Ospreys captain Justin Tipuric has said that playing at Brewery Field will be a “massive” boost for his side, as they welcome Sale Sharks in the EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16.

Tipuric said that his side will “try and put on a show” for the crowd in Bridgend on Saturday.

“The boys spoke highly of the atmosphere around Christmas time,” he said, having missed the previous fixture at Bridgend against Cardiff due to injury.

“It would be great if we could get a similar type of atmosphere to back then and make it a tough day at the office for Sale.

“You hear every single voice from around the ground, whether it’s positive or negative. It makes a difference for us having these passionate people around us.”

The former Wales captain also spoke about the work that Ospreys’ head coach Toby Booth has done to build a successful side, mixing young talents with older heads like himself.

“It’s the environment that he’s built from the start,” Tipuric said.

“We are still nowhere near where we want to be and it’s just the start, hopefully. I think last year, losing to Saracens in the knockout stages, was tough going.

“All the boys are going well. The younger players have the attitude that they are not just happy about playing, they want to be making themselves better every week and also making the team better.

“That’s the environment that we have here that we’re not just happy making the numbers up.”

Having retired from international rugby last year, Tipuric has featured in Ospreys’ last four United Rugby Championship (URC) matches after coming back from a broken thumb suffered last October.

“It takes a little bit longer to recover these days but the mind still feels like it’s a young lad, unfortunately!” he joked.

“The body’s probably a bit different!

“The main thing I’ve always said is that I want to enjoy it and that’s the one thing with this group of players and staff, we make it fun and try to enjoy ourselves.

“When the enjoyment goes, I’m not hanging around for the sake of it.”

Tipuric also told of how the young members of the Ospreys squad like to remind him of his age.

“They make sure to tell me how I am, the youngsters, that’s for sure,” he said.

“They’re good kids and there’s some good quality coming through. There was a picture of one of the boys that I was shown this morning of me and them after one of my Wales games and they were only 10!

“We want the balance between youngsters and a little bit of experience. Just from my early days of being here, the older lads always helped me out with a bit of experience to pass down.”

The flanker also touched on Sale Sharks’ quality ahead of their clash on Saturday.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game,” said Tipuric.

“They’re a very good team with very good individuals. We’ve got to be on the money, though.

“Ben [Curry] is a very good player. It’s going to be a good battle in the back row, for both sides. Everyone’s got to be on their game and ready for the fight.”