Ospreys hand James skipper’s armband

Shaun Connor and Andrew Bishop take over the 10 and 12 jerseys for the Ospreys with Wales duo James Hook and Gavin Henson watching from the sidelines.

Hook, Ryan Jones, Alun Wyn Jones and Duncan Jones are unavailable due to Wales team commitments, while Henson has an injured knee and will be out for up to ten days.

Yet in Connor and Bishop, Ospreys coach Lyn Jones can call upon a wealth of experience – experience he knows his side will need against a Connacht team he holds in high regard.

“We have great respect for Connacht, particularly as they have a slight edge on us over the seven fixtures we have played since our formation,” said Jones. “When we lost in Galway by five points last September we were playing badly but our form has since improved significantly.

“We are confident that we are a better side now and we are delighted to be buoyed by having some boys back from Wales duty to bolster our squad.”

Ospreys: Lee Byrne; Nikki Walker, Tal Selley, Andrew Bishop, Shane Williams; Shaun Connor, Justin Marshall; Paul James (capt), Huw Bennett, Andrew Millward, Brent Cockbain, Mike Powell, Lee Beach, Richard Pugh, Jonathan Thomas

Replacements: Barry Williams, Adam Jones, Chris Martenko, Tom Smith, Jason Spice, Jonathan Vaughton, Stefan Terblanche

Connacht: D Slemen, D Yapp, J Hearty, M McHugh, D Riordan, P Warwick, C O’Loughlin, B Wilkinson, J Fogarty (capt), S Knoop, D Gannon, R Strudwick, J Muldoon, R Ofisa, C Rigney

Replacements: A Flavin, B Sturgess, M Swift, M Lacey, C Keane, G Williams, P Durcan