WALES ACE SEB HANDS BLUES A BIG BOOST...
Powerful No.8 makes welcome PRO14 return from injury as region go hunting for Cheetahs PREVIEW: Page 55
WALES international Seb Davies makes his long-awaited return as part of a much-changed Cardiff Blues side for the Guinness PRO14 clashagainst Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein today (6.15pm).
Following two rounds of European action, John Mulvihill’s men switch their attention back to the league and will be looking to build upon three consecutive wins in the competition.
Injuries and international duties have forced some changes, but Mulvihill has picked a mobile side, showing nine changes, to combat the South African outfit’s running threat.
In the pack, Brad Thyer, Ethan Lewis and Scott Andrews form a new-look front-row, Rory Thornton comes into the second-row and Seb Davies makes his long-awaited return to action at number eight.
Steve Shingler makes his first appearance of the season, partnering Lloyd Williams at half-back, while Garyn Smith and Matthew Morgan return to the starting lineup.
Mulvihill said: “This is a crucial game for us and the Cheetahs have been waiting for this with three weeks without games to prepare.
“They play a very fast game and will attack from anywhere but they are also well-organised so we will have to be on our game.
“We’ve gone for a fast, running team to cope with the Cheetahs threats and the impact of playing at altitude at Bloemfontein, with a strong bench to come on.
“We are lucky to have a player of Steve Shingler’s quality to step into fly-half, he now has an opportunity to stake a claim after waiting patiently and it is great to welcome Seb Davies back after injury.
“We’ve had a good journey to South Africa and have prepared well in Cape Town so were looking forward to the game and if we can get something out of this, and next week against Zebre at the Arms Park, we can start moving up the table.”
Liam Belcher, who returned to Cardiff Blues in the summer following a season-long stint at the Dragons, Lewis Jones and Dan Fish are all in line for their first appearances of the campaign from the bench.
Fish will provide fly-half cover for Shingler, having impressed in the same role for Cardiff Blues A in the Celtic Cup.
All three previous encounters between the two sides have been won by the home team on the day with the Blues winning two, while the Toyota Cheetahs emerged victorious in Bloemfontein.
All three encounters, however, were decided by no more than five points – the last of which was the Cardiff Blues’ 24-21 victory against the Toyota Cheetahs in Wales in September.
Cheetahs coach Franco Smith said: “The players have matured a lot from where they started off this season. There has been growth and experience. We are now able to look back at certain points of reference in games we’ve played this season
“We make up for lack of experience through enthusiasm.”
“We work together as a team and we embrace the responsibility to play the supporters back into the stands. The winning-mind-set is important. The team has gelled together during the last two months and instead of individual efforts, it will take a team effort to get a win and we look forward to the challenge ahead.”
Toyota Cheetahs: M Jaer; R Smith, BJ van rensburg, W Small-Smith, R Maxwane; T Schoeman, S Venter (c); O Nche, J Dweba, A Coetzee, W Steenhkamp, JP du preez, G Oliver, J Pokamela, N Jordaan. Reps: R Venter, C Marais, E de Jager, S Manjezi, A Nonkontwana, T Meyer, L Fouche, N Lee.
Cardiff Blues: M Morgan; J Harries, G Smith, R Lee-Lo, A Summerhill; S Shingler, L Williams (c); B Thyer, E Lewis, S Andrews, G Earle, R Thornton, J Turnbull, O Robinson, S Davies. Reps: L Belcher, R Gill, K Assiratti, S Manoa, N Williams, L Jones, D Fish, W Halaholo.
Referee: Lloyd Linton (Sco).