There is one change in the backs with Gavin Evans starting at inside centre in place of Dafydd Hewitt, who is out with a hamstring injury.
Meanwhile there are two changes in the backrow with Josh Navidi and Maama Molitika both starting, Sam Warburton and Michael Paterson moving to the bench. The second row in unchanged but the Blues start with two new props: Scott Andrews and John Yapp both starting in place of Taufa’ao Filise, who is out with a shoulder injury, and Gethin Jenkins who is out with illness.
Jamie Roberts was not available for selection having suffered a knee injury in the win against the Dragons, however, he should be available for selection for the Heineken Cup match against London Irish. Chris Czekaj, Richard Mustoe and Tom James were also unavailable for selection with hamstring injuries but should all should be available in the next week or so.
The Ospreys have slipped to three straight defeats in all competitions, but are unbeaten in three of their last four games in the RaboDirect PRO12 and the Blues know it will be a difficult match against Scott Johnson’s men, having recorded just one victory over Ospreys in their last four encounters. Their only previous win on Ospreys soil was 28-9 on their first visit to Liberty Stadium on 22 December 2005.
However the Blues have won four of their last five fixtures in the RaboDirect PRO12 and go into the match on the back of a convincing win against the Dragons.
Ospreys Director of Coaching, Scott Johnson, commented: “It’s a big game against the Blues and another test for us as a group. We’re up against a team of international players who have been in outstanding form and will believe that they can come to our patch and get a result.
“Of course we were disappointed to miss out against the Scarlets but that doesn’t mean there’s been long faces in training this week. The prospect of another derby against such a good team, in front of our own fantastic fans, has made sure of that. There are guys in the team who were pretty down on Boxing Day, that’s only natural, they are human beings who are passionate about this region and the defeat hurt them, but the good thing is that hurt is driving them on to do better this weekend.
“We’ve had a good few days in training, the spirit is good and there’s a determination to go out and do the right thing for the cause. No doubt the Blues will make it tough for us, it should be a cracker, but if we make that pass stick, eradicate the unforced errors, make that tackle, then we can get our performance level where it needs to be. If we do that, with our fans really getting behind the team, then it could be derby to remember.”
Ospreys 15 Barry Davies 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Andrew Bishop 12 Ashley Beck 11 Shane Williams/Hanno Dirksen 10 Matthew Morgan 9 Kahn Fotuali’I; 1 Ryan Bevington 2 Richard Hibbard 3 Adam Jones 4 Ryan Jones 5 Jonathan Thomas 6 James King 7 Justin Tipuric (Capt) 8 George Stowers
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett 17 Duncan Jones 18 Aaron Jarvis 19 Tom Smith 20 Joe Bearman 21 Rhys Webb 22 Dan Biggar 23 Tom Isaacs
Cardiff Blues 15 Gavin Henson 14 Leigh Halfpenny 13 Casey Laulala 12 Gavin Evans 11 Alex Cuthbert 10 Ceri Sweeney 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Xavier Rush 7 Josh Navidi 6 Maama Molitika 5 Paul Tito (c) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Scott Andrews 2 Ryan Tyrell 1 John Yapp
Replacements 16 Marc Breeze 17 Sam Hobbs 18 Ryan Harford 19 Michael Paterson 20 Sam Warburton 21 Richie Rees 22 Dan Parks 23 Harry Robinson
