| Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport Date: Saturday, 9 Jan Kick-off: 17:15 GMT |
| Coverage: Live BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru commentary, plus live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app and live scores; highlights on Scrum V, BBC Two Wales, Sun, 10 Jan from 17:30 GMT |
Ospreys wing Keelan Giles is set for his first game in nearly 15 months as they travel to the Dragons in the final round of the Welsh derby season.
Giles, a Wales tour squad member in 2017, has been dogged by knee issues since an injury in October 2019.
Dragons will be without back-rower Taine Basham for up to 10 weeks after he fractured his forearm at Scarlets.
Jamie Roberts returns from virus isolation, but Jonah Holmes is out with concussion.
The two teams, who drew 20-all in Swansea in August, both hope to reach kick-off without any new Covid-related absentees.
Dragons, who won two out of three holiday derby games in 2019-20, are yet to register a try in this year’s derbies after defeats by Cardiff Blues and away to Scarlets, while the Ospreys arrive on the back of a comfortable win at the Arms Park.
English experience
The two coaching bosses have opposed each other for years in the English Premiership, with Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan spending time at Bristol, Gloucester and Worcester while Ospreys head coach Toby Booth has been at London Irish, Bath and Harlequins.
“We’ve worked hard in difficult circumstances, I believe if you keep working hard you get some reward for it, and I’d love that to be at the weekend. But Ospreys under Toby Booth are a different side and it’ll be a big challenge for us,” said Ryan.
“Toby’s gone in with some experience, he’s got the basics right and made sure they’ve got power up front.
“The challenge for the Ospreys last year was the lack of direction from 10 without Gareth Anscombe, so buying (ex-Northampton fly-half) Stephen Myler is a shrewd move, he moves you around the field and it’s stabilised them,” Ryan explained.
Ospreys boss Booth is also wary of his coaching opponent Ryan.
“We played them in my first game and it was very competitive, I know Dean Ryan exceptionally well from my time in the Premiership, he provides a mentality and a winning culture. That’s a really strong thing to overcome and we’ll need to be at our best,” Booth told BBC Sport Wales.
He is delighted to have 23-year-old Giles back in the ranks after a series of frustrating delays in his highly promising career.
“We’ve been cautious with him, but it’s brilliant to see him. He’s buzzing, he’s very excited and he got the biggest cheer of the day when we announced the matchday squad,” said Booth.
Inconsistent standards
In his first Welsh holiday derby season, Booth has not been surprised by a drab festive period which has seen a total of just seven tries registered across four games on the holiday weekends.
“Every game is different, there’s high passion between teams and so levels of inconsistency. I don’t think it’s just this year, I understand every year there’s an element of that because of the emotional side,” Booth told BBC Sport Wales.
“If the game’s not as exciting as we want it to be, that’s not just the responsibility of the players, it’s the responsibility of coaches, the law-makers, the referees.
“Of course everyone wants the best product. Our intent is to go out and score four tries every week but you can’t always do that.”
Dragons and Newport County, who also play at Rodney Parade, have moved to ensure their weekend fixtures will not be postponed because of the cold weather by investing in a dome cover for their pitch.
After Dragons face Ospreys on Saturday, Newport host Premier League Brighton in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Dragons: TBC
Replacements: TBC
Ospreys: TBC
Replacements: TBC
Referee: Dan Jones (WRU)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones, Gareth John (both WRU)
TMO: Ian Davies (WRU)
