Still only 22, Owen caught the eye playing for his hometown club in the Welsh Premiership as a teenager before signing for the Ospreys on a development contract.
Ospreys Assistant Coach, Steve Tandy, said: “It’s going to be a fantastic opportunity for the younger boys. Last time at the Brewery was great, the Leicester game, the support, and hopefully people will come out and support the boys again. There are some Bridgend local boys involved, so it’s all good for the town, and to see those youngsters who’ve come through Bridgend putting on the shirt for the Ospreys and hopefully turning in another cracking performance.
“It’s been a good training week so we’re looking forward to the game. We just need to be physical, to be direct and all know our roles.”
Ospreys Director of Coaching, Scott Johnson, added: “This period is a really important one for us as a group, and as an organisation. These players, the young kids involved in the LV= Cup group are our future, and it’s important that we get them well drilled in the basics of what it is to be an Osprey, on and off the field, and what is expected of them.
“They are showing good signs of coming together as a team and that is crucial. For us to succeed moving forward, for the Ospreys to even begin to achieve what we want to, then it’s important that we build a team here, one that plays for the shirt and for each other. Everyone has to know their role, what we want from them, and what their teammates want from them. Without that, we can forget success.
“This competition has been a great experience for them, we’ve seen some really good signs, but we need to keep these boys grounded and make sure they understand that they haven’t succeeded yet, they’ve not achieved anything, they are still learning the game and learning what it takes to be a professional rugby player.
“There’ll be plenty of praise thrown their way, that’s the nature of the game in Wales, but as a coaching team we’ve got to look beyond that and make sure they as developing players do the same. If we can do that, we’ll be heading in the right direction in terms of building an Ospreys team that we can be proud of.”
Ospreys: 15 Tom Prydie 14 Kristian Phillips 13 Tom Isaacs 12 Gareth Owen 11 Hanno Dirksen 10 Dai Flanagan 9 Rhys Webb; 1 Cai Griffiths 2 Huw Bennett 3 Craig Cross 4 Ian Gough 5 Ian Evans 6 James King 7 Justin Tipuric (Capt) 8 Tom Smith
Replacements 16 Mefin Davies 17 Duncan Jones 18 Joe Rees 19 Marty Holah 20 Jerry Collins 21 Jamie Nutbrown 22 Dan Biggar 23 Sonny Parker
London Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen 14 Richard Haughton 13 Dominic Waldouck 12 Riki Flutey 11 Varndell 10 Walder 9 Charlie Davies; 1 Shaun Ruwers 2 Joe Ward (Capt) 3 Ben Broster 4 Joe Launchbury 5 James Cannon 6 John Hart 7 Serge Betsen 8 Billy Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Michael Mayhew 17 Charlie Beech 18 Bob Baker 19 Marty Veale 20 Sam Jones 21 Jonah Holmes 22 Mark Atkinson 23 Jack Wallace
