Ospreys revved up for Benetton clash
THE Ospreys ring the changes for the Guinness PRO14 encounter against Benetton tonight, with coach Allen Clarke recalling 10 Wales internationals after the region’s misadventure in Cork.
In all, the Northern Irishman has made 11 changes from the side that crashed 49-13 to Munster at Irish Independent Park.
Dan Evans, George North, Owen Watkin and Aled Davies return in the backs, with Nicky Smith, Scott Otten, Bradley Davies, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, James King and Justin Tipuric strengthening the forwards.
All of those have played Test rugby bar Otten, bringing with them 443 caps worth of international experience. Just Joe Thomas, Luke Morgan, Sam Davies and Tom Botha survive from the team who started against Munster.
The scale of the defeat in Ireland prompted much criticism, but the Ospreys believe their strategy of promoting player welfare, developing younger players and targeting matches has merit.
Coach Allen Clarke says: “If you have a brand new car you can look after it and get 20,000 miles a year out of it for the next five years, or you can get 100,000 miles out of it in the first year and the engine blows.
“You can’t replace the engine on a player.”
And lock Bradley Davies backed his coach, saying: “The reason I came back to Wales from England a couple of years ago was the prospect of being looked after. That was the big draw.
“I played two years in Wasps and loved the club. They’re fantastic, but it was relentless, week after week. People just see the weekend’s games without realising what you do in the week.
“You train hard and play hard,
LIBERTY STADIUM OSPREYS v BENETTON
and it catches up with you.
“A good coach can sense that and see when he can rest players during a season.”
But the Ospreys can’t afford any slip-ups against Benetton.
The Italians have been the most improved side in the competition over the past couple of years, and ran the Scarlets close in Llanelli last weekend. They will be looking to confirm their progress by upsetting the Ospreys.
Clarke added: “We were disappointed with the result against Munster but the focus this week has been good and we’ve seen an excellent response from the players.
“We’ve been able to move on quickly to prepare for the challenge of a much-improved Benetton Rugby. They are a team who have started this season very positively and will represent a significant challenge.
“It’s important we show a different side to our game, as we want to maintain the momentum we have at the Liberty after two positive performances in the opening weeks.”
D. Evans; G. North, J. Thomas, O. Watkin, L. Morgan; S. Davies, A. Davies; N. Smith, S. Otten, T. Botha, B. Davies, A. W. Jones, D. Lydiate, J. King, J. Tipuric (capt). Reps: I. Phillips, R. Jones, M. Fia, A. Beard, S. Cross, T. Habberfield, J. Hook, C. Allen.
L. Sperandio, T. Benvenuti, M. Zanon, A. Sgarbi (capt), M. Ioane, A. Rizzi, D. Duvenage; C. Traore, L. Bigi, S. Ferrari, A. Zanni, F. Ruzza, S. Negri, M. Barbini, A. Steyn. Replacements: E. Makelara, A. De Marchi, G. Di Stefano, M. Fuser, M. Lazzaroni, E. Gori, I. McKinley, T. Iannone.
Mike Adamson (Sco).
Ospreys: Benetton: Referee: 7.35pm