Ospreys welcome back young centres Keiran Williams and Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler for the United Rugby Championship encounter with Connacht in Swansea on Saturday (7.35pm kick-off).
Neither player has featured since the clash with the Lions last March.
Injuries have sidelined both, but there’s also hot competition for midfield places at the region with Owen Watkin, Michael Collins, George North and Joe Hawkins on the books, plus up-and-coming Osian Knott.
The Ospreys will be looking for Thomas-Wheeler and the hard-running Williams to make an impact, while they’ll also want a youthful pack, containing the likes of Harri Deaves, Rhys Henry, Huw Sutton and Rhys Davies, to stand firm against opponents who can be relied upon to make it tough.
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth said: “Connacht are a physical side who are efficient at the breakdown, so we have to make sure we deal with the physicality they showed against the Scarlets, Leinster and Munster. It’s a level of physicality that is very challenging so we’re going to have to be ready for that fight.”
At 21, Deaves is a player who’s exciting Booth. “There are a lot of similarities between him and Jac Morgan from a tenacity point of view,” said Booth.
“There’s a lot of energy around him. The challenge for Deavesy is being accurate with that energy, but we’ve seen with his cameos so far — even on the back foot against Sale in Europe last year — how visible he can be. That’s normally the sign of a very talented player.” You can read more about Welsh rugby's new gem here.
The Ospreys are depleted amid Wales calls in injuries. Scott Baldwin leads them from hooker.
Ospreys: Max Nagy; Luke Morgan, Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Jack Walsh, Reuben Morgan Williams; Rhys Henry, Scott Baldwin (capt), Tom Botha, Rhys Davies, Huw Sutton, Ethan Roots, Harri Deaves, Morgan Morris.
Replacements: Sam Parry, Garyn Phillips, Ben Warren, Jack Regan, Tristan Davies, . Matthew Aubrey, Luke Scully, Cai Evans
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