Former Ospreys scrum half Jason Spice returns to the principality with the Tigers after joining the English club as an emergancy halfback.
Jonathan Humphreys, commented: “It promises to be an excellent occasion on Friday night, Leicester Tigers at the Brewery Field, it has all the ingredients for a memorable evening. As someone who is from the Bridgend area, I think it’s fantastic that we’ve taken the game there.
“It’s a District that is a vitally important to the region, with a fantastic track record of player development, and we’ve worked hard over the last few years since they came into our region to make the rugby community there feel a part of what we are trying to do. I think that by playing this game there, we are providing further evidence of our commitment to Bridgend, and it’s great to see that the people of the town have responded positively and we will have a great crowd there.
“The line-ups may be different on Friday, but there’s been a healthy rivalry developed between us and the Tigers over last few seasons, and no matter what players they send out to face us, we know what to expect.
“The LV= Cup campaign is an exciting time for us, with so many players away on international duty then it inevitably opens up opportunities for our younger players.
“We took a pretty youthful team to Newcastle last weekend and they showed real character and spirit to stand up to what was a very difficult challenge.
“To go 13-0 down early on could have seen them drop their heads, but they stuck to the task, fought their way back into the game and very nearly snatched victory, showing the characteristics that we want to see from Ospreys players. No doubt they will be all the better for that experience, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they respond this evening.”
Ospreys 15 Tom Prydie 14 Kristian Phillips 13 Sonny Parker 12 Ashley Beck 11 Richard Fussell 10 Matthew Morgan 9 Rhys Webb; 1 Duncan Jones 2 Mefin Davies (Capt) 3 Craig Mitchell 4 Conor McInerney 5 James Goode 6 James King 7 Justin Tipuric 8 Andy Lloyd
Replacements 16 Richard Hibbard 17 Joe Rees 18 Cai Griffiths 19 Ian Gough 20 Marty Holah 21 Jamie Nutbrown
22 Gareth Owen 23 Barry Davies
Leicester Tigers 15 Alex Lewington 14 Lee Robinson 13 Dan Hipkiss 12 Andy Forsyth 11 Will Hurrell 10 George Ford 9 Jason Spice; 1 Camilo Parilli-Ocampo 2 Rob Hawkins 3 Ryan Bower 4 Calum Green 5 Ben Gulliver 6 Dan Hemingway 7 Tom Armes 8 Ben Pienaar (Capt)
Replacements 16 Joe Duffey 17 Fraser Balmain 18 Peter Bucknall 19 Matt Everard 20 Steve Mafi 21 Sam Harrison 22 Stephen Macaulay 23 Rory Lynn
