Sam Warburton out out for up to six weeks with a knee injury
CARDIFF BLUES welcome back Six Nations players for crunch match The Blues take on Munster on Friday at 7.05pm kick off at the Cardiff City Stadium, as they return to Magners League action, with their only defeat in their last six league matches a 13-32 loss against Ulster in February.
Munster have lost only one Magners League encounter since November so it promises to be another hotly contested encounter as the Blues take on the table toppers, but the last six clashes between the two sides have all been won by the home side. Speaking ahead of the match, Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby, David Young, said, “Munster will always focus the minds of our squad and with or without their international players Munster are always formidable.They are very physical, they do the basics really well and I think they have a squad that is as strong as anyone’s in the League.”
The Blues welcome back Lloyd Williams to the squad who has recovered from a shoulder injury sustained against Exeter in November. Cardiff Blues Six Nations players John Yapp, Leigh Halfpenny, Bradley Davies, Jamie Roberts and Dan Park all return to the 23 but the Blues are with without Sam Warburton.
Warburton picked sustained a knee injury in the defeat to France last Saturday and is expected to be out for between four to six weeks. T Rhys Thomas is also unavailable after picking up a hip injury that may require further investigation. While Tom James is also out with a minor foot injury, Gareth Williams is out with a minor calf injury and Faul Filise with an achilles injury.
It’s Ladies Day at the match and ladies tickets are available priced at only £10. Tickets can be bought from the Cardiff City Stadium Ticket Office, 0845 345 1400 or by visiting www.cardiffblues.com/tickets. The Blues are encouraging their supporters to wear their pink shirts for the match and are offering the chance for supporters to purchase a pink shirt for only £20 from the stadium shop.
The following players were not available for selection because of injury and suspension: Gareth Williams – calf; T Rhys Thomas – Hip; Sam Warburton – Knee; Tom James – Foot; Taufa’ao Felise – Achilles; Ben Blair – Knee: James Down – Foot; Gethin Jenkins – Toe; Michael Paterson – foot; Tom Shanklin – Knee; Tom Davies – Calf; Richie Rees – Suspended until 31 March.
Cardiff Team:
15 Chris Czekaj
14 Richard Mustoe
13 Casey Laulala
12 Dafydd Hewitt
11 Leigh Halfpenny
10 Ceri Sweeney
9 Lloyd Williams
8 Xavier Rush
7 Martyn Williams
6 Andries Pretorius
5 Paul Tito (c)
4 Michael Paterson
3 Scott Andrews
2 Rhys Williams
1 John Yapp
16 Kristian Dacey
17 Nathan Trevett
18 Sam Hobbs
19 Bradley Davies
20 Mamma Molitika
21 Tom Slater
22 Dan Parks
23 Jamie Roberts