Dragons v Blues: Teams
Blues lock Deiniol Jones could set a record for Magners League appearances against the Dragons.
Last Updated: 23/04/10 9:19am
If he comes off the bench during Friday's match at the Dragons, Cardiff Blues lock Deiniol Jones will set a record for Magners League appearances.
Jones equalled Adam Black's record of 117 last weekend in the Blues' 39-16 defeat of the Scarlets which guaranteed them Heineken Cup rugby next season.
The match also pits fly-half Ceri Sweeney back at his old stamping ground and against his former team-mates, after Sweeney has come through his first season at the Blues impressively, especially in last week's derby win.
"Ceri has come in and shown a lot of strength of character," said coach Dai Young to the Western Mail.
"We wanted to give Sam every opportunity we could and Ceri had to sit back in the wings, but he has come in and organised and run the team really well.
Improved
"His defence has never been an issue, he is very strong in that area, and his organisational skills have always been strong
"Where people have criticised him in the past has been with his kicking game. That has certainly improved and I think he has really played well for us. He has stood up."
Meanwhile, James Arlidge starts at fly-half for the Dragons as Jason Tovey has failed to recover from a knock sustained in last weekend's win over Edinburgh.
Injury also keeps Joe Bearman out of the team following his return to action last weekend, he is replaced by Newport RFC Captain, Andrew Coombs.
Wales international Luke Charteris is also out, along with Matthew Watkins and prop, Pat Palmer.
Dragons: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Will Harries, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Richard Fussell, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Andrew Coombs, 5 Hoani MacDonald, 4 Rob Sidoli, 3 Ben Castle, 2 Tom Willis (c), 1 Hugh Gustafson.
Replacements: 16
Lloyd Burns, 17 Nigel Hall, 18 Lewis Evans, 19 James Harris, 20 Rhodri Gomer Davies, 21 Adam Hughes, 22 Alex Walker.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 Jamie Roberts, 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Chris Czekaj, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Maama Molitika, 5 Paul Tito, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Gareth Williams, 17 Taufa'au Filise, 18 Deiniol Jones, 19 Andries Pretorius, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Dai Flanagan, 22 Gavin Evans.