Delon Armitage forced to miss Ospreys clash
London Irish full-back Delon Armitage, who is returning to the form that made him one of England's most potent attacking threats, is having to sit out tonight's Heineken Cup match at Ospreys because of the Elite Player Squad regulations.
England team manager Martin Johnson is delighted that the EPS agreement regulates the number of matches played by his Test squad at specific times in the season. With four international fixtures looming in November, the clubs have to
live with restrictions — each member of the 32-strong squad must miss one game in this block of matches.
As a result, Topsy Ojo moves from wing to full-back to cover for Armitage's loss, with the highly-promising Jonathan Joseph on the right wing. In midfield, Daniel Bowden takes over from Elvis Seveali'i, who has a shoulder injury but is named amongst the replacements to take on the dangerous Welsh outfit, who were beaten by Jonny Wilkinson's Toulon last weekend. Irish started with a win over former champions Munster.
Shane Williams, the Ospreys wing, knows he faces a huge test and said: "It doesn't get much bigger really, does it? We've got the in-form team in England in a must-win Heineken Cup game. That is the ultimate test.
"They will be full of confidence after a big win over Munster and they will want to cement their place at the top of the group."
London Wasps, who gained a bonus point losing 18-16 in torrential rain at Toulouse last weekend, must defeat Glasgow at home on Sunday to have any chance of making the quarter-finals. Veteran lock Simon Shaw expects to see the effort produced in France to be replicated at Adams Park.
Glasgow beat Newport Gwent Dragons 21-13 in the battle between the teams expected to be also-rans in Pool 6 but the Scottish outfit include on-loan Saracens lock Tom Ryder and are captained by outstanding openside, John Barclay.
Shaw said: "The teams that don't bring the intensity to every match generally miss out on the knock-out stages. It's easy to lift yourself to that level when you are playing at Toulouse, the cup holders, but you have to replicate that in every pool match."
