Alun Wyn Jones and Dan Biggar will continue to sit things out when the Ospreys take on Guinness Pro 12 champions Connacht next week. The Wales pair – both on WRU dual contracts – missed the Ospreys’ comfortable 59-5 victory over Zebre on Friday night.

Justin Tipuric will gain his first taste of competitive rugby since this year’s Six Nations when he returns to start in the Ospreys’ No.7 jersey on Friday night. The Wales flanker suffered concussion playing against Italy in March which ruled him out of the tour to New Zealand.

Steve Tandy has warned his Wales players they will not be given automatic places at the Ospreys when the Guinness Pro12 season kicks off next week. The region play their final warm-up match away to Leicester Tigers on Friday night, before starting their campaign at home to Zebre seven days later.

Rhys Webb wants to follow his mate Aaron Ramsey in making 2016 the year of the dragon. Wales scrum-half Webb watched Ramsey shine at the Euros in France, even though he was too jet-lagged to take up the Arsenal’s star offer of match tickets.

Bradley Davies has revealed he would have quit international rugby if he had stayed with Wasps. The Wales second row moved to the Ospreys at the start of the summer because he believed that was the only way he could prolong his Test career.

Justin Tipuric insists he is back to full fitness after the concussion problems that left him struggling to see properly. The Wales flanker will play his first match for five months on Friday night when he lines up for the Ospreys in Belgium.

Wales flanker Dan Lydiate will return to action next month after missing the Wales tour to New Zealand through injury. The Ospreys forward believes he is not far from recovering from a shoulder problem, although he may not make the opening weeks of the Guinness Pro12 campaign.

Bradley Davies has admitted Wales were given “a right kicking” by the All Blacks this summer – but insists his teammates are ready to respond. Davies, who left the tour early because of a knee injury, has been declared fit for the start of the season which kicks off on September 2.

Steve Tandy has heaped praise on new defence coach Brad Davis for the impact he is making at the Ospreys. Head coach Tandy watched his team beat Leicester Tigers 26-21 at the Liberty Stadium in a friendly on Friday night.

Ospreys flanker Sam Underhill will miss the first half of the season after suffering a shoulder injury that requires surgery. His loss is a huge blow to the region who have already lost Wales U20s star Owen Watkin for most of the next campaign with a knee problem.

Keelan Giles – one of Welsh rugby’s most exciting young talents – has signed a first professional contract with the Ospreys. The 18-year-old burst to prominence last season with a starring role for Wales U20 as they hammered England on their way to an age-group Grand Slam.

Ospreys star Sam Underhill remains uncertain whether playing in Wales will block his England hopes. Underhill, 19, wants to pursue England honours rather than try and qualify for Wales on residency grounds but his decision to play this side of the border means he has so far been overlooked.