Corry back for Tigers for EDF Final
The Tigers Captain sat out the victory at Sale Sharks in the Guinness Premiership on Good Friday, but he is now welcomed back by Head Coach Pat Howard with the first silverware of the season up for grabs.
Fellow England men Harry Ellis, George Chuter and Julian White are also included in the starting XV after missing last week’s league game. Sam Vesty, who kicked the winning penalty in injury time against the Sharks, is at fullback after covering at centre and fly half in his last outing.
Tom Varndell and members’ player of the season Alesana Tuilagi are named on the wings for Sunday, with Daryl Gibson and Dan Hipkiss teaming up at centre. Paul Burke, who has started three of the previous four games in the EDF Energy Cup this season, gets the nod at fly half, with Ellis wearing the No.9 shirt.
Martin Castrogiovanni is at loose head in the absence of the suspended Marcos Ayerza, with Chuter and White making up an all-international front row. Leo Cullen and Ben Kay join forces at lock while Corry is joined by Tom Croft and Shane Jennings in the back row.
Ospreys Coach Lyn Jones looked ahead to the clash saying, “Leicester and Munster have been the leading lights of European Rugby since its inception and to face these sides in consecutive weekends is a formidable ask for our squad.
“Last season’s fixtures against Leicester taught us what it takes to be successful at this level. Leicester have turned their season around since beating Munster away and they are now playing with the confidence of old.
“However, our players appreciate that beating Cardiff was not a final and nice as it was to get one over our rivals that game will count for nothing unless we move on to Twickenham and start turning our potential into silverware.”
“Finals are one-offs and anything can happen, particularly if things are close as we go into the final quarter. We are looking to set the record straight by winning this competition after losing two tight games against Leicester last season.
“It should make for a great contest for the supporters and we are conscious that there are over a hundred coaches and a huge travelling support leaving our region at the weekend.
“We will be going all out to reward the fans with a win and although Leicester may feel that they will get an edge from the Twickenham factor I am sure a vocal Ospreys support will eliminate any advantage on Sunday.”
The Ospreys pick a powerful back row for Sunday’s match with Ryan Jones at blind side, Jon Thomas at open side and Filo Tiatia at No.8. Choices were limited after injuries to Steve Tandy and Andy Lloyd, while back Gavin Henson also sits out injured.
Sunday’s game could be the first leg of a treble for the Tigers, who are still chasing Heineken Cup and Guinness Premiership glory. They did the double over the Ospreys in the Heineken Cup group stages last season, but Tigers boss Pat Howard believes the Welsh side have improved over the past twelve months.
“If you get to the final of a competition you have beaten some decent teams and the Ospreys have had some good wins,” said Howard.
“Their win in Cardiff was bigger than ours and I think they are also better than they were when we last met them in the Heineken Cup. We had a good win against them at home last time but down there it was very tight and I was proud of the guys for actually getting the win there.
Leicester: Sam Vesty; Tom Varndell, Dan Hipkiss, Daryl Gibson, Alesana Tuilagi; Paul Burke, Harry Ellis; Martin Castrogiovanni, George Chuter, Julian White, Leo Cullen, Ben Kay, Tom Croft, Shane Jennings, Martin Corry (Capt)
Replacements: Gavin Hickie, Alex Moreno, Louis Deacon, Brett Deacon, Frank Murphy, Andy Goode, Geordan Murphy.
Ospreys: Lee Byrne; Shane Williams, Sonny Parker, Andrew Bishop, Nikki Walker; James Hook, Justin Marshall; Duncan Jones (Capt), Huw Bennett, Adam Jones, Brent Cockbain, Alun Wyn Jones, Ryan Jones, Jonathan Thomas, Filo Tiatia
Replacements: Barry Williams, Paul James, Mike Powell, Richard Pugh, Jason Spice, Shaun Connor, Stefan Terblanche
Referee: A Lewis (Ireland)
