GPro 12 - Zebre V Ospreys No Dan Baker or Rhys Webb

Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy has opted to bench in-form scrum-half Rhys Webb for Friday's PRO12 game against Zebre at Stadio XXV Aprile.



Martin Roberts will start in his place alongside Dan Biggar while Jonathan Spratt and Hanno Dirksen have replaced Andrew Bishop and Eli Walker.


Up front, Lloyd Peers will start alongside Rynier Bernardo in the second-row as Alun-Wyn Jones takes a spot on the bench, with Justin Tipuric and Dan Baker not included in the matchday 23.


"This is another test for us, another 80 minutes where we will find out a lot about the character of this squad. It was a good result in Munster and the attitude and desire displayed was first class. However, it wasn't all good, and after the match there was a realisation that ill discipline could have lost us that game," said head coach Tandy.


"There's been a lot of hard work and some home truths spoken this week, to make sure everyone realises where we need to improve going into this game. In fairness to the group, they are well aware of the need to keep striving for improvement and there is a good attitude in the squad. If we can harness that, keep working hard as a collective, then the squad can continue improving week on week.


"Zebre will be in a good place after their win over Ulster. Having suffered there at the end of last season we know what they are all about and that result didn't come as a surprise to us. We know that the start we've had means nothing when the boys cross the white line on Friday night. We're expecting a tough, physical contest, and they have some extremely dangerous players so if we aren't focused on the job in hand they will cause real damage.


"It'll be another fantastic experience for the youngsters in the team, another environment to challenge them, and we're going there with feet planted firmly on the ground."


The Ospreys' last PRO12 defeat came against Zebre on May 1 at this very venue and with the Italian side entering on the back of beating Ulster, they will be confident of an upset win.


They are boosted by the return from injury of Marco Bortolami, who captains the team in place of the benched Quintin Geldenhuys. Otherwise the forward pack is unchanged.


In the backline, Gonzalo Garcia replaces Kelly Haimona at inside centre while Edoardo Padovani makes way for experienced Italy international Luciano Orquera at number ten.


Form: Zebre ended a run of four successive Guinness PRO12 defeats with their 13-6 win at home to Ulster on Saturday. Zebre have lost only once at Stadio XXV Aprile in their last six matches: 26-41 to Cardiff Blues in round 1 this season. Top of the table Ospreys have won their last five PRO12 matches since Zebre beat them in Parma on 1st May. Ospreys have won only once outside Wales in any tournament over the last twelve months: 19-14 against Munster in Limerick last weekend. Ospreys have won three of the last four encounters with Zebre but have only outscored them by nine tries to eight on aggregate in those fixtures.

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Hendrik Daniller, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Guglielmo Palazzani, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Filippo Cristiano, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 5 Marco Bortolami (capt), 4 George Biagi, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Andrea Manici, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Luciano Leibson, 19 Quintin Geldenhuys, 20 Valerio Bernabò, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Kelly Haimona, 23 Mirco Bergamasco.


Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Jonathan Spratt (capt), 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 James King, 6 Joe Bearman, 5 Rynier Bernardo, 4 Lloyd Peers, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Cai Griffiths, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Andrew Bishop.


Date: Friday, October 3
Kick-off: 20:35 local (19:35 BST)
Venue: Stadio XXV Aprile
Referee: Lloyd Linton (SRU, 4th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Elia Rizzo, Carlo Damasco (both FIR)
Citing Commissioner: Stefano Roscini (FIR)

I don't understand why Spratt is captain, never seen him as inspirational, only dependable. Like I said elsewhere I think Ospreys pack are playing very smart, so the team should come away with 5 points. Squad depth looking a bit thin though... And Peers, who even offers a lock that can't go forward a contract?

With Alyn Wyn Jones,Sam Lewis, Rhys Webb and Andrew Bishop on the bench, I think the Ospreys are hedging their bets with this one, if they can get a result with the 15 they have starting, then great, if things are looking iffy, like it was for Ulster last week, at least they have some decent replacements to bring on.

Dan Biggar sure plays a lot of games, I dont want to jinx him but he seems pretty good at staying fit

No TMO? Have they given up with them in Italy?

Well not a bad thing i guess.

A risk (one eye on the blues game) but the rested players have played every game so far, bar AWJ. Able replacements tho in Roberts,Allen and Peers Saint!

This game has bananna skin written all over it, I hope the Ospreys are focused and stick to the basics well.Marco Bortolami is back for this game, and he is one of the better players in Italy, so they will have to be on their guard.

They have the strength and experience to come off the bench if things aren't going as planned.

Of the players on the bench, only AWJ and Webb could make a difference.

IronMike wrote:Dan Biggar sure plays a lot of games, I dont want to jinx him but he seems pretty good at staying fit

You jinx.

Cripes, horrible head clash for Biggar.

This will be a good indication of how concussions are treated in the Pro12 after some fairly scandalous examples in other leagues, particularly the Top14.

I thought Baker was on bench as well, should read it properly lol, nasty knock to Biggar early on.

IronMike wrote:Dan Biggar sure plays a lot of games, I dont want to jinx him but he seems pretty good at staying fit

Jinxed!!!

He seems ok though, they were talking he might come back on at one stage which would have been dull but have I missed the rule changes on blood replacements etc?

MarcusHalberstram wrote:

IronMike wrote:Dan Biggar sure plays a lot of games, I dont want to jinx him but he seems pretty good at staying fit

Jinxed!!!

Haha Poopie

Not a big win but a win all the same. Considering the oppositions recent form it's not a bad result.

Sitting pretty at the top with all wins is a good start to the season

Zebre have found their tactics, spoil,spoil,spoil, a lot of teams will lose in Italy this season, the Ospreys should take that result and run, also how poor is Martyn's Roberts ? Ospreys missed Biggar when he went off, but they had others to come on, let's not forget, Beck and Tuperic are to come back into that team aswell.

Must say I didn't want Roberts here, extremely petulant, Habberfield is much better, thank god Rhys was on the bench, Alun Wyn awesome as usual, a very tough place to go, extremely pleased to come away with 4 points.

Is Zebre the new Treviso? A really tough team to beat away from home.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Is Zebre the new Treviso? A really tough team to beat away from home.

I think so, very complete team. They were missing Leonard tonight, arguably their best player.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Is Zebre the new Treviso? A really tough team to beat away from home.

At home,they are like watching a boxer who is getting battered but just will not go down, their awkward, they will spoil and they will drag you down to their level, it's teams like this that will show the personality of a team, and whether they can dig deep and get through, like I said earlier, the Ospreys should just take this result and run, not many teams will win at their place this season, Zebre have found their level, and it is not going to pretty watching them this season, good luck to everyone else who hah to go their this season, you will need it.

Zebre have improved but are they really that tough to beat at home?

http://www.pro12rugby.com/matchcentre/15437.php

I knew somebody would bring that game up, but it needs to be put into perspective, the Blues were good that day, but they scored some very fortunate tries, also it was the first game of the season, Zebre have found their rythm now, they know how to upset teams at home, they will spoil, and they will take some scalps at their ground this season, and they seem to be like the French, they do not travel well, but the first game of the season should not really gauge how they will do for the rest of the campaign.