Ospreys relishing Munster challenge

NEATH-SWANSEA OSPREYS coach Lyn Jones has described tomorrow’s Heineken Cup clash with Munster as the biggest in the club’s short history.

The team won’t be finalised until tomorrow morning with Jones waiting to pick 22 from 23 players. The most likely player to be excluded is Stefan Terblanche, the South African winger who is only just making his way back from injury.

The Ospreys coach has no injury worries within that 23-man group and yesterday commented: “We are expecting a tough match but preparations have gone well with two big wins over the Blues and the Scarlets over the Christmas period.

“We are fortunate to be able to pick from virtually a full-strength squad as we will need to be at our best against a fine Munster side. We recognise that we have an opportunity to get a result and it is great to still be in with a chance of qualifying. People are now starting to take us seriously, it has been a lot of hard work but our players know that they are able to compete with sides such as Munster.

“Being the Heineken Cup I expect this will be an even higher intensity fixture than the one a few weeks ago but it is the perfect test if we are to judge where we are.

“There is no doubt that we are competitive in the Celtic League, but fixtures do not get any bigger than Munster at a packed Thomond Park. This is what every player and coach strives for, and we have got it on Saturday.”

NEATH/SWANSEA OSPREYS (From): Backs. A. Durston, S. Terblanche, G. Henson, S. Parker, E. Seveali’s, S. Williams, M. Jones, J. Spice, R. Rees, D. Bishop, Forwards. R. Jones, R. Pugh, J. Bater, B. Cockbain, A. Newman, J. Thomas, A. Lloyd, A. Millward, A. Jones, D. Jones, P. James, R. Hibbard, B. Williams (captain) Ryan Jones Richard Pugh James Bater.

Meanwhile, London Irish managing director Conor O’Shea has pledged that the club would get their Zurich Premiership challenge back on the road after disappointing results over the Christmas and New Year periods.

Successive defeats by Northampton and Worcester have left the club struggling in the league and O’Shea has promised that everything will be done to get the challenge back on track.

O’Shea said: “Our defeats to Northampton and Worcester have left everyone asking questions as to where our season stands.

“If you are from the Roy Keane school of thought nothing I say will alter an opinion. We have to walk the walk on the pitch, not talk it off it! “In that context we have three weeks to get our show back on the road. Our priority must be to get our walking wounded restored to full fitness. The return of Neal Hatley, Rob Hardwick, Mike Catt - who had flu last week, and a fully fit Paul Sackey amongst others, will give us some key players to select from.

“We also have to hope that the injury sustained by Scott Staniforth at Worcester is not as serious as first feared. Certainly going into our next games against Saracens in the Powergen Cup and Leeds and Sale in the Zurich Premiership, we will need a fully fit squad to choose from.

“How you look at our season from here on depends on whether or not you subscribe to ‘the glass is half full or half empty’ school of thought. Half full and we are seven points off the top four and an almost copper-fastened but not guaranteed place in the Heineken Cup, we are also two games - but a long way from a Cup final.

“I am not trying to paint a rosy picture at this stage, because we are a realistic group. We appreciate the vagaries of sport and the competitiveness of the Premiership. Just as we have become a stronger squad this year, so too has everyone else. Our goal is and remains qualifying for the premier European competition, which the last two results have made more difficult but not unattainable.

“We know what is expected of us and the last few weeks have been unacceptable. I won’t try to make excuses or start arguing that there is a fine line between winning and losing games or talking about key moments or luck or refereeing decisions, because for every excuse there is something we as individuals had control over that would have made the outcome a certainty. We could have won both our festive season games had our execution been perfect.”