Pre-season (Clermont vs Ospreys)

Taken from the WRU official web-site. I remember fans of the Rabo showing 'concerns' over OSpreys depth in the new season. If this team is anything to go by then they should have a good season. There are a few names that will not make the first XV and should not get called up to Wales duty.

15 Richard Fussell
14 Tom Grabham
13 Tom Isaacs
12 Jonathan Spratt
11 Ross Jones
10 Matthew Morgan
9 Kahn Fotuali'i

1 Ryan Bevington
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Joe Rees
4 Ian Gough
5 Sam Williams
6 James King
7 Sam Lewis
8 Jonathan Thomas (captain)

Replacements

16 Scott Otten
17 Duncan Jones
18 Aaron Jarvis
19 Lloyd Peers
20 George Stowers
21 Morgan Allen
22 Tom Habberfield
23 Dan Biggar
24 Hanno Dirksen
25 Nathan Edwards
26 Nicky Thomas

Tom Isaacs believes Friday's 'friendly' with Clermont Auvergne is just the kind of challenge his team need ahead of the new campaign.


The reigning RaboDirect PRO12 Champions take on the Heineken Cup semi-finalists on French soil as they look to build on the progress made at this week's training camp in Issoire.
Isaacs, who made 21 appearances for the region last term, has been named at outside centre in a team captained by Jonathan Thomas but missing the Wales internationals who toured Australia earlier in the summer.

The Ospreys could hardly have picked a tougher test for the pre-season opener at the end of a demanding week but the versatile 25-year-old insists it will do him and his team-mates a whole world of good.

"We'll be all the better for this experience. We're working hard through the week and then we've got tough opponents in Clermont Auvergne who we are expecting to come fully loaded," said Isaacs.

"It's a great environment for us to be in for a week. It's an important trip in terms of preparing for the new season and getting the boys switched on. We know that we are going to have to go away as a group to tough places over the course of the season and this is where we do the groundwork to build from.

"We realise that we've got a job to do and it's not just turning up somewhere for a match and then going home. We have to be a strong unit that is prepared well and ready to do the job.

"A week in camp like this allows us to get to know each other better as a group and allows us to focus on that first game that will be with us before we know it. It's a great environment to be in like I said, but we are here to work hard not enjoy the sights.

"Friday night's game will be a really good test for us to see how we are progressing ahead of the new season and we can't wait to pull the shirt on again and get out there."

Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy has selected a mix of youth and experience in a 26-man matchday squad, with Ian Gough, Kahn Fotuali'i and Richard Fussell included in the starting line up alongside the likes of fledgling wingers Tom Grabham and Ross Jones and second row Sam Williams.

Dan Biggar and Hanno Dirksen are named among the replacements, while new signing Jonathan Spratt marks his return to the club with a place at inside centre.

"This is a big test for this group of players," said Tandy.

"Clermont have a very strong squad and are ahead of us in term of preparation for the new season so we know we're up against it. But as a coaching group it's going to be interesting for us to assess how they react.

"We'vegot a good mix in the team, which makes for an exciting selection. There are older heads who can provide the know-how and guidance to some young players who are keen to impress, and we're looking forward to it."

This is a huge test, especially as it is a first game back. CA have been in pre season a little longer than the O's so should mount a serious test for us.

Not a bad looking backline. I'd have switched Ross Jones and Fussell around though. Even if Tandy is trying to ease Jones in by keeping him away from the pressures of fullback against a side like Clermont, Fussell isn't an alternative that brims me with confidence.

On the other hand, not a promising back row at all. The sight of JT starting at 8 always makes me flinch.

I agree mate

Looks like a trial game with different teams each half.

JT, Stowers and King make a good enough 2nd choice back-row in my opinion. Without Tips it does seem a very ineffective unit though.

Latest:

2mins: 0-3 Morgan (P)

4mins: 7-3 Cudmore (T) Parra (C)

6mins: 7-8 Fotuali'i (T)

13mins: Fotuali'i Yellow Card

17 mins: 14-8 Sivivatu (T) Parra (C)

20 mins: 14-11 Morgan (P)

24 mins: 21-11 Sivivatu (T) Parra (C)

30 mins: 28-11 Chouly T Parra (C)

HALF-TIME: ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE 28 OSPREYS 11

47mins: 35-11 Nakaitaci (T) James (C)

50mins: Hines Yellow Card

53mins: 35-18 Ross Jones (T) Morgan (C)

58mins: 42-18 Cabello (T) James (C)

60mins: Spratt Yellow Card

61mins: 49-18 Nakaitaci (T) James (C)

79mins: 49-25 Morgan (T&C)

FULL-TIME: ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE 49 OSPREYS 25

Clermont team?

Morgannwg wrote:Clermont team?

On Clermonts Website, front page...

L'Equipe pour l’ASM Clermont Auvergne
1.Debaty, 2.Kayser, 3.Kotze, 4.Cudmore, 5.Pierre, 6.Lapandry, 7.Bardy, 8.Chouly, 9.Parra, 10.Skrela, 11.Buttin, 12.Stanley, 13.Fofana, 14. Sivivatu, 15.Byrne.

Remplaçants tous entrés en jeu : Cabello, Chaume, Zirakashvili, Jacquet, Hines, Vermeulen, Kolelishvili, Radosavljevic, James, Bennett, Nakaitaci, Floch.

