Morgan set for Ospreys return in Dragons derby

Jac Morgan is set to make his first URC outing of the season at Rodney Parade

United Rugby Championship: Dragons v Ospreys

Venue: Rodney Parade Date: Saturday, 25 October Kick-off: 17:30 BST

Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Sounds & BBC Sport Online

Jac Morgan is set for his first appearance for Ospreys this season having been named among the replacements for Saturday's United Rugby Championship (URC) derby against Dragons at Rodney Parade.

The Wales captain has not featured since the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with his comeback delayed by a minor calf injury.

Morgan's return is also a timely boost for Wales coach Steve Tandy with this the last outing before Wales' four autumn internationals.

Fellow Wales back-row Thomas Young will make his Dragons debut after signing from Cardiff in the summer.

Both sides will be looking to finish on a high before the international break, with Dragons not tasting victory since this fixture in last season's opener.

Young's inclusion is among six starting changes from the Dragons side that lost 24-17 against Cardiff last weekend.

Huw Anderson and Joe Westwood come into the backline while Chris Coleman, Matthew Screech and Ryan Woodman return to the pack.

Ospreys have also made six changes from last weekend's 42-17 defeat by Glasgow.

Keiran Williams and Iestyn Hopkins are named in the backline, while Tom Botha, Ryan Smith, Huw Sutton and Harry Deaves are in the pack.

It will be lock Smith's Ospreys debut after joining from Queensland Reds in the summer.

Defence coach Dale Macleod will take charge of Dragons, with head coach Filo Tiatia back home in New Zealand for personal reasons.

"It's been a good week, a full week, which makes a big difference," said Macleod.

"Filo's done a great job making sure any one of us can step in. Everything was well planned before he left, and we're all good to go.

"We haven't spoken about last year's game, our motivation is about stepping forward, embracing the challenge and putting in a performance at home that we can be proud of."

After last season's 23-21 defeat, Ospreys head coach Mark Jones is all too aware of what a fortress Rodney Parade can be.

"It's a tough place to play because the Dragons definitely rise to the home advantage, they really feed off the environment there," he said.

"When they put their best players out and play to their standard, they are a very good team and although they've had a lack of wins, ours being the last one, a lot of their performances have been very strong at home.

"We're under no illusion of the task ahead, we're fighting for victories ourselves and we haven't had as many as we would have liked, so we're pretty passionate about getting down there and and showing what we're about as well."

Line-ups

Dragons: O'Brien (co-capt), Inisi, Westwood, Owen, Anderson, de Beer, Williams; Jones, Coghlan, Coleman, Screech, Carter (co-capt), Woodman, Young, Wainwright

Replacements: Burrows, Martinez, Lewis, Lewis-Hughes, Beddall, Armstrong, Evans, Richards

Ospreys: Walsh; Kasende, Cokanasiga, K Williams, Hopkins; Edwards, Morgan-Williams; Thomas, Lake (capt), Botha, Smith, Fender, Sutton, Deaves, Moriarty

Replacements: Lloyd, Phillips, Warren, R Davies, Morgan, L Davies, Boshoff, Nagy

Officials

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU)

Assistants: Adam Jones (WRU), Amber Stamp-Dunstan (WRU)

TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)