Williams is back to boost the Ospreys
SCOTT Williams relaunches his season when the Ospreys take on Zebre in tonight’s Guinness PRO14 encounter in Swansea (7.35pm).
The Wales centre stood out in his first two matches for the Liberty Stadium team after switching from the Scarlets, only to suffer a hamstring injury that has left him inactive for close on 12 weeks and caused him to miss a number of important games for region and country.
But the 28-year-old has worked his way back to fitness and is now ready to start building again.
Williams will feel he has ground to make up. Wales are likely to take just three centres to the World Cup and Jonathan Davies will be one of them. Hadleigh Parkes started against Australia and South Africa this autumn and Owen Watkin and Tyler Morgan were Warren Gatland’s midfield picks against Tonga.
His return is undoubtedly is good news for the Ospreys. In the games against Edinburgh and the Cheetahs in September, his experience and organisational skills shone through. Cory Allen has played well in recent times, but it was a blow for Allen Clarke’s side when Williams picked up his injury.
They use Williams alongside Watkin as a reinforced side looks to wipe away the stain of a 52-7 defeat by Leinster in Dublin last weekend.
Clarke fields all six Ospreys players who helped Wales to a 20-11 victory over South Africa, with George North and Watkin featuring behind and Nicky Smith, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric featuring up front.
Tipuric leads the team from No. 8, while Jones becomes the new Ospreys appearance record holder with his 233rd outing for his home region, overhauling Paul James.
Two other Wales men from the autumn, Aled Davies and Luke Morgan, also feature in a side that contains 13 internationals.
Coach Clarke said: “It’s a particularly special occasion for Alun Wyn, who will become the most capped Ospreys player of all time. He reflects what we stand for and as a team we want to make it a memorable night.”
D. Evans; G. North, S. Williams, O. Watkin, L. Morgan; S. Davies, A. Davies; N. Smith, S. Baldwin, T. Botha, A. Beard, A. W. Jones, O. Cracknell, J. Tipuric (capt), S. Cross. Reps: S. Otten, G. Thomas, A. Jeffries, L. Ashley, J. King, H. Morgan, J. Hook, C. Allen.
Ospreys:
E. Padovani; P. Balekana, G. Bisegni, T, Boni, J. Elliott; F. Brummer, G. Palazzani; C. Ah-Nau, M. Ceciliani, E. Bello, D. Sisi, G. Biagi, M. Mbanda, J, Meyer, G. Licata. Reps: L. Luus, D. Rimpelli, G. Zilocchi, A. Tauyavuca, S. Ortis, J. Renton, M. Azzolini, J. Bianchi.
JD Cwengile (SARU)
Zebre: Referee: