Schedule ::
Teams :: Cardiff Blues vs Munster
Date :: 25 March, 2011
Time ::19:05 (GMT/UTC)
Venue :: Cardiff City Stadium
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The teams squad :
Cardiff Blues team squad : 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.
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Sam Hobbs, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Mamma Molitika, 21 Tom Slater, 22 Dan Parks, 23 Jamie Roberts.
Munster team squad : 15 Felix Jones, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Johne Murphy, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Connor Murray, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 Niall Ronan, 6 James Couglan, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Paul O'Connell (c), 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Donncha Ryan, 20 Peter O'Mahony, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Sam Tuitupou, 23 Danny Cusack.
Cardiff Blues vs Munster Preview ::
The Blues welcome back their international contingent for Friday's clash with Magners League leaders Munster at Cardiff City Stadium.
Munster hold a nine-point lead at the top of the standings but have lost on their last five visits to Wales so it promises to be another hotly contested encounter.
"Munster will always focus the minds of our squad and with or without their international players Munster are always formidable," said Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby David Young.
"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."
"That's why they are always at the top. There is competition for places in their team and that keeps everyone on their toes."
"They have a great tradition and fight for everything that goes with the shirt.
"The pressure is no different for us than it is for any other team in the top five or six."
"Everybody realises that all the games very important and can't afford to have a bad day.
"That is what I think the play-offs have added to the tournament.
"We will certainly have a buzz and enthusiasm around training over the new few weeks because each match is vital."
The Blues welcome back Lloyd Williams, who has recovered from a shoulder injury sustained against Exeter in November.
Cardiff's 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.
Meanwhile scrum-half Conor Murray will lead the Munster back line.
Murray, who was handed his first start against the Dragons at the start of this month is partnered with Ronan O'Gara in a side that includes returning internationals, Keith Earls, Denis Leamy and Paul O'Connell.
In explaining what is undoubtedly a big call at nine, Tony McGahan said, "Conor has been a consistent member of the senior squad in training over the past twelve months because of International call ups and injuries to our half-back position.
"In this time he has gathered valuable training experiences from the more senior players in the squad which allowed him to play off the bench in last Six Nations window and start against the Dragons in our last Magners League game this year.
"He impressed the coaching staff and fellow players with a enthusiastic and mature display in his first professional start and deserves to be in the mix competing with Peter and Duncan for game time with Tomas's unfortunate bout of injuries."
All in all, McGahan makes ten changes to the starting XV from the one that played against the Dragons in Musgrave Park three weeks ago, one of those changes forced by Paul Warwick's return to Australia on family matters.
Elsewhere, the inclusion of Felix Jones at full-back means Johne Murphy switching to outside centre with Earls on the left wing in place of Simon Zebo.
Up front, it's all change in the front row with Wian du Preez, Damien Varley and Tony Buckley starting on this occasion, O'Connell comes in for Ian Nagle while the back row remains the same other than Niall Ronan, who returned from injury in the A game last week, replacing Donnacha Ryan who is named on the bench.
Form: Cardiff Blues' only defeat in their last six Magners League matches was 13-32 in Ulster on 25 February. The Blues most recent loss at Cardiff City Stadium in the Magners League was 15-37 to Ulster on 21 November. Munster have lost only one Magners League encounter since November: 18-19 in Treviso on 13 February. The Munstermen have lost on their last five visits to Wales in all competitions. The last six clashes between the two sides have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst Munster's only previous win on Blues soil in the Magners League was 18-16 at the Arms Park on 4 November 2005.
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