OSPREYS ARE TAKING THE PI$H

[HwoodMike2umate]

Good news on two fronts - at least we'll get down to Dublin at a reasonable hour on the friday nite
and when the match is eventually played i'll be able to consume my usual quantity of Guinness.

[cables]

They could apply to be allowed to play a permit player(s) from non-ML clubs within the WRU.

5.1. No Player may represent a Team in the Tournament unless he is a registered playing member of that Team, or a Permit has been granted for him to play for that Team in the Tournament.

5.2. Teams in the Tournament will be limited to registering up to 36 Players at any one time (a minimum of ten must be sufficiently specialised and experienced Front Row Players) who may be eligible to play for the Team in the Tournament.

5.3. A maximum of two Non-European Players are permitted in a Team's match squad.

5.4. A Team may play Permit Players from a non-Magners League Team within the same Union. A Non-European Player may not play on Permit and a Permit Player may only play for one Team in the Tournament in any one season.

5.5. No Player is eligible to play for a Team in the Tournament if he transfers or is registered after the 31st January, during the relevant season, except that a youth player who attains the age of 18 may be registered after that date and be eligible to play for that Team provided that the number within the Team's playing squad which has been registered does not exceed.

[pwrmoore]

The O's own site was so slow that I resorted to Wikipedia to check the O's squad. But according to that "reliable" source the O's have a squad that includes 4 hookers and 8 props. even if all the Welsh FR and replacements were Os players they shoudl still be able to put out an ML front row plus to ML replacements. Of course some may be unavailable due to injuries & citings but it does look highly dubious.

Think these are their props going by their website...

Bevington Ryan - ?
Davies Ross - ?
Griffiths Cai - Susp
James Paul - Int
Jones Adam - Int
Jones Duncan - Inj?
Mitchell Craig - ?

I wonder what we'd be saying if the tables were turned...

wiki has

HK Huw Bennett
HK Marc Breeze
HK Richard Hibbard
HK Ed Shervington
PR Ryan Bevington
PR Ross Davies
PR Cai Griffiths
PR Paul James
PR Adam Jones
PR Duncan Jones
PR Andrew Millward
PR Craig Mitchell

All these ale listed as Welsh Qualified players.

[Neill_M]

wiki has

HK Huw Bennett - Internationals
HK Marc Breeze
HK Richard Hibbard
HK Ed Shervington
PR Ryan Bevington
PR Ross Davies
PR Cai Griffiths - Suspended
PR Paul James - Internationals
PR Adam Jones - Internationals
PR Duncan Jones - Injured??
PR Andrew Millward
PR Craig Mitchell

[Big Nose]

Millward is now their Regional Performance Development Manager

[BR]

The O's lawyers will argue (not that the O's would employ lawyers, becasue lawyers are for teams who can't compete on the field):

'We can't play a front row under permit because he's not suitably experienced at ML level.'

To which the counter-argument is -

'How come Aberavon (which I believe is within the 'one true region') can field a front row in the B&I cup, where they will be competing against a ML front row in Young, Kyriacou & Fitzpatrick?'

I don't know if the Aberavon FR are EU qualified, but they sound fairly local names.

[Ithryn]

Getting so sick of the Ospreys and there hogging of the negative spotlight. Maybe if they tried to actually play some rugby and whinge less they could live up to their potential.

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

maybe they've a genuine case and everyone here is over-reacting just a tad...???

[Ithryn]

They failed to ratify the original date. By the looks of things they have apparently offered 3 other dates, which I would guess would include sundays which is a whole other kettle of fish.

And by the looks of things if they don't have the props for the 19th where they likely to have them available at these 3 other dates in the 12-22 march period?

[againstthehead]

Lots of good points made above. At the end of the day, it's up to the Ospreys to field a front row. They have a week to find the players: even if they find 3 players and if one goes off then we can go to uncontested scrums. I'm sure Ulster would accept that.

If the hairsprays get their way then this has the potential to set a dangerous precedent. i.e. if ur squad is weakened due to injury, just cry off and play when it suits your side better.

In addition, 4 points would not be enough - I'd settle for 5 points plus 200k compensation or Tommy Bowe.

[namron]

I think that Ulster rugby should be suitably financially compensated for the postponement and 5 points please.There would always be the possibility of uncontested scrums if agreeable at least we could see a match

[Rooster]

Her indoors will go apesh1t when she hears this as she spent the past couple of weeks getting someone to swap work for that night.
Did the Turnips not bring in that Archer chappie for matches this year from AIL ?

[Rooster]

Just checked and they should be free weekend of 30th April and 1st & 2nd May after Biarritz beat them in the quarter finals of HEC

[Freddie Benson]

Aberavon indicated to some terrace regulars last night that Os could have easily fielded a ML level front row.

[againstthehead]

Just checked and they should be free weekend of 30th April and 1st & 2nd May after Biarritz beat them in the quarter finals of HEC

better not be the 1st! getting hitched that day!