Ospreys v Clermont: Teams
Barry Davies has been handed the No.15 shirt as the Ospreys look to bounce back from their agonising draw against Leicester.
Last Updated: 18/10/09 3:26pm
Barry Davies has been handed the No.15 shirt as the Ospreys look to bounce back from their agonising draw against Leicester.
Sean Holley's side welcome Clermont to the Liberty Stadium on the back of seeing the Tigers snatch a 32-32 in the opening round of games.
And with Lee Byrne ruled out, Davies will get his chance to shine along with Duncan Jones, who replaces Paul James.
"Sunday's game gives us a chance to build on the two points we earned up at Leicester last weekend," said head coach Sean Holley.
"The initial reaction to the draw was one of disappointment, we realised that we'd had a clear chance to get a great away win, but looking at it in the cold light of day you realise that it's not such a bad result.
Important
"We haven't perhaps had the credit that we deserve for some aspects of the performance, and for ensuring that, on paper, we have had a better start to the group than we did last year.
"I'd expect the group to go down to the wire, like it did last season, so ultimately, being just a point behind Leicester at this stage could prove to be hugely important."
Clermont have made one key change to their line-up, with Brock James - who has 130 Heineken Cup points to his name - recalled at fly-half.
Meanwhile, the French giants have handed a recall to fly-half Brock James following Brent Russell's outing against Viadana last weekend.
Ospreys: 15 Barry Davies, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Tommy Bowe, 12 James Hook, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (capt), 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Jonathan Thomas, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Cai Griffiths, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Paul James, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 Ian Gough, 20 Filo Tiatia, 21 Jamie Nutbrown, 22 Andrew Bishop, 23 Sonny Parker.
Clermont: 15 Aurélien Rougerie, 14 Benoît Baby, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Seremaïa Bai, 11 Napolini Vonowale Nalaga, 10 Brock James, 9 Kevin Senio, 8 Elvis Vermeulen, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Julien Bonnaire, 5 Thibaut Privat, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Martin Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Lionel Faure.
Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Vincent Debaty, 19 Jason White, 20 Julien Bardy, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Brent Russell, 23 Gavin Williams.