Wales absentees set to return for Ospreys clash against Glasgow Warriors 

Booth’s young side will come into the match with no fear having made back-to-back victories by picking up an impressive 19-5 win over the Hollywoodbets Sharks in the third round of fixtures of URC action last weekend at the Twickenham Stoop. 

Missing a host of first-team players due to injury and international involvement, the Ospreys surprised many by pulling off a superb victory with many inexperienced players shining on a fine night in London for the Welsh region. 

Next up is a European Challenge Cup runner-up Glasgow, a side who also reached the latter stages of the URC having finished in fourth position last season. 

The Scots have started brightly on their own patch winning impressively against Leinster and South African region Stormers, but much like the Ospreys came short against an improving Connacht side in Galway. 

With several international players likely to back as selection options, Booth feels whilst Glasgow will be a difficult challenge, if his side can show the same defensive qualities as against the Sharks, they will be able to impose their attacking potency on their opposition to impact the result.  

“Glasgow will be a very tough nut to crack. They have started well,” said Booth.  

“Everyone knows what Franco’s [Smith] doing there in conjunction with the Scottish way of playing as well. 

“They will be confident and will look to impose a very dynamic and fast style against us, so we will need to produce like we showed on Friday because there are times you are going to be stretched and be very uncomfortable. 

“You’ll see some of them [Wales international absentees] this week. Not all but we’ve taken it on a case-by-case basis. We have a lot of games because of the World Cup that are in consecutive weeks, so it’s about managing that. 

“We’ve given some extra time; some have come back injured and broken and there are some that are ready to go. So yes, you will see some this weekend. 

“Owen [Willliams] won’t be available, he had a little tug on the hamstring. He has a history in that area, so we were very proactive around that. It will be a week or two, but we can’t afford to risk these situations with the squad size that we have got. 

“Gareth Thomas has returned to training this week and is fit and will be in contention. Nicky [Smith] is back and played a couple of weeks ago before he went to the Wales Baa-baa’s game.  

“Gareth Phillips and Rhys Henry have done well in there, whilst James Kenny is on loan from Exeter, so we are doing ok. Touch wood we will keep that competition for places which pushes everybody on. 

“It also means you’re not forced to play people before they are ready which creates greater injury risk. 

“We will reward people who did well last week. It is important not to make wholesale changes. There are Welsh derbies around the corner and also European games coming. 

“We need to make sure we manage our resources and the motivation of the group, whilst trying to maintain some decent momentum. 

“Our boys are pretty settled, they come to work with a smile on their face and try and have a bit of fun as well. Nothing beats winning to help boost morale. 

“I don’t want to put pressure on this new young group because it is finding out what it is capable of doing.  

“It is about creating energy for each other, the fans and the group, rather than looking at it as where are we against Glasgow. If we do that regularly and continuously, we will find out how good we are. 

“We want to show the best of ourselves in our defensive mindset and then as a result we can then impose ourselves from an attacking point-of-view. 

“That is the benchmark and what we will pride ourselves on. If we get the performance element right it comes down to then who is best on the day.” 

[Lead image: Ospreys Rugby]