Wales calls testing Ospreys' depth - Jones

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones won 47 caps for Wales

United Rugby Championship: Edinburgh v Ospreys

Venue: Hive Stadium Date: Saturday, 29 November Kick-off: 17:30 GMT

Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Sounds and BBC Sport online.

Ospreys travel to Edinburgh for the resumption of the United Rugby Championship (URC) this weekend with more than half of the squad unavailable.

Head coach Mark Jones says he is without 22 players, including the dozen that are with Wales for Saturday's final autumn Test against South Africa.

The game falls outside of World Rugby's international window, which means clubs outside Wales are not obliged to release players.

That has left Welsh regions - who have an agreement with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) on player release for Wales duties - left to plug the gap.

"I don't like it from a regional perspective because the Ospreys badge doesn't have its best players and more experienced players available," said Jones.

"It is what it is and we know as a team we're committed to supplying players to the national team, that's the agreement we've got in place."

Ospreys are also without captain Jac Morgan as he faces four to five months out after dislocating his shoulder on Wales duty.

Jones said the next few weeks will be real test of their depth as they seek to rise from 14th in the URC table.

"We're utilising everybody on the factory floor, there's no doubt about that," he said.

Sam Parry and Jack Walsh co-captain the side on Saturday, with lock Ryan Smith set for his Ospreys debut.

Lewis Lloyd is moved from his usual position of hooker and is joined in the back-row by experienced number eight Ross Moriarty.

"We're going to a really tough place in the Hive. They've got a very good forward pack and set-piece, it's right up there with the top teams in the league," said Jones.

"We've given Edinburgh the respect they deserve, but our focus is on ourselves with all the changes, we've got to deliver on our game and be the best we can be."

Edinburgh welcome back returning Tests players Pierre Schoeman, Grant Gilchrist, Duhan van der Merwe, Dylan Richardson, Marshall Sykes, and Magnus Bradbury.

Flanker Ben Muncaster will make his 50th appearance while Ollie Blyth-Lafferty is set for his debut from the bench.

Head Coach Sean Everitt said: "Ospreys are a side that fight for everything, so we'll need to bring a huge amount of energy to the game.

"There is a good balance between youth and experience for the squad, with a few of our younger guys getting an opportunity to shine in front of a big home crowd alongside our more experienced campaigners."

While Jones is naturally proud that his players are getting opportunities with Wales, he questioned whether throwing the inexperienced ones in against the world champions is good for the game.

Dan Edwards, Rhys Davies, James Ratti, Morgan Morse and Reuben Morgan-Williams only have a handful of caps between them, but have been named in Steve Tandy's matchday 23 against the Springboks.

"One thing we try and do at the Ospreys is set people up to succeed," Jones said.

"If Wales were putting out their best team this week - with some young players in there supporting with good people around them - then it would be a bit of a challenge.

"But I think it becomes a little bit of trying to plug the holes rather than setting players up to perform at a good level, that's probably the bit that's missing out of it.

"We like to give young players the opportunity, but put people around them to help get the best out of them, and I think you are probably compromising that both internationally and for the Ospreys as it currently stands."

Line-ups

Edinburgh: Goosen; Wells, O'Conor, F Thomson, van der Merwe; R Thomson, Vellacott; Schoeman, Morris, Hill, Hunter-Hill, Gilchrist (capt), McConnell, Muncaster, Currie

Replacements: Richardson, Venter, Blyth-Lafferty, Sykes, Bradbury, McAlpine, Scott, Paterson

Ospreys: Nagy, Kasende, Boshoff, Cokanasiga, Hopkins; Walsh (co-capt), Davies; Jones, Parry (co-capt), Botha, Smith, Sutton, Lloyd, Evans, Moriarty.

Replacements: Daniel, Thomas, Hire, Jones, Greatbanks, Whitlock, Morgan, Houston

Match officials

Referee: Peter Martin (Ireland)

Assistants: Finlay Brown (Scotland) and Ciaran Stark (Scotland)

TMO: Brian McNeice (Ireland)