George North and his fellow Ospreys new boys have been told to hit the ground running when the new Guinness Pro14 season starts.
The demand has been made by head coach Allen Clarke – preparing for his first full season in charge by attempting to blend a new-look team quickly into the groove.
North will make his Ospreys debut against English champions Saracens in London on Thursday.
The Wales and British & Irish Lions star has returned to Wales after a period playing in the English Premiership with Northampton Saints and will know exactly what to expect from the home side at the Honourable Artillery Company Ground (6.00pm KO).
Joining North in making his debut will be two other Welsh international recruits from the Scarlets, Scott Williams and Aled Davies. Justin Tipuric will lead the side after recently being named as club captain for the season.
“We’ve had a great week in Portugal that has enabled us to really focus in on our preparation for the new season. This game, against a top quality outfit, allows us to test ourselves and see exactly where we are a week out from the first game of the season,” said Ospreys head coach Clarke.
“We’ve got two of last season’s PRO14 quarter-finalists at the Liberty Stadium over the first two weekends, followed by an away tie against a losing semi-finalist. That means we have to be ready from the first whistle of Round 1 and this game is an important stepping stone.”
Ospreys: Dan Evans; George North, Scott Williams, Owen Watkin, Tom Williams; Sam Davies, Aled Davies; Nicky Smith, Scott Baldwin, Tom Botha, Adam Beard, Bradley Davies, Sam Cross, Justin Tipuric (captain), James King
Reps: Scott Otten, Rhodri Jones, Alex Jeffries, Giorgi Nemsadze, Ifan Phillips, Tom Habberfield, Luke Price, Luke Morgan, Lloyd Ashley, James Ratti, Guido Volpi, Matthew Aubrey, Hanno Dirksen, Cory Allen, Joe Thomas, James Hook
Saracens: Alex Goode; David Strettle, Alex Lozowski, Brad Barritt (captain), Sean Maitland; Max Malins, Ben Spencer; Richard Barrington, Jamie George, Vincent Koch, Nick Isiekwe, Will Skelton, Michael Rhodes, Ben Earl, Jackson Wray
Reps: Ralph Adams-Hale, Chris Tolofua, Hayden Thompson-Stringer, Maro Itoje, Dominic Day, Sean Reffell, Sione Vailanu, Tom Whiteley, Dominic Morris, Duncan Taylor, Nick Tompkins, Alex Lewington
