Dragons v Ospreys: Teams

Forwards Andrew Coombs and Toby Faletau will feature for the Dragons against the Ospreys in their Magners League Welsh derby at Rodney Parade on Saturday.

The pair put in strong performances during the Dragons 16-3 loss to Connacht last week and have been retained by Paul Turner for this clash.

Meanwhile, Wales duo Luke Charteris and Danny Lydiate have returned to the starting XV after Six Nations duty last week.

Turner said: "We are well aware of the need to keep building for the future and this season we have tried to blood a few of our youngsters.

"Andrew's selection came off the back of some outstanding performances for Newport both in terms of his playing and his leadership and Toby has shown maturity in the way he has played for us this season. Their involvement in tonight's game is testament to the confidence we have in their abilities.

"We were obviously all disappointed with the result in Connacht last week but there were clear weaknesses in our performance which cost us the game.

"Despite that, I can't fault the effort the players put in, although at this level, putting in 100% effort is not enough if you can't keep the errors out of the game. Tonight we'll be focussed on ball retention and being clinical - two of the main failings with our performance last week.

"The Ospreys are one of Europe's on-form teams at the moment. Although they may have players out, the same was said of Munster before they came here and even with several internationals unavailable they were still able to boast a very strong side and the Ospreys will be the same. We need to be at our best to beat them."

Progress

Ospreys supremo Jonathan Humphreys welcomes a host of players back from international duty, although several of his squad are missing through injury.

Influential Ireland winger Tommy Bowe and Wales star Ryan Jones are among those internationals to return as the side aim to bounce back from their 33-17 defeat to Edinburgh at Murrayfield last time.

But several players are out, including Alun Wyn Jones (elbow), Duncan Jones (broken bone in foot) and Barry Davies (groin).

Humphreys is looking for a top performance as his side aim to progress into the knockout stages of the Magners League and Heineken Cup in the coming weeks.

He said: "This weekend's game is the start of a busy period that will shape the season for us. We've got at least seven games to go over as many weeks, but we want to extend that, with as many as four additional games to come if we can progress through the knockout stages of both competitions.

"In particular, the next three weeks promise to be a real test, with Welsh derbies against the Dragons and Scarlets followed by away matches against Biarritz, Ulster and Leinster.

"We know what we have to do during this period, it's a real test, but we're all excited about it. This is what rugby is about at this level, and if you have the ambitions and aspirations that we have here at the Ospreys, to be competing and involved in competitions at the business end, it's a pressure that you have to learn how to cope with.

"We've got our international players back with has increased our options, and it's important that the players coming back are able to switch straight back in to Ospreys mode.

"They've been away from our environment for a while, but we've got a good atmosphere here, a close knit group and they are enjoying being back in the family, so there are no concerns there. They realise they've got to be focussed, switched on and ready for action because there's no room for slip-ups over the next few weeks.

"The Dragons will be a real tough test for us at Rodney Parade, they always are. You've only got to look at their results there so far this season, and the quality of teams who've left there defeated, most notably Munster recently. It's a difficult place to go and get a result, they will be up for it and their crowd will do their best to make life hard for us, but we have to thrive on that, we need to ensure that we are professional, on top of our game, and focused on the job in hand."

Dragons: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Will Harries, 13 Matthew Watkins, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Wayne Evans, 1 Hugh Gustafson, 2 Tom Willis (Capt), 3 Pat Palmer, 4 Rob Sidoli, 5 Luke Charteris, 6 Danny Lydiate, 7 Gavin Thomas, 8 Toby Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Steve Jones, 17 Ben Castle, 18 Andrew Coombs, 19 Hoani Macdonald, 20 Tom Riley, 21 James Arlidge, 22 James Leadbeater.

Ospreys: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 James Hook, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 1 Paul James, 2 Huw Bennett, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Ian Evans, 6 Jerry Collins, 7 Marty Holah, 8 Ryan Jones (Capt).
Replacements:16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Filo Tiatia, 20 Jamie Nutbrown, 21 Sonny Parker, 22 Gareth Owen.