After falling to their first GUINNESS PRO12 defeat of the season against Ulster last time out, Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy admits his side face a tough ask to get back to winning ways at Leinster tomorrow. Darren Cave’s double proved enough to down the Welsh side at the Kingspan Stadium but Tandy is drawing confidence from his side’s second-half resurgence, having been 18-3 behind at the interval. And the 34-year-old is urging his players to show the same fight at the RDS Arena, where Leinster have won their last 17 matches in all tournaments since drawing 29-29 with Ospreys in September 2013. Ospreys will be boosted by the return of Dan Baker from Wales duty to start at No.8, while Marc Thomas comes into the front row after injuries to fellow loose-heads Duncan Jones, Nicky Smith and Ryan Bevington. Hanno Dirksen starts at centre with Tyler Ardron and Joe Bearman joining the pack and despite the disruption of injuries and international call-ups, Tandy is confident his men will rise to the challenge. “As frustrating as it was against Ulster there were plenty of positives to take from the game, not least the endeavour and spirit that we showed in bucket loads in the second half,” he said. “We'll definitely need to see that character and resolve again on Saturday, from the very first whistle right to the end. “We're up against it, circumstances with the fourth international mean that we have to go to one of the toughest places in European rugby without some key figures while they could have all their Ireland contingent available. “Throw in some injuries, with more boys ruled out of action this week, and you can see the size of the challenge we're facing. “We're up for it though. We know it's going to be a hard night at the office but the boys are all up for it and have prepared really well this week.” While Leinster remain unbeaten in the GUINNESS PRO12 since tripping up against Munster in round five, it took a late missed penalty by Benetton Treviso for Matt O’Connor’s side to escape with a draw from last weekend’s encounter. The head coach has made six changes to his starting XV, with Fergus McFadden making a welcome return from an ankle injury to partner Irish international Ian Madigan in midfield. Eoin Reddan comes in at scrum-half while hooker Bryan Byrne and flanker Dominic Ryan replace the injured Richardt Strauss and Kevin McLaughlin respectively. And forwards coach Leo Cullen has warned his players that they will need to show a great deal of improvement if they are to inflict a second GUINNESS PRO12 defeat of the season on the visitors. “We need to have a hell of a lot better mindset or head space going into this weekend," he said. “Ospreys are a totally different proposition every time we play them, even though they might be missing a couple of bodies from Wales, it's going to be the same with us realistically. “They go hard at the ball in defence. They go hard at you to test you out. “When they have the ball, they'll take us on. They'll be confrontational, whether that's with the drive or picking and going at the fringes.” Follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12 At RDS Arena, 5.15pm Live on TG4/Sky Sports Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 32nd competition game) Assistant Referees: Mark Patton, Stuart Gaffikin (both IRFU) Citing Commissioner: Denis Templeton (IRFU) TMO: Alan Rogan (IRFU)
