Ospreys 'stretched to the limit'
Thu, 01 May 2008 15:36
Five players have been ruled out of the Ospreys team to face Edinburgh in a Magners League encounter at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea, on Friday - with coach Lyn Jones admitting his squad is being "stretched to the limit".
Welsh Gavin Henson underwent keyhole surgery on his damaged ankle ligaments on Wednesday and now faces a 12-week lay-off.
Shane Williams suffered a haematoma against Newport Gwent Dragons last Friday and has failed to recover in time to be considered for this match.
Mike Phillips recently underwent surgery to repair damage to his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments and will be out of action until next season.
Nikki Walker is recovering from a stress fracture of the fibia in the right leg.
Andrew Millward has been ruled out for the season due to a cartilage problem in the right knee and will shortly undergo keyhole surgery.
The coach, Jones, admitted his team's preparations for Friday's game have been "hampered a little" by the number of injuries in the camp.
"It [the injuries] is inevitable when you get to the end of a long campaign," Jones said.
"When you look at the difficult season that our squad has had with so many big games, it comes as no surprise to see players becoming fatigued, especially when the matches continue to come thick and fast.
"Once again, this final week of the season will see our squad stretched to its limit, but it will provide an opportunity for those who maybe haven't played as much rugby recently to step in and show what they can do.
"Edinburgh will present us with a different kind of challenge to what we have been used to seeing at the Liberty Stadium recently.
"We know that they like to play rugby and it is likely to be a more open contest and will prove a huge challenge so we realize that we will have to go some if we are to maintain our record of being the best defensive side in the Magners League this season.
"It's our final home fixture of the season and we'll be looking to sign off at the Liberty Stadium in style in front of supporters who have been fantastic all season long.
"Our stated aim for the closing weeks of the season has been to target the top spot amongst the Welsh sides, and a win on Friday would not only all but guarantee Heineken Cup qualification for next season, but also, could see us rise up to fourth place in the table, overtaking the Scarlets with two away fixtures remaining.
"When you look at how we have been hit by international calls this season, with next weeks Welsh training camp meaning that we would only have been able to select from a full squad for seven of our 18 Magners League fixtures this season - then to finish as the highest placed Welsh region would be an achievement that we could take great satisfaction from as we look forward to a more favourable fixture list next season."
Ospreys:
15 Lee Byrne, 14 Aled Brew, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Johnny Vaughton, 10 James Hook, 9 Justin Marshall, 8 Ryan Jones (captain), 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-wyn Jones, 3 Cai Griffiths, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Adam Jones, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Filo Tiatia, 20 Rhys Webb, 21 Shaun Connor, 22 Jonathan Spratt.
Date: Friday, May 2
Venue: Liberty Stadium, Swansea
Kick-off: 19.10 (18.10 GMT)
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)
Touch judges: James Jones (WRU), Huw David (WRU).
TMO: Tony Rowlands (WRU)
