, strong outfit that will be hard to break down. We know the task, but for us it’s about continuing on from our performance last week.”