The Welsh squad for the AI’s and Rhyfel’s best starting selection

Posted on Oct 22, 2012

Discuss this in the forum. Rob Howley has named a 35-man Wales squad to contest the 2012 Dove Men Series at the Millennium Stadium this autumn which includes just one uncapped player and the returning Jamie Roberts.

Howley, Wales’ interim head coach in the absence of Warren Gatland, has selected six players who did not figure in his original 34-man summer tour squad to Australia, including talismanic Blues centre Roberts, with Ospreys tight-head prop Aaron Jarvis the only potential debutant.

Jarvis is one of six props named – only five travelled down under in the summer, which accounts for the larger contingent this time – with fellow Osprey Ryan Bevington and Blues front row Scott Andrews recalled to join incumbents Adam Jones (Ospreys), Gethin Jenkins (Toulon) and Paul James (Bath).

Scarlets pair Rob McCusker (flanker) and Tavis Knoyle (scrum half) both also return to the fold alongside Ospreys fly-half Dan Biggar, whilst Blues flanker Sam Warburton is retained as captain.

Knoyle returns in place of Ospreys scrum half Rhys Webb and Biggar alongside Roberts completes the 15-man backs contingent with Aled Brew (Biarritz Olympique) and Andrew Bishop (Ospreys) the players missing out.

Scarlets prop Rhodri Jones (shoulder), Exeter Chiefs prop Craig Mitchell (bicep) and Dragons back row Dan Lydiate (ankle) were unavailable due to injury.

Wales begin their campaign against Argentina on Saturday, 10 November, before facing Samoa the following Friday evening.

The arrival of New Zealand in Cardiff ahead of their clash with Wales on Saturday, 24 November will coincide with Gatland’s return to the national squad coaching staff.

He re-joins the squad for the clash with the All Blacks and to see them face the Wallabies in the series climax on 1 December, before returning to British & Irish Lions duties and leaving Howley in full charge once again for the 2013 RBS 6 Nations Championship.

"We are really pleased with the strength and depth of the squad with some pleasing individual performances over the last three or four weeks, but we all understand and realize the skill, physicality and intensity will go up over the next five weeks,” said Howley.

“This is one of the reasons we are going back to our training camp in Poland to sharpen minds and bodies.

“Argentina are first up and after the experience they have gained in the Rugby Championship they will be a challenging and tough opponent, but this is a challenge we will look forward too.

“We know how important momentum is going into any series and the bigger picture is the Rugby World Cup draw at the beginning of December and how we perform against the Pumas, Samoa, the All Blacks and the Wallabies will have a direct effect on our seeding in that draw.

“We need a successful November to back up our performances at the RWC in New Zealand and the Six Nations Grand Slam earlier this year and we are determined to achieve it.”

The Wales squad will begin their preparations for the Dove Men Series with a week’s training camp in Spala, Poland, beginning this Sunday, 28 October – the same Olympic training village which they visited prior to the 2011 RWC.

The Welsh squad for the Autumn Internationals announced by Rob Howley today is:

Backs: L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), Liam Williams (Scarlets), A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), G North (Scarlets), H Robinson (Cardiff Blues), A Beck (Ospreys), J Davies (Scarlets), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), S Williams (Scarlets), D Biggar (Ospreys), J Hook (Perpignan), R Priestland (Scarlets), T Knoyle (Scarlets), M Phillips (Bayonne), Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues).

Forwards: S Andrews (Cardiff Blues), R Bevington (Ospreys), P James (Bath), A Jarvis (Ospreys), G Jenkins (Toulon), A Jones (Ospreys), R Hibbard (Ospreys), K Owens (Scarlets), M Rees (Scarlets), B Davies (Cardiff Blues), L Charteris (Perpignan), I Evans (Ospreys), A-W Jones (Ospreys), T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), R Jones (Ospreys), R McCusker (Scarlets), A Shingler (Scarlets), J Tipuric (Ospreys), J Turnbull (Scarlets), S Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt).

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Ospreys “far from perfect” team to play Zebre

Posted on Oct 4, 2012

Ospreys Head Coach, Steve Tandy believes the Ospreys’ win over Munster was a big moment for the region, built on attitude, desire and commitment. He does, however, realise there is still a lot of work to do and the Ospreys are far from perfect.

Tandy said: “This is a big game for us and it’s important that we keep the momentum that we’ve built up over the last couple of weeks going. The whole squad has worked hard and last Saturday you could see clear signs that we are heading in the right direction.

“The win over Munster was about attitude, desire and commitment, typified by the way the team defended in their 22 in the closing minutes, they weren’t content to just sit back with the game won. We can’t get carried away though, we realise that we aren’t perfect and we’ve still got a lot of work to do, there’s plenty to put right.

“It’s the first time for us to play Zebre but as a group we are all well aware of the threat they’ll pose. We’ve struggled in Italy before, not least the defeat to Treviso at the start of this season so we know that we will have to approach the game just like we did the Scarlets and Munster matches and be at our very best, before coming home to kick-off Europe against Treviso at the Liberty Stadium the following Friday, another very difficult game against a very good team where we’ll need the backing of a big, passionate crowd to help us.”

Forthcoming Fixtures

Fri 12 Oct – 20.00KO – Ospreys v Benetton Treviso – Heineken Cup

Sun 21 Oct – 15.00KO – Leicester Tigers v Ospreys – Heineken Cup

Sat 27 Oct – 14.30KO – Ospreys v Connacht – RaboDirect PRO12

Sun 4 Nov – 16.00KO – Ospreys v Leinster – RaboDirect PRO12

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RUGBY NEWS: Humphreys optimistic about Ospreys future

Posted on Aug 30, 2012

Ospreys forwards Coach, Jonathan Humphreys, says that the Ospreys are feeling optimistic ahead of their opening clash with Treviso.

