Cockbain eyes Magners prize

Having earned a recall from Wales for the tour to Australia, Cockbain now returns for the Ospreys in time for their final surge in the hunt for silverware.

Yet while his return will go some way for making up for the loss of fellow British Lion Ryan Jones for the remaining two weeks of the campaign with a shoulder injury, Cockbain admits a second Celtic crown in three years can only offer some comfort from their disappointment in the Heineken Cup and EDF Energy Cup.

“It’s hard to think the Magners League would offer some consolation because as players, you want to win every competition you enter,” said Cockbain.

“You set out at the start of the year to win the Magners League title because it’s your bread and butter competition, it’s a good indication of where you stand as a squad because it’s about consistency rather than the one-offs. To finish top would mean a lot to the players because there are some great sides in the league.

“Winning the title would be a major pat on the back for the players and I know I would feel a great deal of satisfaction, even if our hearts were also set on Europe. We only lost two cup games all season, one in the Heineken and once in the final of the EDF Energy Cup so it hurts to think we came away with nothing.

“The boys have shown a lot of character to bounce back from that cup final defeat. It would have been easy to let the season slide downhill from there but we took a lot of positives from the performance in Twickenham.

“We’ve got a great squad and good bunch of players to come back and get two massive wins in a week over the Scarlets and Leinster. Now we’ve got just over a week to go with three big games that all offer something very different.”

Despite the disappointment against Leicester, the Ospreys have kept themselves in with a shot of regaining the league and can go top of the table tonight, if only for less than 24 hours, with a bonus point win at Hughenden.

However in Glasgow, the Ospreys face arguably the form team in the Magners League having won five of their last six games including home wins over the Blues, Scarlets and Leinster.

“They are undoubtedly the top side in Scotland right now and are playing some very good rugby. They’re on a roll after beating Ulster last week and for some reason our record up their is very poor, we’ve only won once in Glasgow,” said Ospreys Captain Duncan Jones.

“Having the title to aim for is a great motivation for the players and it’s good to still be in the mix at this stage of the season but we cannot let that affect our performance otherwise we will not win.”

Defeat for the Ospreys in Glasgow would offer the Blues a chance to put one hand on the tri-nation trophy for the first time when they travel to Stradey Park tomorrow.

Coach Lyn Jones said, “We don’t want to leave where we are going in other people’s hands but if we lose then we are left hoping the Blues lose at Stradey and beat Leinster. However, I’m confident we have the players to get three wins.”

The Ospreys’ title hopes have been struck another blow with the loss of Ryan Jones for their three remaining fixtures, though fears that the No.8 had aggravated the injury that ruled him out of last season have been allayed.

Coach Jones added, “Obviously the injury raised alarm bells but we don’t think there’s a connection with the old injury and he will be fine for pre-World Cup conditioning this summer. It’s still a shame for us because I felt he was getting back to his best in the last two games.”

Glasgow: Francisco Leonelli; Rory Lamont, Andrew Henderson, Scott Barrow, Thom Evans; Dan Parks, Graeme Beveridge; Justin Va’a, Fergus Thomson, Moray Low, Andy Newman, Alastair Kellock (Capt), Steve Swindall, John Barclay, John Beattie

Replacements: Scott Lawson, Kevin Tkachuk, James Eddie, Andrew Wilson, Donnie Macfadyen, Colin Gregor, Hefin O’Hare

Ospreys: Lee Byrne; Nikki Walker, Sonny Parker, Andrew Bishop, Shane Williams; James Hook, Justin Marshall; Duncan Jones (Capt), Huw Bennett, Adam Jones, Brent Cockbain, Alun Wyn Jones, Jonathan Thomas, Richie Pugh, Filo Tiatia

Replacements: Richard Hibbard, Cai Griffiths, Mike Powell, Andy Lloyd, Jason Spice, Shaun Connor, Jonathan Vaughton