Ospreys ‘home tie’ in Llanelli

THE OSPREYS will lose home advantage for their crunch Boxing Day clash against the Scarlets with the game now set to be played in Llanelli.

Toby Booth’s Ospreys were carded to host their west Wales rivals at the Liberty Stadium for the traditional derby fixture this year, but the venue for the match has been thrown into chaos.

Liberty Stadium owners Swansea City will begin relaying the substandard surface at the ground this week after it fell into a poor state of disrepair.

It means the Ospreys – who are tenants at the Liberty – and Scarlets can’t play there on Boxing Day.

TRP understands the Ospreys have looked at other options within the region for the Scarlets game including Neath, Bridgend and Swansea’s St Helen’s – the ground where they now train.

But those venues, plus Bridgend’s Brewery Field, have been deemed unsuitable by Sunset + Vine – the production company used by PRO14 broadcasters Premier Sports – so the game will now be played at Parc y Scarlets.