Posted by John Mulvihill has named a strong Cardiff Blues team to travel to Bedford Blues in what will be the only official pre-season friendly ahead of the Guinness Pro14 getting underway.
Nick Williams captains a side that also includes Dmitri Arhip and Willis Halaholo, with none of them able to play in last week’s Celtic Cup tie against Dragons A courtesy of being non-Welsh qualified.
New signings Will Boyde and Jason Tovey both start, at openside and fly-half respectively, while Lewis Jones keeps his spot at scrum-half with Jamie Hill on the bench, as questions begin to be asked about the fitness of Lloyd Williams.
Garyn Smith is the man who gets the nod to start outside Halaholo in the centre, while youngsters Shane Lewis-Hughes and Ioan Davies are selected alongside ahead of more experienced team-mates.
There are positives on the bench as Rhys Gill, Kris Dacey, Scott Andrews, Josh Turnbull and Olly Robinson are all selected on the bench having recovered from surgery or injuries picked up over the summer.
They are joined by Ben Murphy, Ben Thomas and Jamie Hill who continue to be involved with the first team rather than with Cardiff Blues A in the Celtic Cup.
Cardiff Blues: Matthew Morgan; Jason Harries, Garyn Smith, Willis Halaholo, Ioan Davies; Jason Tovey, Lewis Jones; Brad Thyer, Kirby Myhill, Dmitri Arhip, Seb Davies, Rory Thornton, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Will Boyde, Nick Williams (c)
Replacements: Kris Dacey, Rhys Gill, Scott Andrews, Ben Murphy, Olly Robinson, Jamie Hill, Ben Thomas, Aled Summerhill, Josh Turnbull, Alun Lawrence
Cardiff Rugby Life 