Bath the prize for an Ospreys win
OSPREYS take on Stade Francais at the Principality Stadium this evening knowing that a home European Challenge Cup semi-final against Bath is the prize on offer for the winners.
The west country men moved into the last four with a rousing 34-20 victory over Brive yesterday thanks to two tries from Wales star Taulupe Faletau and nine points from his international colleague Rhys Priestland.
The Welsh region, who went through their qualifying group with a maximum 30 points out of 30, will be out to book their own progress through the quarterfinal stage by seeing off the French giants in Cardiff (5.45pm).
Star flanker Justin Tipuric, one of several returning Six Nations stars, is under no illusions about the task ahead of them.
“Stade Francais are powerful, big, and full of big names, such as Sergio Parisse and Will Genia,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough game. They’re very good set-piece wise and they’ve got those X-factor backs out wide as well.
“It’s definitely going to be the toughest game we’ve had in the Challenge Cup and we’ll need to make sure we’re on the money.”
Ospreys suffered a shock Guinness Pro12 loss at Treviso last weekend, and head coach Steve Tandy is looking for a reaction tonight.
“This is knockout rugby and what’s happened before this weekend is irrelevant, it’s about the performance we put in on Sunday night,” he said.
Match preview: Sport pullout