ASM Clermont Auvergne 49-25 Ospreys
Fri 10th Aug 12 KO : 20:00

ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE

SCORERS
T - Cudmore, Sivivatu (2), Chouly, Nakaitaci (2) Cabello
C - Parra (4), James 3


OSPREYS

SCORERS
T - Fotuali'i, Ross Jones, Morgan
C - Morgan (2)
P - Morgan (2)

10 August 2012, 09:57 pm ::Match Report By Ospreys Rugby


The Ospreys were defeated in their opening pre-season fixture, an unfamiliar mix of youth and experience going down to a full strength Clermont Auvergne team in the Issoire heat. It was a difficult night for the Ospreys, still three weeks away from their opening PRO12 fixture of the new season and up against a team packed full of quality that begins their Top 14 campaign in just seven days with a trip to Bayonne.
Nevertheless, Steve Tandy and his coaches will be delighted with the spirit and resolve of their team who stuck to the task on a warm evening and battled hard throughout to ensure that Clermont had to give it everything to secure the win.

The game was quick to catch light, Matthew Morgan giving the Ospreys an early lead with a second minute penalty only for the hosts to respond immediately, Canadian second row Jamie Cudmore going over for the first try, converted by Morgan Parra.

With barely six minutes on the clock the lead exchanged hands for the third time when Kahn Fotuali'i showed good awareness to tap and go at a penalty on halfway, catching the Clermont defence out cold as he raced away to score. Morgan's missed conversion left the score at 8-7 to the Ospreys.

Fotuali'i incurred the wrath of the referee minutes later though, sent to the sidelines for 10 minutes for what was judged an intentional knock-on as he looked to intercept.

With the Ospreys down to 14 their opponents took full advantage, All Blacks legend Sitiveni Sivivatu going over for his first try, Parra again converting. Morgan kept his team in touch with his second penalty, but the Sivivatu/Parra combination was able to stretch the lead to 21-11 with 24 minutes on the clock.

Number eight Damien Chouly grabbed his team's fourth try on the half hour, Parra again making no mistake, his fourth conversion ensuring Clermont went in 17 points clear at the break.

HALF-TIME: ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE 28 OSPREYS 11

Trailing at the break, the Ospreys would have been looking to get the first score of the second half but it was the home team who looked the most threatening and they duly grabbed the next score, young Fijian wing Noa Nakaitaci coming off the bench to score, fellow replacement Brock James converting.

Scotland second row Nathan Hines was then yellow carded for not rolling away, his presence at a ruck interfering with Fotuali'i's attempts to get the ball away, and the Ospreys were able to make their extra man count as Ross Jones went over for a score after a well worked move from a scrum, Morgan converting.

Back came ASM though, and replacement hooker Benoit Cabello crashed over for his team's sixth try, James again converting, before Jonathan Spratt became the third play of the night and the second Osprey to be yellow carded, this time for hands in the ruck with an hour gone.

Within a minute Clermont had crossed the line again, Nakaitaci's second and James' third conversion taking it to 49-18.

The Ospreys refused to crumble though and with Tandy using the bench to give valuable experience to some of the youngsters in the travelling squad they showed great pride in the jersey to prevent any further scoring from the French side. Centre Nathan Edwards showed up well off the bench as did second row Lloyd Peers, while 18-year old hooker Scott Otten also enjoyed his run-out.

As the clock ticked down the Ospreys laid siege to the Clermont line and duly got their reward after a prolonged spell of pressure, Morgan's show and go 10m out giving him the time and space to go over in the final minute, the youngster picking himself up to add the conversion.

FULL-TIME: ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE 49 OSPREYS 25

Byrne will certainly have enjoyed that resounding win.

Not a bad result for the Ospreys. That Clermon team is only a couple of players away from their best 15, they are also further along in their pre season.

Hi Sam,

I think the Top 14 starts next weekend?

I would love to see highlights of the game but can't find any.

I don't think any of the regions fans were too despondent about their teams losing performances this weekend as it seemed to be very experimental sides we were selecting.

Three tries on a first warm up game of the season is good. Would be far more concerned if we hadn't scored or if heads dropped in the second half.

Agreed. Highlights don't seem to be that available for pre season games it seems. Shame but I suppose the cost of sending cameras to the games isn't really worth it if they can't find a tv channel to pay for the footage.

Morgan seems to be developing nicely, will he be playing a bigger role in the first team this season?

Still,sounds like a pretty resounding win by Clermont. I rate them as the top French team (or joint top with Toulouse).

How did Lee Byrne go? He was almost back to his best lasdt season.

Morgannwg it was always going to be a resounding win. Clermont have now finished their pre season and are about to start their T14 campaign, they had nearly a first team out and were looking to fine tune. The Ospreys had an experimental team out in their first friendly of pre season and were just looking to blow the rust off. No worries on that front for your boys.

In that perspective Sam it's not a bad result.

We put three tries past a team that we struggle to beat away with our first choice, and we selected far from a first choice team.

Highlights are on ospreys website

Cheers SD

The Ospreys managed to cling on to their seven point lead and will take a well-deserved 35-28 victory into the forthcoming campaign.

http://www.ospreysrugby.com/news/5503.php

Hey Maes, that's the U18s? But seeing as you mentioned it I was looking for this the other day to see how Blues got on. It took longer than expect for the site to be updated: http://www.cardiffblues.com/news/5934.php

If you can keep us updated elsewhere on the U18s and U20s (perhaps on my other thread) it would be appreciated!