Chiefs XXIII vs Ospreys

EXETER CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE OSPREYS in the low value cup:

15 Jack Nowell
14 Mark Foster
13 Phil Dollman
12 Bryan Rennie
11 Nic Sestaret
10 Gareth Steenson (capt)
9 Kevin Barrett

1 Ben Moon
2 Simon Alcott
3 John Andress
4 Chris Bentley
5 James Phillips
6 Dave Ewers
7 Ben White
8 Chad Slade

16 Neil Clark
17 Lloyd Fairbrother
18 Ben Rogers
19 Aly Muldowney
20 Charlie Walker-Blair
21 Pat Phibbs
22 Myles Dorrian
23 Josh Tatupu

Good blend of youth and experience there - young Jack Nowell gets a start at fullback, with Lloyd Fairbrother, Ben Rogers and converted winger now backrow Charlie Walker-Blair on the bench; otherwise its a run-out for players that haven't had much gametime thus far

.......and ours to play you.

15 Barry Davies
14 Kristian Phillips
13 Ben John
12 Sonny Parker
11 Eli Walker
10 Matthew Morgan
9 Tom Habberfield
1 Cai Griffiths
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Joe Rees
4 Tom Smith (Capt)
5 Richard Kelly
6 James King
7 Sam Lewis
8 Morgan Allen

Replacements:

16 Mefin Davies
17 Aaron Jarvis
18 Craig Cross
19 Lloyd Peers
20 Ben Thomas
21 Tom Grabham
22 Will Price
23 Ross Jones


Tom Habberfield and Sam Lewis make their Ospreys debuts

Eli Walker, Scott Baldwin, Joe Rees, Richard Kelly and Morgan Allen will all make their first Ospreys starts

Lloyd Peers, Ben Thomas, Tom Grabham, Will Price and Ross Jones will all make their Ospreys debuts if they come off the bench

Thanks, george - would it be fair to say that's a blend of mostly youth and some experience?

Very much so. A few good players were unearthed in last years competition and we played some great rugby so we'll be looking for much the same this year. Keep an eye out for Matthew Morgan if you haven't already seen him in action. Ben John and Eli Walker are young exciting players also.

Also Joe Rees and James King in the pack worth a mention.

Fairly seasoned side by Exeter. Looks like they might be targeting the Cup.

Ospreys will have their work cut out but nice balance of experience and youth in that team I think. Should be a good game I reckon.

I never knew that the LV= cup had the extra prop sub.

Is that the only one outside the Jeff/AP?

France started the whole two props on the bench thing so naturally they have it.

Does SRugby have it? I was under the impression it was for everything below international...Oddly.

Interesting team for the Ospreys, Full back Barrie Williams has been playing very well and was the one who made that sensational break against Munster when we won up there last week.

Kristian Phillips has been dropped for the last couple of week after a couple of poor games so it's a chance for him to put things right, he is very fast but is not at all bothered about defense.

I can't say I know much about Ben john.

Sonny adds some experience as a former Wales international, but he is way down the pecking order at the club now and is probably on his last season before being released.

Left Wing Eli Walker has been sensational for Swansea this season, I saw him for Swansea against Cardiff a few weeks ago and he looks red hot, he got man of the match in that game.

Matthew Morgan everyone knows about, creative, fast, will find any gap in a defense, will be brave and try and tackle but if it's a lock forward or back rower with any momentum, they will run over him.

Dont know too much about Tom Habberfield.

Cai Griffiths has been first choice tight head while Adam Jones is with Wales, 6'2" and 19 stone the guy is massive, though I'm not sure why he is loose head.

I heard about hooker Scott Baldwin last season and is deemed one of hottest prospects coming from our academy. He is 22 I think but he is being held back by being 4th choice at the region and really needs games if he is going to progress.

Joe Rees at tight head is another player that was mentioned last season, we have a habbit of producing quality props at the region and Joe Rees is another example coming off the production line.

I have no idea why Tom Smith is playing Lock forward the guy is only 6'2"! It does seem very odd theyd pick Tom there and James King who is normally a lock at Blindside so I'd take this with a bit of salt, they will probably try them out there early in the game and swap them over later on. Though why tinker in the first place when clearly a 6'2" lock isnt going to work is anyones guess...

Richard Kelly I don't know too much about.

James King has probably been the find of the Ospreys season so far, he has been brilliant and exceeding all expectations. Ospreys fans have been raving about him on their forums.

Sam Lewis Dont know much about him sorry.

Morgan Allen Had a decent game for Swansea against Cardiff a couple of weeks ago, seems to be getting over his drink, drive, crash, lie to police shame. Hopefully this is another step in the right direction.

Ben Rogers comes with an interesting tale. Just 18 yrs old, graduated from Ivybridge College in the summer, and playing for Newton Abbott in NL 3 south-west last season. Went for trials with the Chiefs and Plymouth Albion at the end of last year, and now as the Chief's front-row crisis has struck, he gets his chance off the bench today - good luck, Ben!

The game is on S4C if you can get it, it usual has English commentary option for these games too.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Jack Nowell goes for Exeter, I've heard a lot about him through the age grades but never really seen him play (apart from youtube clips).

Dave Ewers is an interesting one too, (for those who don't know) he is Zimbabwean by birth, he came to England at 14 to live with his grandparents . From what I've seen he is a really big abrasive ball carrier, bags of promise.

Cumbrian, there's a number of regular posters hoping to meet up for the Bath vs Leinster HC game second Sun in Dec - give me a shout if you're interested in hooking up?

Thanks for the invite.

Yeah I could be up for that, let me know the rest of the details and I'll see what I can do.

Will do, fella, bit nearer the time

Well done I missed the match cause I slept through it yesterday evening thanks to having had virtually no sleep the night before due to inconsiderate people next door. Looks like I didn't miss much from an O's fans point of view anyway.

Eli Walker looked very dangerous with ball in hand and was a serious attacking threat all evening, and Matthew Morgan has bags of vision for such a young player. The Os lineout functioned well, while Exe's fell apart, but the Chiefs were totally dominant in the scrum

Asbo - thanks for that. I've heard only positive things about Morgan, he's definitely one to watch for the future.