RaboDirect PRO12 match preview: Cardiff Blues v Ospreys
Cardiff Blues make seven changes for their clash against Ospreys in Saturday's RaboDirect PRO12 derby double-header.
Last Updated: 30/03/13 5:08pm
The Millennium Stadium is set to stage two regional rivalries as Dragons take on Scarlets before the Blues and Ospreys battle it out on the turf which saw Wales claim the Six Nations last month.
The Blues are boosted by the return of their Wales international contingent as Leigh Halfpenny resumes duties at full-back, while Sam Warburton comes back into the fold at openside flanker.
Harry Robinson is favoured on the left wing as Chris Czekaj is left out of the squad while Rhys Patchell gets the nod at fly-half with Ceri Sweeney demoted to the bench.
In the pack Blues coach Phil Davies has selected Lou Reed in the second row with Scott Andrews and Sam Hobbs replacing Benoit Bourrust and Taufa'ao Filise at prop.
Ospreys remain unchanged in the starting XV following their comprehensive 52-19 victory against Newport Gwent Dragons last time out.
Ospreys fly-half Dan Biggar was amongst the try scorers last week as he amassed 18 points for his side.
The lone change to the squad sees George Stowers dropped from the bench to be replaced by Joe Bearman.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Owen Williams, 13 Gavin Evans (capt), 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Luke Hamilton, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Michael Paterson, 5 Lou Reed, 4 Filo Paulo, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Marc Breeze, 1 Sam Hobbs.
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Taufa'ao Filise, 19 Robin Copeland, 20 Rory Watts-Jones, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Ceri Sweeney, 23 Gareth Davies.
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Tom Habberfield, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Tom Isaacs, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'I, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 James King, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (capt), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Lloyd Peers, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Ben John.
What they said...
Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby Phil Davies
"Facing the Ospreys is a challenge and we've certainly not performed to the standards we have aspired to, we have performed well, but we are coming up against arguably the best pack in the competition," he told the club's official website.
Ospreys coach Steve Tandy
"We have to be 100 per cent focused on the job, and we have to kick on from last weekend's win to allow us to really build some momentum going into the final three games, starting with Treviso at the Liberty in two weeks," he told the club's official website.
