Cardiff v London Irish: Teams
London Irish have made wholesale changes for Friday's must-win Heineken Cup Pool 2 clash at Cardiff Blues.
Last Updated: 17/11/11 2:50pm
London Irish have made wholesale changes for Friday's must-win Heineken Cup Pool 2 clash at Cardiff Blues.
Having suffered a disastrous home to defeat to Edinburgh in their opening fixture, Exiles coach Toby Booth has made six switches to his starting line-up.
An all new front row sees Clarke Dermody return to captain the side, with David Paice at hooker and Faan Rautenbach at tighthead.
Joe Ansbro replaces the suspended Shontayne Hape, while Declan Danaher and Richard Thorpe start in the back row.
Blues are forced into two changes from the side that scored a fantastic win over Racing Metro in Paris.
Injuries to Jamie Roberts and James Down sees Dafydd Hewitt come in at centre, with captain Paul Tito returning in the second row.
"We secured a great win out in Paris last weekend, but know it means nothing unless we back it up with a win against London Irish tomorrow," said Blues flanker Sam Warburton.
"The support from the Blues fans in the Racing Metro match was immense so we hope there will be a big crowd coming down on Friday and make as much noise."
"All the World Cup players are excited to be playing our first game at the Cardiff City Stadium since returning from New Zealand and it promises to be a great match."
Cardiff Blues: 15 Chris Czekaj, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Tom James, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Xavier Rush, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Michael Paterson, 5 Paul Tito, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tau Filise, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Marc Breeze, 17 John Yapp, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Maama Molitika, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Richie Rees, 22 Ceri Sweeney, 23 Gavin Evans.
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Joe Ansbro, 12 Steven Shingler, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Dan Bowden, 9 Ross Samson, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Richard Thorpe, 6 Declan Danaher, 5 Matthew Garvey, 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 David Paice, 1 Clarke Dermody.
Replacements: 16 James Buckland, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Paulica Ion, 19 James Sandford, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Jonathan Spratt, 22 Adrian Jarvis, 23 Paul Hodgson.
