Ospreys got the nudge at the scrum but Falcons centre Conor Doherty does well to make in-roads up the middle.

Falcons on the attack.

Both teams sounding each other out with a couple of high kicks before Ospreys full-back Jack Walsh knocks on and Falcons have a scrum in the middle of the park.

Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards get the game underway

We're having a moment's silence for former Swansea and Wales forward Geoff Wheel, who has died at the age of 73 over Christmas.

Wheel had suffered from motor neurone disease for some years.

He played 32 internationals for Wales between 1974 and 1982 and formed a formidable second-row partnership with Allan Martin.

Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley has been talking to supporters before this game about next season's ground move to St Helen's the other side of Swansea.

And you can see why a move is required. This Swansea.com Stadium is too big for Ospreys now with only a few thousand fans expected here tonight in a ground that has a capacity of more than 20,000.

The Ospreys hardy faithful keep turning up but the ground is less than a quarter full.

Late change in the Ospreys front-row where prop Rhys Henry has pulled out with a calf problem.

So Tom Botha starts at number three and Ben Warren comes is on bench.

Ospreys: Walsh; Kasende, Watkin, Williams, Giles; Edwards, Morgan-Williams; Thomas, Parry, Botha, Will Spencer, Griffiths, Morgan (capt), Tipuric, Morris.

Newcastle Falcons: Brown; Pepper, Spencer, Doherty, Greenwood; Wilkinson, Elliott; Rewcastle, Fletcher, Hancock, Hawkins, Scott, van der Walt (capt), Bainbridge, Leatherbarrow.

Referee: Kevin Bralley (FFR)

Newcastle Falcons boss Steve Diamond does not expect the threat of relegation to hinder the rebuilding of his squad.

More than 25 players are out of contract this summer, but as yet, none of those have signed a new deal with the club.

And Diamond does not believe that a potential relegation play-off against against the Championship winners will significantly alter his plans.

"My contracting of players who are already here will be irrelevant of promotion or relegation," he said.

"If there is relegation, and we did go down, we'd be expected to come straight back up."

Newcastle are bottom of the Premiership, with the team finishing in that position set to contest a two-legged play-off with the winners of the Championship to decide who plays in the top flight next season.

However, the situation is complicated. The team who finishes first in the Championship must meet the strict criteria to be able to play in the Premiership and the deadline for submitting applications is next week.

Diamond said: "I'm an advocate of promotion and relegation. If we get ourselves in a play-off, so be it, we'll crack on."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones has backed Jac Morgan to pick up the baton of the Wales captaincy for the 2025 Six Nations.

Morgan's Ospreys team mate Dewi Lake led Wales during the summer tour of Australia and autumn internationals but will miss the start - and possibly all - of this championship after bicep surgery.

Exeter's Dafydd Jenkins is also a contender for the captain's armband after leading Wales during the 2024 Six Nations and returning to fitness.

Head coach Warren Gatland will announce his squad on Monday.

Asked if Morgan could lead Wales once again, Jones said: "Without a doubt. He did a phenomenal job of leading Wales before.

"Dewi has picked the baton up in Jac's absence and made it his own while Jac has been coming back into the squad.

"We're really fortunate here [at Ospreys] to have two recent Welsh captains sitting in our midst. They are quality, whichever player is chosen at anytime will do a fantastic job, the boys are incredible."

Well we've already had plenty of action in the third round of the European Challenge Cup.

Last night Gloucester ran out comfortable winners against Scarlets in Pool 3.

So far today...

• Pool 1: Perpignan 23-20 Cardiff
• Pool 3: Vannes 25-29 Edinburgh
• Pool 3: Black Lion 16-41 Bayonne

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

James Hook
Former Wales fly-half on BBC Radio Wales

Ospreys had a good Christmas period, nicking that game against the Scarlets and should have won the game against Cardiff.

The Montpellier result would have hurt the boys, but they've got a chance of progressing.

Newcastle are coming down here with a weakened team, and are facing a young Ospreys team.

Image source, Getty Images

Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Steve Diamond explained his decision to rotate almost his entire team.

