Ospreys v Ulster: Teams

Ospreys' Jonathan Thomas returns to action after an absence of seven months for their Magners League match against Ulster on Saturday.

Thomas, who was sidelined by a groin injury, is joined among the replacements by British & Irish Lion Tommy Bowe, who will make his first appearance of the season if he comes off the bench.

Sonny Parker comes into the squad to replace Jonathan Spratt, who has shown signs of fatigue in training this week and has been rested.

He is expected to train as normal over the coming week and will be available for selection next weekend.

"We're pretty satisfied with the result in Connacht last week, to come away from what is a difficult place with a win," coach Jonathan Humphreys said.

"It could have been far worse, there were some surprising results in the first week. It was our intention to get off to a positive start and we did that.

"There's still a lot for us to work on, which is quite pleasing really, we don't want to be hitting the ground at 100 per cent, we are building into it and as the season progresses we'll pick up the percentages as we go."

O'Donoghue in for Ulster

Meanwhile, Ed O'Donoghue steps into Ulster's pack for Ryan Caldwell, who suffered an injury received in last weekend's game.

Clinton Schifcofske replaces an injured Bryn Cunningham at full-back, while Daren Cave partners Ian Whitten in the centre.

New signing Tamaiti Horua starts his first match on the bench. Chris Henry will once again captain the Ulster side in Rory Best's absence.

Ospreys: 15 Barry Davies, 14 Jonny Vaughton, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones ©, 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Andy Lloyd, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Cai Griffiths, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett 17 Duncan Jones 18 Jonathan Thomas 19 Tom Smith 20 Jamie Nutbrown 21 Dan Biggar 22 Tommy Bowe.

Ulster: 15 Clinton Schifcofske, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Chris Henry, 5 Ed O'Donoghue, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Brendon Botha, 2 Andy Kyriacou, 1 Bryan Young.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Declan Fitzpatrick, 18 Tamaiti Horua, 19 Thomas Anderson, 20 Cillian Willis, 21 Niall O'Connor, 22 Jonny Shiels.