Blues v Ospreys: Teams

The Cardiff Blues have opted to name a youthful-looking line-up for their LV= Cup clash against the Ospreys.

And Blues forwards coach Justin Burnell believes that the clash will offer the side's academy players the chance to shine.

"The match is a massive opportunity for some of our youngsters to show what they are capable of, especially as we aim to move the region forward, bringing youngsters through into our senior squad," he said.

"The likes of Cory Hill, Macauley Cook and Lewis Smout have huge potential. There are some very good youngsters coming up through our system, so we are very excited about that.

"When you look at some of the players we have had in our academy: Sam Warburton, Jamie Roberts, Bradley Davies, you see a lot of similarities with players coming through, which is hugely encouraging.

"With some players you can definitely see the potential at an early age and this match gives us the chance to see how they come through in the live environment."

The Ospreys have also named an experimental side for the Wales derby.

However Tom Prydie, Ian Evans, Mefin Davies and Duncan Jones offer experience to the line-up, while Huw Bennett and Jamie Nutbrown could come off the bench.

Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Steve Taylor, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Dafydd Hewitt (c), 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Joe Griffin, 9 Rhys Downes, 8 Tom Brown, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Luke Hamilton, 5 Macauley Cook, 4 Bryn Griffiths, 3 Sam Hobbs, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Tom Davies.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Lewis Smout, 18 Will Griff John, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Owen Sheppard, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Lewis Williams, 23 James Loxton.

Ospreys: 15 Tom Prydie, 14 Kristian Phillips, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Matthew Morgan, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Tom Smith, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 James King, 5 Ian Evans, 4 James Goode, 3 Cai Griffiths, 2 Mefin Davies, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Craig Cross, 18 Will Taylor, 19 Richard Kelly, 20 Morgan Allen, 21 Jamie Nutbrown, 22 Tom Isaacs, 23 Dai Flanagan.