Ospreys vs Glasgow Warriors this Friday...! Teams Announced

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Ospreys v Glasgow Warriors
The Liberty Stadium

Friday, 14/9/12 7:05PM

Referee: Leo Colgan (IRFU, 7th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Gwyn Morris, Alan Jenkins (both WRU)
Citing Commissioner: Dennis Jones (WRU)
TMO: Nigel Whitehouse (WRU)

Live TV Coverage on both BBCW and BBC ALBA


Ospreys and Glasgow both propping up the bottom of the Rabbo 12 after two rounds and both looking for their first win, and they meet head to head this Friday night.

Ospreys
15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Tom Grabham, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 1 Duncan Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 4 Ian Gough, 5 Ian Evans, 6 George Stowers, 7 Justin Tipuric (Capt), 8 Joe Bearman
REPLACEMENTS
16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Joe Rees, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Andrew Bishop

Glasgow
15. Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Chris Cusiter, 1 Ryan Grant, 2 Dougie Hall, 3 Mike Cusack, 4 Tom Ryder, 5 Al Kellock (Capt)
6 John Barclay, 7 Chris Fusaro, 8 Ryan Wilson
REPLACEMENTS
16 Finlay Gillies, 17 George Hunter, 18 Gordon Reid, 19 James Eddie, 20 Angus Macdonald, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Sean Lamont

Cari wrote:This has been a convincing win from the Weegies. The O's have made it easy for them as well.

+1

V poor game, mainly from the O's to be fair. Glasgow took their chances but created v little for themselves. Much improved from last week, especially their defence.

O's though, ouch, they've gotten worse

Still, v good win for Glasgow

Knackeredknees wrote:

where to now for the O's?

Down the pub probably to drown their sorrows. Ideally they need to go back to the classroom though and learn something!

Biggar I thought was ok first half, I gave him credit for taking the defencive line on when it blitzed, but after that second half it's clear he just goes a few times in the first to make the 'defence worry about him'

He just doesn't seem to react to whats in front of him, whatever he's thinking before the play starts he runs without hesitance!

Dreamer - aye, the O's lost their first three games back in 2007...BUT they had some great players back then...I really hope they can come back from this and get some confidence for the West Wales derby.

Sean Holley doing analysis...! That must put a few smiles on a few fans faces. Can't hear what he's saying...!

dreamer

Do you think Glasgow looked like a team who have started poorly but have been beasted mid week and come out to really prove themselves, they offered little, created little but gave their all at every breakdown!!

that was a very honest and composed interview from AWJ to be fair

He was a standout for the O's tonight when he came on (a blip with the ref aside). I hope the O's get better, just not next week

thebluesmancometh wrote:dreamer

Do you think Glasgow looked like a team who have started poorly but have been beasted mid week and come out to really prove themselves, they offered little, created little but gave their all at every breakdown!!

That's some scoreline for a team that barely had the ball tho, blues - what was the final tackle count? The Weegies worked damned hard for that one

rugbydreamer wrote:that was a very honest and composed interview from AWJ to be fair

He was a standout for the O's tonight when he came on (a blip with the ref aside). I hope the O's get better, just not next week

Didn't have the interview on Alba, but yes he was

Thats what I'm talking about !!!!! Yessss ! Fusaro and DTH brilliant. The Wee Fat Man from Yorkshire -MC- not far behind. Hairsprays were admittedly utter gash. Thank you Matt Taylor for the defensive effort

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

thebluesmancometh wrote:dreamer

Do you think Glasgow looked like a team who have started poorly but have been beasted mid week and come out to really prove themselves, they offered little, created little but gave their all at every breakdown!!

That's some scoreline for a team that barely had the ball tho, blues - what was the final tackle count? The Weegies worked damned hard for that one

it is Asbo but a lot of that was gifted from O's errors.

it was a massive improvement from Glasgow from last week, and they can really build and kick on from this now you'd think.

Oh they did don't get me wrong but where did their 3 tries come from?

Restart run in

Fumbled ball jog in

missed pass lineout leading to 2 really poor tackle attempts.

None were created by themselves in reality, field position given to them, penalties from a bit of a distance etc...

Don't get me wrong that'll loosen Glasgow up now and they'll relax next week where the Ospreys need to do a Glasgow to Scarlets, turn up, put everything on the line and live off Scarlet mistakes, be the first to the loose ball, attack the breakdown etc.

