Viadana v Ospreys: Teams
South Africa scrum-half Ricky Januarie is poised to make his debut for the Ospreys in their Heineken Cup tie with Viadana.
Last Updated: 11/12/09 4:31pm
South Africa scrum-half Ricky Januarie is poised to make his debut for the Ospreys in their Heineken Cup tie with Viadana.
Januarie, though, faces a late fitness test - and could start on the bench, with Jamie Nutbrown on standby to start.
James Hook has been ruled out of the match as he is due to be at the birth of his first child, but hooker Huw Bennett is poised to make his 100th Ospreys appearance after being names on the bench.
"We've already said that it's a big couple of months for us and the next two weeks are as crucial as it comes, as back to back games against Viadana present a difficult challenge for us," said coach Jonathan Humphries.
"The outcome of these matches will have a big bearing on how we ultimately fare in the Heineken Cup, and as such, it is important that we prepare properly for these games and get the performance right over the next two Saturdays."
Viadana: 15 W Clare, 14 K Robertson, 13 G Law, 12 S Cox, 11 M Pratichetti, 10 L Johansson, 9 A Brancoli; 1 M Alonso, 2 L Ferraro, 3 I Elosu, 4 S Hohneck, 5 Q Geldenhuys (capt), 6 J Sole, 7 G Krause, 8 G Quinnell.
Replacements: 16 R Santamaria, 17 P Sciamanna, 18 L Redolfini, 19 A Benatti, 20 A Birchall, 21 M Wilson, 22 P Hola, 23 M Sepe.
The Ospreys: 15 Gareth Owen, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Filo Tiatia, 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jerry Collins (c), 5 Jonathan Thomas, 4 Alun-wyn Jones, 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Cai Griffiths, 19 Ian Gough, 20 Tom Smith, 21 Jamie Nutbrown, 22 Jonathan Spratt, 23 Tom Prydie.
