Biggar’s winning battle to be fit for Ulster clash
DAN Biggar looks to be winning his fight to figure for the Ospreys in their crucial Guinness PRO12 encounter with Ulster at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
And Sam Underhill could also be in the mix for the Welsh region’s clash with one of the teams they are vying with for a place in the playoffs.
The pair missed their team’s Judgement Day misadventure against Cardiff Blues at the Principality Stadium as they were working their way through head injury assessments.
But both are expected to be able to declare themselves available for the date in Swansea.
“They are tracking well,” reported assistant coach Chris Gibbes.
“The time since our last game has been good for them and helped their recoveries.
“We’ll just see how they get through training this week with the contact. “Then we’ll see how they go.” The Ospreys could have done with both players as they crashed 35-17 to Cardiff Blues.
Biggar was off limits for that game after taking a nasty crack around the eye area in the 20-18 loss to Leinster.
He has been much maligned this season — an early entry for understatement of the year — but Steve Tandy’s team missed his drive and galvanising spirit against the Blues, albeit that Sam Davies had to operate behind a pack that took a pounding while the game was a contest.
Underhill’s physicality might also have come in handy against opponents who steamed into the Ospreys from the first whistle, winning the collisions and achieving a stream of turnovers.
If he features in the squad against Ulster it will be a special occasion for him as it will be the last time he features for the Ospreys at the Liberty before his move to Bath in the summer.
Still only 20, he has had a terrific two seasons for Steve Tandy’s team, showing a maturity beyond his years and a willingness to not just compete on equal terms with more seasoned forwards, but in many cases impose himself on them physically.
The Ospreys are continuing to monitor their captain Alun Wyn Jones, though as of Tuesday he had yet to resume contact work as he continues to recover from the shoulder injury he picked up against France in the Six Nations.
Tandy’s team are locked in a fourway fight with Ulster, the Scarlets and Glasgow for the two remaining play-off places on offer, though the Scots’ chances are roughly in Elvisturning-up-aboard-Shergar territory.
Victory by five clear match points would deliver the Ospreys a spot in the knock-out games regardless of the outcome of their final game of the regular campaign, against the Scarlets.