Brute force and will won that for Glasgow, not skill. And IMO thats a great way to win.

Glasgow had a well organised defence were better in the set piece & took their chances.
Os look a team without confidence at the moment. Rhys Webb had a shocker.

WEBB IS Poopie !

The 10,000 season ticket holders picked a good night to stay home and watch it on telly.

The O's are restarting from a realistic position with a budget squad, which is a good thing, but with so many borderline competent pro players, rebuilding is going to take a long, long time.

Ospryes in free fall after 3 straight losses - they need a quick turn around or the chances of a top 4 place will be looking pretty slim early doors.

Half backs were so poor for the Ospreys, Morgan should have been on at half timer or earlier. Badly missing Adam and Ryan Jones to give a platform for the backs, the problem is the backs not only look poor but they are clueless. The way they are going they will be in the Amlin next season!!!

Glasgow won tonight because they played better than Ospreys 'Simples' Ospreys over 80 mins really never threatened Glasgow

The defense and I thought the will to move the ball for Glasgow was so much better and Weir after a couple of mistakes put the ball into a few good areas rather than the predictable pass.

The pack were Vgood and the breakdown was much better.

Onwards and Upwards

Exhibit A) 5 mins on the clock

Exhibit B) 15 points in the lead

Exhibit C) one more try needed for the bonus point

Exhibit D) Awarded a penalty just outside the Ospreys 22

Still cannot believe we kicked for 3 worthless points instead of kicking in the corner for a chance at a bonus point win. Anybody explain why going for the 3 points was the right call?

Manky-Flanker wrote:Exhibit A) 5 mins on the clock

Exhibit B) 15 points in the lead

Exhibit C) one more try needed for the bonus point

Exhibit D) Awarded a penalty just outside the Ospreys 22

Still cannot believe we kicked for 3 worthless points instead of kicking in the corner for a chance at a bonus point win. Anybody explain why going for the 3 points was the right call?

so desperate for the much needed win that they didnt want to risk anything going wrong.

Anyone heard about Cus ? Looked bad !

Unfair to suggest that Glasgow were in any way limited. They came with a game plan, stuck to it, defended very well, had a good set piece and were more creative.

The O's were simply awful. Webb was terrible. It thought Biggar made the best of what he was given. Beck was poor. AWJ made a difference but too little to late. There will need to be a massive improvement next week or the Scarlets will be laughing.

21st - not heard anything but he landed on his arm pretty badly and looked in a fair bit of pain. Really hope he's not too badly hurt.

How big a risk was it though. The kick to corner and resulting lineout would have eaten time off the remaining 5 mins and even then the Ospreys would still have had to score 3 times!!!!

The risk/reward is clearly in their favour

God - how great would it be to have DTH playing for Scotland - with Visser on the other wing !

Fantastic win Glasgow - absolutely delighted to hear the score!!!!

Gutted about Cusiter - he's been looking sharp and really need him for the AIs

Just back in from Murrayfield & this is a lovely surprise. Big congrats to Glasgow

As long: ur blogs are as if Scottish fans or any other fans don't applaud cheer or applaud miss placed kicks or passes?

Ospreys played very badly to put it mildly. Buy come on Glasgow slowed the ball down at nearly every ruck in their 22. I was screaming for someone to put their boot to the player. Maybe that would "persuade" him to move. The reason for the booing for the first try was the blatant block on Dirksen. His fault mind he should have gone through him. If you're going to try and draw the attention of the ref you've got to do it Footie still like Glasgow did.

Ospreys are looking worryingly bad and that's putting it lightly. They're looking akin to the common disaster of a Welsh performance we were unlucky enough to experience in 2007. Webb and Beck have thus far looked like shells of themselves last season. No creativity and barely any intent, much like the rest of the O's backline. Webb's new nickname should be "duuhhhhh" for quite possibly the dullest eff-up I've seen, I doubt we'll see a try as gift-wrapped as that again this season!

Not only the backs who didn't look like they were trying, the forwards took an age to reach every ruck in the first half and just as long to recycle whenever they got the chance. Do they even know what a support runner is? Do they know you're allowed to keep up with the man in possession and you don't have to let him go off on his own and get turned over through sheer isolation? I wouldn't have thought so after tonight.

