Friday 19 September 2014 15:25, UK
Guinness PRO12 leaders the Ospreys aim to maintain their perfect start to the campaign on Sunday when they host Edinburgh at the Liberty Stadium.
After thrashing Treviso 44-13 on the opening weekend Ospreys held out to claim a 17-15 victory at Newport Gwent Dragons last weekend, and their opponents this week understand tight affairs.
In their season curtain-raiser Edinburgh beat Munster 14-13 at Thomond Park but were on the losing end of the same scoreline at home last time out, with Connacht the winners at Murrayfield.
Edinburgh’s victory over Munster was the lone success of their last seven outings and a win on Sunday would see them claim back-to-back away triumphs for the first time since 2009.
However, Ospreys have won their last four games at Liberty Stadium since Munster were the visitors in February and the last four encounters between the sides have gone the way of the hosts.
Nine points from their opening two matches sees Ospreys top the PRO12 table, a point clear of Glasgow, Connacht and Ulster, but winger Jeff Hassler insists they can ill-afford to take their foot off the pedal.
“Going into the season some people clearly didn’t expect us to go two wins from two, that much was pretty obvious,” Hassler told the club’s official website.
“We’ve picked up some good new players over the summer, some of the younger boys have stepped up, and it’s gone pretty well I think.
“Not everything’s perfect, but we are happy with the start we’ve had and are looking to improve again going into Edinburgh.”
Ahead of Edinburgh’s arrival, Ospreys coach Steve Tandy has made three changes to his starting line-up.
Two of those switches come in the back as Jonathan Spratt dons the No 13 jersey in place of Andrew Bishop, while Hanno Dirksen takes Eli Walker’s place on the left wing.
Up front, flanker James King joins Wales international Justin Tipuric and Dan Baker in the back row, with Joe Bearman left out of the matchday squad.
For Edinburgh, Nick McLennan moves from left to right wing to accommodate for the return of Scotland international Tim Visser.
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne also comes into the starting XV at scrum-half, while James Hilterbrand and W P Nel graduate from the bench to hooker and tighthead respectively.
Head coach Alan Solomons told the club’s official website: "Playing the league leaders away from home is a huge challenge. The Ospreys are pretty much at full strength, with Alun Wyn Jones at the helm and Justin Tipuric returning from injury.
"It will be a real test for us but at the same time a great opportunity for the players selected.”
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb; 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Scott Baldwin, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (capt), 5 Rynier Bernardo, 6 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric, 8 Dan Baker
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Tyler Ardron, 20 Morgan Allen, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Tom Grabham
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Nick McLennan, 13 Phil Burleigh, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne; 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 James Hilterbrand, 3 WP Nel, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 5 Anton Bresler, 6 Mike Coman (capt), 7 Hamish Watson, 8 Cornell du Preez
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 John Andress, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tomas Leonardi, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Sam Beard, 23 Greig Tonks
