Bevington eyes Leinster scalp

Editor

Ospreys prop Ryan Bevington says his side are well-placed to beat formidable Leinster in Friday's Heineken Cup clash in Dublin.

Ospreys prop Ryan Bevington says his side are well-placed to topple formidable Leinster in Friday's Heineken Cup clash in Dublin.

Bevington describes his side as the Irishmen's “kryptonite”, despite Matt O'Connor's men triumphing twice already from the pair's meetings this season; the other match ending in a 29-29 draw at the Liberty Stadium early on in the Pro12.

“Europe brings the best out of Leinster and it is fair to say they always perform in the Heineken Cup,” Bevington told the South Wales Evening Post.

“But if you look at our record against them we are their kryptonite.

“We know any Heineken Cup game is going to be tough.

“But even though we are out of the competition, we are playing for pride and it's the old scenario of the wounded dog fights a bit harder.

“Our forwards coach Chris Gibbes is coming up against his brother Jono, Leinster's forwards coach, so there is pride on the line there and a lot riding on it.”

Gibbes' number one priority, Bevington states, will be to resurrect the Ospreys' ailing scrum, with Northampton Saints laying waste to the home set-piece in Swansea on Sunday.

In a pack bolstered by British and Irish Lions aplenty, the region typically boast a strong tight game, but have struggled to adapt to this season's new scrummaging protocols; Bevington himself incurring a yellow card in that Saints demolition job.

“We are trying a few different things and techniques that we hope will change things,” he said.

“It's only the small things that need tweaking.

“We have the size and the power and we are just working on that formula.

“There's been a change in the past week with the referee no longer calling the put-in. You are in that fuzzy area again, but we just have to go with it and adapt.

“We are not that far off.

“The Scarlets have had a great scrum this year and we did okay against them.

“Their forwards coach Danny Wilson loves scrums. That is what he prides himself on.”