Ospreys v Edinburgh: Teams

Edinburgh coach Rob Moffat has insisted the narrow the loss to Leinster has not played a part in his decision to make five changes to his line-up.

The Magners League table-toppers have dropped Chris Paterson, Ben Cairns, Kyle Traynor, Ross Ford and Roddy Grant from the starting XV to play the Ospreys.

Steve Jones, John Houston, Allan Jacobsen, Andrew Kelly and Scott Newlands all come in, and Moffat claims that the changes have come in a bid to give game time to all his squad.

Moffat said: "There have been some tough selection decisions to make and, make no mistake about it the side chosen is not an experimental team.

"We have selected the team we believe can go to the Ospreys and win while also managing the wellbeing of the whole squad.

"You will see very few teams in the Magners League pick the same starting line-up every week and we need to maximise the resources from within our squad.

"As I've said before, the challenges we face this season in the Magners League and Heineken Cup will require contributions from every member of our squad.

"The changes now give other players a chance to show what they can do against quality opposition. They have warranted a chance and now they have to seize that opportunity."

Threat

Ospreys coach Jonathan Humphreys has warned his side to beware of the threat posed by Edinburgh.

"Edinburgh are a side who like to play rugby so we're all looking forward to what should be a good test and an entertaining game for the fans," he said.

"Clearly they are no mugs, they've improved year on year in recent seasons, finished in second place last season and have got off to a bit of a flier this time around. They are top with three wins, and were just one kick away from coming down to us with a 100 per cent record.

"We know all about the threat they possess having seen them score four tries to gain a narrow win the last time they were here.

"As a coaching team, I have to say that we were a lot happier with what we saw from the players in Glasgow last week, it was good to see a bit more of what we've been trying to do coming through, it's pleasing to see it making a difference. The application was better than it's been and the spirit and character of the squad was outstanding, as it has been all along.

"There's still a lot more to come from us though, we know that as coaches and the players are well aware of it. Just as we weren't going to panic after losing a couple of games, we certainly aren't going to get carried away with one.

"We're expecting a real test so we need to step up another level again on Sunday, and the focus this week has been on making sure we get the little things right that will make a huge difference."

Ospreys: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Shane Williams, 13 Tommy Bowe, 12 James Hook, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 1 Duncan Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 3 Cai Griffiths, 4 Alun-wyn Jones, 5 Jonathan Thomas, 6 Tom Smith, 7 Marty Holah, 8 Ryan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Craig Mitchell, 18 Ian Evans, 19 Jerry Collins, 20 Jamie Nutbrown, 21 Gareth Owen, 22 Andrew Bishop

Edinburgh: 15 Steve Jones, 14 Mark Robertson, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 John Houston, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Mike Blair (c), 8 Allister Hogg , 7 Alan MacDonald, 6 Scott Newlands, 5 Scott MacLeod, 4 Craig Hamilton, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Andrew Kelly, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Steven Turnbull, 19 Roddy Grant, 20 Greig Laidlaw, 21 David Blair, 22 Ben Cairns.