As Jiffy so eloquently pointed out, their uneagerness butchered countless overlaps and scoring opportunities. Tbh I thought they didn't even look like they wanted to be out there playing or, worse still, didn't know how to play. Literally not a single player leapt out and took command, they looked utterly clueless!

Alarm bells must now be ringing for the rest of the season. As it stands they're down there with Zebre and let's be honest, they deserve nothing less. They've been complete carp so far

I am truly staggered by the start Ospreys have made to the season. I look at the number of internationals playing yesterday and shake my head. With Ospreys in the same HC group as us, I am of course watching the results and reading these threads with interest.

What needs to be done to turn things round?

What must Gatland have thought watching this game? He did seem to have a wry smile on his face maybe it was the thought
'At least I didn't have to pay for this ticket!'

Joking aside Ospreys need Ryan & Adam back for the game against the Scarlets & everyone to up their game big time.

Why all the histeria regarding the O's, in reality they were the better team in in all 3 games (how they lost the first, or 2nd I don't know) but they look a bit rusty, a bit out of sorts and a bit lacking in certain areas but they will get there.

In reality all 3 losses couldve come from the Zebre's, the games were all due to Ospreys mistakes, no opposition offered that much, they took their gifts and worked hard.

The only worrying thing is if they get beat next week then they are on the verge of 0 - 5 and that will worry them, but as soon as they get into their stride they'll be ok.

No doubt that Adam and Ryan will make a difference, they would make a difference to any team. Ospreys front 5 looks weak which is suprising given that they started with 4 seasoned internationals and had a British Lion come on as a replacement.

I think that the biggest problem is the threequarters, they have lost; Hook, Parker, Bowe, Walker and Shane in the last two seasons. Any side would struggle at that. Beck is big strong and has good hands, but he has no pace, so he is too easy for defences to work out. Dirkson is a 13 who can't pass playing on the wing, again very predictable. And the others are not really up to Pro Rugby standards, but some may be in the future.

The Ospreys were allways going to struggle once Cuddy cut his funding, but I think the biggest issue is the coaching. Tandy has no experience at this level and very little at semi-pro level. I thought it was a brave appointment at the time!

Never mind next week they won't be short of motivation!

thebluesmancometh wrote:Why all the histeria regarding the O's, in reality they were the better team in in all 3 games (how they lost the first, or 2nd I don't know) but they look a bit rusty, a bit out of sorts and a bit lacking in certain areas but they will get there.

In reality all 3 losses couldve come from the Zebre's, the games were all due to Ospreys mistakes, no opposition offered that much, they took their gifts and worked hard.

The only worrying thing is if they get beat next week then they are on the verge of 0 - 5 and that will worry them, but as soon as they get into their stride they'll be ok.

Apparently some one boat teflon hand soap and no one has noticed thats what is causing the inability to catch a pass.

bluesmancometh - how can the "better team" lose by 18 points???

Seagultaf wrote:Tandy has no experience at this level and very little at semi-pro level. I thought it was a brave appointment at the time!

Fine line between bravery and stupidity !!
Too often the Welsh regions have made stupid coaching decisions. IMO its the main reason the Ospreys and Blues in particular have been such under achievers.

RDW_Scotland wrote:bluesmancometh - how can the "better team" lose by 18 points???

I agree - I don't think the O's deserved to win any of their three matches hence losing all three -lol.

I'm not saying Ospreys deserved to win, they handed all 3 teams stupid tries, easy points and leads they defended, but in all games by and large they showed they created more, offered more in most areas, but commited the most basic errors to not capitolise.

After watching the game last night, and bear in mind I AM NOT AN O'S FAN, I counted that O's created 9 try scoring opportunity and finished 1, Glasgow created 2 and finished 1, and scored another 2.

Don't get me wrong Glasgow pressure, work rate, breakdown and on a few occasions 'acting' helped force the O's hand, but put into context the O's made the exact same mistakes against all 3 teams playing different styles.

The good news is that the O's problems are made by their own hand, and by that they are very fixable, as soon as the O's get to the races they'll be fine.

The Ospreys often start badly and pull it together at the end. We are missing Ryan and Adam.

But they are not looking like a team, too many individual decisions, too many silly mistakes.

That a side the Referee was very poor.

