MAGNERS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL:OSPREYS NAMED a strong side to face Glasgow Warriors tonight at Liberty Stadium in the first of the Magners League semi-final play-offs but they face into the 2010-11 season four points down on all of the other teams and €117,000 less well off.
A Celtic Rugby Disciplinary panel, which met in Glasgow on Wednesday, found the Ospreys had breached tournament rules when they failed to fulfil a round 11 Magners League game with Ulster.
The reason given by the Ospreys for their no-show in Ravenhill on March 19th was they did not have enough frontrow players available for the game and arbitrarily decided not to play.
As a result a complaint was taken by the tournament director to the disciplinary panel, who found the Welsh team’s actions amounted to misconduct and hit them with the massive fine as well as a four-point deduction for next season. Both the Ospreys and the Magners League have the right of appeal.
That punitive sanction comes as the Ospreys seek some silverware from their season, with Glasgow standing in their way of a meeting with Munster or Leinster in the Magners League final.
Tommy Bowe, this week selected by the rugby players’ union, IRUPA as the players’ player of the year, is one of a number of international players in the Ospreys’ unchanged side, with Lee Byrne, James Hook and Mike Philips in the backs and Adam Jones, Alun Wyn Jones, Jerry Collins, Marty Holah and captain Ryan Jones in the pack.
Glasgow have named Mark McMillan at scrumhalf in the absence of Scottish captain Chris Cusiter, who has been ruled out with a knee injury picked up in last week’s bonus-point win against the Scarlets.
John Barclay returns to the Glasgow backrow to team up again with the other two Killer Bs, Kelly Brown and John Beattie, for what is Glasgow’s biggest game in their history.
The Scots have not won at Liberty Stadium in their seven previous visits, while Ospreys have not lost there since Leinster beat them last September.
“Cus hasn’t managed to pull through but what a replacement we’ve got in Mark McMillan,” said Glasgow coach Sean Lineen.
“He’s been a fantastic player for us all season. We’ve won down in Wales before so the players are going down there with one thing in mind.”
GLASGOW:B Stortoni; R Dewy, M Evans, G Morrison, DTH van der Merwe; D Parks, M McMillan; E Kalman, F Thompson, M Low, T Barker, A Kellock (capt), K Brown, J Barclay, J Beattie. Replacements: P Mac Arthur, K Tkachuk, D Turner, J Eddie, H O'Hare, D Weir, C Shaw.
OSPREYS:L Byrne; T Bowe, A Bishop, J Hook, S Williams; D Biggar, M Philips; P James, H Bennett, A Jones, A Wyn Jones, J Thomas, J Collins, M Holah, R Jones, capt. Replacements: E Shervington, R Bevington, I Gough, F Tiatia, J Nutbrown, G Owen, N Walker.
Referee:G Clancy (Ireland).
Venue: Liberty Stadium, Swansea Kick-Off: 7.05pm tonight, On TV: Setanta Ireland
