The Liberty Stadium side take-on a Blues side on Saturday who have suffered two damaging defeats. The Ospreys have enjoyed better fortunes, with recent results giving them an eight point buffer on their nearest playoff challengers Leinster.
But Sam Warburton’s Blues side are smarting from a disappointing season summed up by their damaging 36-17 defeat at Glasgow Warriors last weekend. And Tandy has told his side to expect a blue backlash on Saturday.
He said: “I was speaking to Chief on Monday and they weren’t happy with their performance at the Liberty earlier in the season. We know they are going to be highly motivated to come after us. They have spoken a lot about the Glasgow game and they want to put it right. I definitely see it as being a real physical encounter.
“We are confident with where we are at, but there are still things we need to tidy up on. We will need to be spot on to get our performance right and get the result. With any team coached by Dale, you know it is going to be a brutal affair at the tackle contest. We have to make sure we are physically ready for that battle.”
The Ospreys and Blues kickoff the regional showcase at 2:30pm before the Scarlets clash with the Dragons at 4.45pm in the battle of East vs West. The Swansea region have been boosted by the news summer signing De Kock Steenkamp could make his bow in black before the end of the season.
