George North makes his season’s bow for the Ospreys when they take on the Dragons in Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 encounter at Rodney Parade.
The Wales wing has been sidelined since the World Cup after picking up a hamstring injury in the semi-final against South Africa.
The Ospreys will look to the big man to add to their firepower behind the scrum as they strive to recover from the 44-0 humiliation they suffered at the hands of the Scarlets on Boxing Day.
Missing players because of injuries and Test commitments, the Liberty team’s attack has been punchless this season. After nine rounds of matches, they have scored only 11 tries and 108 points, figures bettered by every other side in the league.
They still have 17 players in the casualty room.
But North’s return is a boost and the Ospreys will want him to get involved as often as possible and take them over the gain-line.
Luke Price starts ahead of Marty McKenzie at fly-half, while up front Sam Parry returns after a couple of months on the sidelines because of injury.
The Dragons head into the clash after a solid Christmas that saw them defeat the Scarlets in Newport and push Cardiff Blues all the way at the Arms Park.
They welcome back Leon Brown and Elliot Dee to their starting front row, while Joe Davies is recalled at lock to partner Cory Hill.
Behind, Tom Griffiths returns to figure alongside Tyler Morgan in midfield.
The Gwent team will want to pile on the misery for the visitors but team boss Dean Ryan has handed his players a warning.
“It’s important we keep challenging ourselves to get better and we don’t allow where the Ospreys are and what they are going through to become a focus point,” he said.
“Preparing to play a side that has been pretty seriously wounded from the last game is a new experience for us. We have to get our preparation right to ensure we get into the game in the right shape.
“We have to make sure we are in the right place to not allow them to bounce back against us.”
The visitors will start as underdogs, but attack coach Matt Sherratt is targeting a markedly improved display
“What I’d hope our supporters would see for the rest of the season, starting with the Dragons this weekend, is that there’s a standard Ospreys performance that is very competitive," said Sherratt.
“So at the breakdown, they need to see a really aggressive, passionate Ospreys team who reflect what our supporters want to see in a performance from us – which is a huge level of effort.
“Once one win comes, we can grow our confidence and our game.
“There are some quick fixes in terms of energy and commitment and they’ll be on show this weekend - 100 per cent. Then we have to keep building."
The match is being televised by Premier Sports, kick-off 3pm.
Dragons: W. Talbot-Davies; J. Rosser, T. Morgan, T. Griffiths, A. Hewitt;, S. Davies, R. Williams (capt); B. Harris, E. Dee, L. Brown, J. Davies, C. Hill, A. Wainwright, T. Basham, R. Moriarty.
Subs: R. Hibbard, A. Jarvis, L. Fairbrother, M. Screech, H. Keddie, T. Knoyle, J. Botica, A. Warren.
Ospreys: C. Evans; G. North, T. Thomas-Wheeler, S. Williams, L. Morgan; L. Price, A. Davies; N. Smith, S. Parry, M. Fia, A. Beard, B. Davies, O. Cracknell, J. Tipuric (capt), M. Morris.
Subs: S. Otten, D. Marfo, S. Gardiner, D. Lydiate, S. Cross, S. Venter, M. McKenzie, H. Dirksen.
