Having won all three of their pre season friendly matches David Young expects a tough match against the Magners League champions.
Overall we were pleased with most aspects of our match against Gloucester but we know we wont have as many opportunities against the Ospreys, said Young.
They are the Magners League champions and deservedly so. Its a difficult game to start the campaign but motivation wont be a factor. They won the EDF semi final at a cantor and weve got to make sure that we perform a lot better than the way we played in that match.
Were looking to put in a big performance and start the Magners League off with a win. Nothing else is in our thoughts at the moment.
With the summer signings performing well in the friendly matches, there is new competition for places in the twenty two man squad for the opening league fixture of the season.
Its nice to have such selection dilemmas going into the Ospreys match. Weve spoken to the players and told them that the first time we will select the best team is for the Heineken Cup, added Young.
Were aiming to produce a competitive squad here and to have strength in depth. The increased numbers in the squad is important as its something we havent had for a number of years. Hopefully it will ensure that we can compete not only at the start and the middle of the season but also at the end.
New Cardiff Blues signing Jason Spice is also looking forward to the match against his old team the Ospreys.
Saturdays game went pretty well, its been a long time waiting to get into the games because we had quite an early start to pre-season, but everything is shaping up nicely now, said Spice
I thought the boys did really well, obviously the delay starting the game helped but everyone got in there and got amongst it. I think weve done enough to get ready for the start of the season.
Having won the Magners League title twice with the Ospreys Spice knows what it takes to win the league.
I think its just consistency throughout the season because its all a bit fragmented. Youre not just relying on 15 players youve really got to trust the whole squad, added Spice.
If youve got a squad of say 26 or 30 players, youve really got to rely on them to do the job. Its all very well waiting for the Welsh boys to come back but you cant rely on them to pull you through.
Spice, is naturally also looking forward to pitting his wits against his former team mates.
Im pretty excited about the game. Obviously theyll be a little bit of banter going on, but both sides want to come out with a win. Itll be all guns I think but hopefully well all have a beer afterwards.
Ive got a couple of ex team mates living just down the road from me so obviously things are a little bit quiet and we havent been talking much about the match. I think everyones a bit cagey.
Ive never played against Justin over here, but obviously theres been some tough games when we played over in New Zealand. Its a different story over here and hopefully weve got a side thatll match their team.
I dont think the World Cup will affect the competitiveness of this match. We all know the Ospreys have got great depth in their squad and thats been something thats been talked about a lot so weve got a lot of respect for their so called second string players.
With the same token our so called second string players are putting their hands up at the moment and so I think it should be a very good game, added Spice.