The strong core of players, with experienced internationals and Lions and Grand Slam winners together with a tranche of new, young players coming through would be enough to make any coach purr, but Humphreys edges his confidence with caution:

“Treviso is a tough place to go at any time, but to make the trip on the opening weekend of the season is particularly tough. They are a good team who as we’ve seen in their two seasons in the PRO12 are a match for anyone, and they’ve recruited well over the summer so will be confident going into the game.

“As always, our focus in training as been on what we can bring to the table, on our preparation, attention to detail, and the need to be clinical. Like every year there’s a sense of optimism at the start of the season but it’s one that I think this year is a little bit different. We’ve got over 9,000 season ticket holders signed up and eagerly awaiting the first home game against Ulster next weekend, and we’ve seen how the community has got behind the cause at events like the kit launch. It’s clear there is a real buzz about the place.

“We are all about development from within and this weekend sees Tom Grabham as the latest local youngster to graduate into the senior squad. He is someone who will be looking to take his opportunity just as the likes of Hanno, James King and Ashley Beck did last season.

“It’s going to be a difficult evening. It will be warm and we’ll be up against tough opponents desperate to start on a high in front of their own fans. It’ll be a test of character for us but we are really looking forward to getting back into it.”

 

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Wales team vs Barbarians

Posted on May 30, 2012

Wales will field three debutants and remain on course to award a 100th cap to veteran flanker Martyn Williams, when they face the Barbarians in the Test match, powered by Under Armour, at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, 2 June (Kick-off 2.00pm).

Blues wing Harry Robinson and Scarlets pair, full back Liam Williams and prop Rhodri Jones, will all make their first appearance in Wales colours.

Scarlets hooker Matthew Rees will make his ninth appearance as captain in a side which also features a return to the international set-up for Ospreys backs Andrew Bishop (centre) and Dan Biggar for the first time since before the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

“The Ospreys have been in a rich vein of form and their victory over Leinster last weekend to take the RaboDirect PRO12 title was a boost for the whole of Welsh rugby,” said Wales caretaker head coach Rob Howley.

“Dan and Andrew have been playing particularly well and we are looking forward to seeing both players in a Welsh shirt again.

“We have picked a side on form, with an eye on bringing players through for the future, but very much with the intention of getting the summer campaign off to a winning start.”

Elsewhere the Ospreys also provide both locks in Ian Evans and Alun Wyn Jones and most of the back row with Ryan Jones (No 8) and Justin Tipuric packing down alongside Scarlets blindside flanker Josh Turnbull.

Saracens prop Rhys Gill joins Rees and Jones in the front row to complete the pack.

In the backs Bishop is joined in the centre by his former club-mate, Perpignan’s James Hook, while Blues scrum half Lloyd Williams teams up with Biggar and Dragons wing Aled Brew completes the line-up.

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Leinster and Ospreys meet in Rabo Direct Final

Posted on May 14, 2012

Leinster have reached their third successive RaboDirect PRO12 Final and will have home advantage over the 2010 champions, the Ospreys, at the RDS, Dublin, on Sunday, 27 May (kick-off 4.00pm).

Their 19-15 home semi-final win over Glasgow Warriors not only earned them a ticket into the Final, but also guaranteed them home advantage after they finished as the No1 seed from the regular season.

The Ospreys beat reigning champions Munster 45-10 at the Liberty Stadium on Friday night to book their ticket into their second Final in three seasons. They were champions in 2010, beating Leinster at the RDS, and semi-finalists last season.

The two teams will be eligible for up to 50% of the tickets in each category and details of sales will be issued by both clubs asap.

RaboDirect PRO12 Final, 2012

Sunday, 27 May – 4.00pm

LEINSTER RUGBY v OSPREYS

RDS, Dublin

Leinster outside half Johnny Sexton was named as the RaboDirect PRO12 Man of the Match against Glasgow after scoring 14 points, but Ospreys No 10 Dan Biggar toped that with a 25 point haul against Munster to pass 300 for the season and 1,000 in his career at the Ospreys.

"The Ospreys were pretty outstanding against Munster and it’s going to be a difficult game". said Jonny Sexton, "They beat us in Dublin two years ago in the final, and they beat us at the RDS this season as well.”

The RaboDirect PRO12 Final will bring down the curtain on one of the great professional careers when Ospreys wing Shane Williams plays his final game for the Welsh region. Williams has already won three titles in this competition, two Grand Slams and been named the IRB World Player of the Year.

He scored a record 58 tries in 87 Tests for Wales and also scored two tries for the British & Irish Lions in four Tests on two tours. He was the RBS 6 Nations Player of the Tournament in 2008.

“It has been great been involved in some small way with Shane’s career and it would be wonderful to send him into retirement with another title. But we know that Leinster are the best team in European rugby and the RDS is one of the toughest places to go and play,” said Biggar.

“It was great to play so well in beating Munster, but you don’t win anything in a semi-final. We are under no illusions as to how hard it is going to be in Dublin and how well we are going to have to play.”

Leinster will be hoping it will be third time lucky in the Final having been beaten 17-12 by the Ospreys in 2010 and going down 19-9 to Munster at Thomond Park last year.