There is one alteration to the travelling party from last Friday’s 34-20 victory over Connacht, with Scotland hooker Fergus Thomson taking a place on bench after recovering from a series of injuries.

Head coach Sean Lineen, who has had a raft of injuries and illnesses to contend with in recent weeks, said: “The squad’s got even tighter because of what’s been happening off the field with illness and injuries.

“The last few weeks we’ve been able to get more bodies into training which has made a big difference.

“Consistency isn’t two games. Consistency is five or six games, but even just to have the same team for another game allows us to become a little bit more familiar.

“The guys are now getting the chance to work with each other a bit more like Chris Cusiter and Dan Parks – the key combinations that you need to work well. It’s all about familiarity.

“Having that stability is good but there’s no doubt that this game against the Ospreys is a huge challenge. It’s an altogether different challenge to Connacht.

“It’s the only Welsh province that we haven’t won away against and we’d like to change that.”