Preview: Ospreys v Treviso

Lee Byrne will run out for his first start of the Magners League season after being named by the Ospreys for Friday's clash with Treviso.

Lee Byrne will run out for his first start of the Magners League season after being named at full-back for the Ospreys' fixture against Treviso.

Byrne comes in to replace Gareth Owen, who shifts to inside centre following the region's opening day defeat at the hands of Ulster.

Regular number thirteen Sonny Parker is being rested which means that Andrew Bishop will occupy the position outside Owen on Friday.

In the other change to the starting line-up, Director of Coaching Scott Johnson has opted to bring in Shane Williams on the wing for Richard Fussell, who crossed the whitewash in Ravenhill.

“It's a little bit of history on Friday night, the first time that an Italian team comes to the Liberty Stadium for a Magners League game,” said Johnson, who hailed the Italian side following their shock victory over the Scarlets.

“It's not a completely new experience for us, we've played Italian sides including Treviso in Europe before, but I think it's going to be a different kind of challenge now.

“The Italian sides have recruited well over the summer, there's been some good Italian players returning home and that's been backed by some intelligent foreign signings. I think it's excellent news for the Magners League and is a real step forward. Bringing the Italian sides into the competition has added another dimension to the competition, a different flavour, and it's exciting.

“The result against the Scarlets sent out a clear message, but one thing's for certain, we were well aware of the threat before that game, and we will be approaching the game in exactly the same way we would any other, don't worry about that one.

“I wasn't surprised by the result, it was good for the tournament and good for Treviso. It's also a great credit to the Magners that we've got a new team in and they've done well first up.

“I think Italian rugby's really on the up. I've watched improvement over the last few years, subtly, and the results probably haven't gone their way. But there's genuine talent across the board, they've got more players to pick from and we expect a very physical encounter.”

Meanwhile, Treviso have moved international Luke McLean to the left wing so that Brendan Williams can be handed a start in the full-back jersey.

Enrico Pavanello comes in for injured lock and captain Antonio Pavanello while Leonardo Ghiraldini only makes the bench for the game at Liberty Stadium.

Form: The two teams have met twice before, both in European Cup play with Ospreys taking each encounter in December 2008: 68-8 at Liberty Stadium, and 36-16 in Treviso. Ospreys' four game winning run in the Magners League came to an end at Ulster on Friday evening. The Welshmen have won their last nine matches at Liberty Stadium in all competitions.Ospreys have won all six previous encounters they have had against Italian teams. Benetton Treviso, after their impressive Magners League debut, have now won their last nine matches in all competitions since losing 28-34 in Rovigo in Italy's Super-10 competition in April. Treviso have a won 3, lost four record on previous visits to Wales, being victorious at Pontypridd in 1998, Cross Keys in 2000 and Newport Gwent Dragons in 2007.

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Jamie Nutbrown, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jerry Collins (capt), 5 Ian Evans, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Cai Griffiths, 2 Mefin Davies, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Paul James, 19 James Goode, 20 Ben Lewis, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Tommy Bowe, 23 Richard Fussell.

Treviso: 15 Brendan Williams, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Ezio Galon, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Khristopher Burton, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Paul Derbyshire, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Robert Barbieri, 5 Corniel Van Zyl, 4 Enrico Pavanello, 3 Pedro Di Santo, 2 Diego Vidal, 1 Augusto Allori.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Benjamin De Jager, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 Simon Picone.

Date: Friday, September 10
Kick-off: 19:05
Venue: Liberty Stadium
Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Assistant referees: James Jones (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
Television match official: Hugh Watkins (Wales)