Webb got some slack from posters last night, but Khan did no better. I would persist with Webb and hope young Habberfield gets fit soon.

We look so weak at full back though. Fussell is not Regional standard, he was never a good buy, he is an even worse fullback.

Last night we took Fussell on and brought on Morgan...! We can't fight clubs the size of the ones in our HEC group with decisions like that.

I'm getting worried.

I'm afraid Tandy might be out of his depth, i hope i'm wrong

maestegmafia wrote:The Ospreys often start badly and pull it together at the end. We are missing Ryan and Adam.

But they are not looking like a team, too many individual decisions, too many silly mistakes.

That a side the Referee was very poor.

Webb got some slack from posters last night, but Khan did no better. I would persist with Webb and hope young Habberfield gets fit soon.

We look so weak at full back though. Fussell is not Regional standard, he was never a good buy, he is an even worse fullback.

Last night we took Fussell on and brought on Morgan...! We can't fight clubs the size of the ones in our HEC group with decisions like that.

I'm getting worried.

Why was he, maes? I thought he handled the game pretty well tbh, but would be interested to hear why you thought otherwise? Not a fan of blaming the ref

RDW_Scotland wrote:bluesmancometh - how can the "better team" lose by 18 points???

Completely mystified - I watched a game in which a superior Glasgow team took their chances (either those they created themselves or those they were gifted) and thus defeated an Ospreys team which looked out of sorts, not desperately creative and not particularly interested.

V concerned about the injuries to Cus and Ryan Grant - both are pivotal to Glasgow's efforts, and with Jon Welsh not likely back till January, the loss of Grant in particular would be devastating

MM
I disagree that Fatuali? didn't make a difference, he looked much sharper, was willing to take more responsability and in general didn't act like a spoilt child. Webb spent most of his game whinging at the ref, wether he was right or wrong doesn't matter, play the game. It was his fumble and stopping of play that handed Glasgow the try, I don't remember the last time I saw a player stop and whine like that!!!

Your right though that bomb kick is Fussels nightmare, he has no guts when the balls in the air, but he does look sharp from deep, On the wing he'd be a decent little asset, at FB he's lost, and to bring on MM for him was a bit ropy, you can't concede any defencive nous if your trailing!!!

thebluesmancometh wrote:MM
I disagree that Fatuali? didn't make a difference, he looked much sharper, was willing to take more responsability and in general didn't act like a spoilt child. Webb spent most of his game whinging at the ref, wether he was right or wrong doesn't matter, play the game. It was his fumble and stopping of play that handed Glasgow the try, I don't remember the last time I saw a player stop and whine like that!!!

Your right though that bomb kick is Fussels nightmare, he has no guts when the balls in the air, but he does look sharp from deep, On the wing he'd be a decent little asset, at FB he's lost, and to bring on MM for him was a bit ropy, you can't concede any defencive nous if your trailing!!!

blues, I think he thought, as I myself initially did, that some Weegie skullduggery had been at work, dislodging the ball from his grasp - but the replay showed he simply fumbled it

Aslong

Have to agree about the ref, he was ok apart from a few poor calls, but on average one of the better performances Ive seen.

Regarding the 'superior' glasgow side. 8 try scoring opportunities to 2 to the Ospreys, missed opportunities, poor calls.

The game was all about Ospreys mistakes and Glasgows hard work, they look like a team that had been beasted and were giving every ounce, but superior is certainly not the right word.

Watching it I thought that he didn't communicate well and thus created a very difficult situation for the teams and captains.

Also that point where he told AW Jones that he would change the captain of the Ospreys team if AWJ continued to ask the referee questions regarding the anomaly that the scrum had become was farcical.

A referee can not change the captain of a team competing. That was clarified by the BBC commentators with Nigel Whitehouse the TMO during the match.

Not an excuse for the loss, the Ospreys as I have said above, were dyre, and need a good kick in the proverbial. But I felt the way the game was adjudicated undermined the occasion.

That said having watched Clancy, a referee I revere, during the ABs vs SA match this morning I thought Clancy had a good game. And that could well have been due to the standard and quality of the players making his life easier than Ospreys did for Mr Colgen last night.

Colgen is an inexperienced referee and it showed.

Please dont think for a second that I thought that Glasgow didnt deserve the win. They were very very much deserved winners.