The Welsh region were sitting pretty after two games of the preliminary stage, second in the table behind London Irish with two wins from two over Castres Olympique and Worcester Warriors.

They face a Newcastle side that suffered defeat in their opening fixture of the competition against Cardiff Blues before they also defeated Castres in the preliminary stage.

James is aware of the problems Newcastle can cause the Guinness PRO14 side, but has urged his troops to focus on their own performance rather than the opposition:

“They are quite strong up front and a really aggressive defence,” said James of the visiting Newcastle unit.

“We have had a good look at them; Newcastle are quite an aggressive team, but we have to focus quite heavily on ourselves and what we are going to do to put in a good performance."

The Welsh region will welcome back a number of the triumphant Wales side who lifted the Guinness 6 Nations trophy.

The second row pair of Alun Wyn Jones and Adam Beard, centre George North, openside flanker Justin Tipuric and loose-head prop Nicky Smith all return from international duty.

“Obviously the boys have come back with lots of confidence after a successful campaign in the Guinness 6 Nations. They’ve brought back a lot of energy,” said James.

“We are down to the business end of the season already – it's elimination – so it's an exciting time.

“What we have strived for all year is to put in performances and we know this week if the performance isn’t there, we are out.”

Ospreys’ attack coach Brock James has urged his side to concentrate on their own performance as they prepare to face an ‘aggressive’ Newcastle Falcons outfit in the Round of 16 in the European Rugby Challenge Cup.