Ospreys v Dragons: Teams

Jerry Collins will lead out the Ospreys when they welcome Welsh rivals the Dragons to the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

The Ospreys have no fewer than fifteen players unavailable because of international commitments, thus Dai Flanagan will be given a first-team debut at fly-half.

Should he come off the bench, Conor McInerney will make his Magners League bow, while Tom Isaacs could also make his Ospreys debut.

"It's bound to be a tough evening for us, you know what to expect when you face the Dragons," stated forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys.

"They won't be as affected by international calls as us so they will bring a settled team that has been playing together for a period of time, and we are aware of the threats they have throughout the team.

"It's always a challenge for us at this time of the year, coping with the absentees with the various national squads, but that's why we've tried to build a squad that has plenty of depth.

"Aspects of the 23 may have an unfamiliar look to them, but wed expect the attitude and approach of everyone involved to be spot on.

Leach comes in for Dragons

Meanwhile, with Will Harries away with the Welsh team, Pat Leach will start at full-back for Dragons, whilst Nathan Brew returns to make a start on the wing.

The Dragons will be looking for a first-ever victory on Ospreys soil but face a big task having won just once on the road in the Magners League since January 2009.

Ospreys: 15 Gareth Owen, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Richard Fussell, 10 Dai Flanagan, 9 Jamie Nutbrown, 8 Jerry Collins (c), 7 Marty Holah, 6 Tom Smith, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Andy Lloyd, 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Mefin Davies, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Cai Griffiths, 19 Conor McInerney, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Tom Isaacs, 23 Barry Davies,

Dragons: 15 Pat Leach, 14 Adam Hughes, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Nathan Brew, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Andrew Coombs, 5 Rob Sidoli, 4 Luke Charteris (c) 3 Nigel Hall, 2 Steve Jones, 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Tom Willis, 17 Hugh Gustafson, 18 Pat Palmer, 19 Scott Morgan, 20 Robin Sowden-Taylor, 21 Shaun Connor, 22 James Leadbeater, 23 Matthew Jones