He said: “We’ve given opportunities to a lot of lads this week, because a number of the guys are out on their feet,” said Diamond.

“They’ve given blood for this club, they’ve played big minutes and you just can’t roll out the same players every week at this level.

"The lads who are coming in have trained every day with the squad, a lot of them have been knocking on my door for a shot, and now they’ve got it.

“I’m excited to see how they go. It’s a vibrant selection, it will be a big test against an Ospreys side who didn’t have a game last weekend and will have a lot of boys pushing for Welsh national team selection.

"They’re a good team, they’re well coached and it will be a formidable task.”

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

It's a big day for Mark Jones who takes charge of his first European game as head coach of Ospreys.

The former Wales wing was once a Heineken Cup semi-finalist with Llanelli Scarlets but has now replaced Toby Booth at Swansea.com Stadium.

"Europe has not lost its romance, it's still the pinnacle of competitions and everybody really wants to lift a European trophy," he said.

"It is probably our best chance of getting something out of this season if you look at where we sit in the URC."

He added: "Newcastle are a dangerous side and despite results so far, they will still be looking at this competition with a view to qualifying.

"We've gone well in EPCR competitions in recent years, and we're aiming to continue that by picking up a win this week and putting ourselves in the best position possible to qualify for the knockout stages."

Image source, Getty Images

Visitors Newcastle arrive with a much-changed and youthful line-up with centre Connor Doherty the only survivor from the team that started against Harlequins in their last game.

Props Micky Rewcastle and Callum Hancock make their first starts.

Philip van der Walt captains the Falcons from the blind-side flank, with Josh Bainbridge making his second appearance of the season on the open-side.

Ollie Leatherbarrow packs down at number eight, with John Hawkins and Adam Scott lining up in the second row.

Sevens internationals Nathan Greenwood and Max Pepper ensure no shortage of pace on the wings.

It's worth noting, Falcons ran out 28-24 winners on their last visit to Swansea back in April 2021.

Newcastle Falcons: Louis Brown; Max Pepper, Oli Spencer, Connor Doherty, Nathan Greenwood; Kieran Wilkinson, James Elliott; Micky Rewcastle, Ollie Fletcher, Callum Hancock, John Hawkins, Adam Scott, Philip van der Walt (capt), Josh Bainbridge, Ollie Leatherbarrow.

Replacements: Bryan Byrne, Connor Hancock, Murray McCallum, Finn Baker, Reuben Parsons, Hugh O'Sullivan, Jack Metcalf, Rhys Beeckmans.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Jac Morgan leads an Ospreys side showing five changes from the dramatic draw against Welsh rivals Cardiff on New Year's Day.

Jack Walsh replaces unavailable Max Nagy at full-back, with wing Dan Kasende the only other change in the back division.

Lock James Fender, sent off at the Arms Park on New Year's Day, was eligible to play, but is not in the Ospreys' 23.

Instead Will Griffiths and Will Spencer form an all-fresh second row, while Rhys Henry replaces Tom Botha at tight-head prop.

Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Dan Kasende, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Gareth Thomas, Sam Parry, Tom Botha, Will Spencer, Will Griffiths, Jac Morgan (capt), Justin Tipuric, Morgan Morris.

Replacements: Lewis Lloyd, Garyn Phillips, Ben Warren, James Ratti, Morgan Morse, Kieran Hardy, Evardi Boshoff, Harri Houston.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Welcome to the Swansea.com stadium for this European Challenge Cup tie between Ospreys and Newcastle Falcons.

Let's be honest, so far it's been a humbling league campaign for these teams so Europe offers a chance to salvage something from their seasons.

But that means a win is a must today for both.

The Welsh region are under new management since their last Challenge Cup tie - a record European loss at Montpellier.

Former Wales wing Mark Jones has stepped up and oversaw an unbeaten festive period in the United Rugby Championship.

As for Falcons, back-to-back losses in Europe have been followed by heavy defeats over Christmas in the Premiership against Bath, Northampton and Harlequins.

They could really do with a win.

So let's take a look at the teams.