Blues select side for Saracens clash

Posted on Jan 25, 2013 in Cardiff Blues

Cardiff Blues return to LV=Cup action this weekend taking on Saracens in their new ground, Allianz Park.

Cardiff Blues are currently third in Pool 2 behind Worcester Warriors and Sale Sharks but ahead of Leicester Tigers. With teams in pool 1 playing those in pool 4 and teams in pool 2 take on teams in pool 3, round three sees the rest of the matches played on Saturday afternoon.

Sale Sharks play the Scarlets, Leicester Tigers play London Wasps and London Irish take on Worcester Warriors.

With Cardiff Blues having nine players in the Wales Six Nations squad Phil Davies has made a number of changes to the side that beat Sale Sharks in the Heineken Cup last Saturday.

Jason Tovey comes in at fullback, Owen Williams moves to the wing meaning there is a new centre partnership of Gavin Evans and Dafydd Hewitt. Harry Robinson remains on the other wing but there is a new halfback partnership with Ceri Sweeney linking up with Lewis Jones.

There is almost a totally new pack with Sam Hobbs the only player from the starting line up from last Saturday’s match.

Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby, Phil Davies, said,

“The match against the Sale Sharks was a game we were able to field a full Welsh qualified team.”

“It shows that our Academy system is working well as it has done for a number of years.”

“It has produced some of the best players in Europe with the likes of Jamie Roberts, Alex Cuthbert and Leigh Halfpenny.”

“There is a new crop of youngsters who have come through which is fantastic and it’s exciting to see these young players develop, and they will have an opportunity to show what they can do on Sunday.”

Sunday 27 January, 3pm kick off, Allianz Park, London.

Saracens v Cardiff Blues (KO 3pm)

Cardiff Blues 15. Jason Tovey  14. Owen Williams  13. Gavin Evans (c)12. Dafydd Hewitt  11. Harry Robinson 10. Ceri Sweeney 9. Lewis Jones

8. Robin Copeland 7. Rory Watts-Jones  6. Luke Hamilton 5. Macauley Cook  4. Michael Paterson  3. Beniot Bourrust  2. Kristian Dacey 1. Sam Hobbs

16. Rhys Williams  17. Nathan Trevett  18. Taufa’ao Filise 19. Cory Hill 20. Thomas Young  21 Alex Walker  22. Gareth Davies  23. Tom Williams

Not available for selection:

Andi Kyriacou- Neck operation return in April

Dan Fish- Suffered shoulder nerve palsy in match against Zebre. Return late January

Tom James- Fractured sesamoid (big toe). Surgery to remove pin on Wednesday 5th December, return in late February.

LONG TERM

Jake Copper- Woolley- right knee ACL injury 4 months

Tom Davies- ACL knee reconstruction this week, 4 months

Cardiff Blues contract news

Posted on Jan 18, 2013 in Cardiff Blues

Lewis Jones extends contract with the Blues

Young Cardiff Blues scrum half Lewis Jones is the latest player to extend his contract with the region

Beddau born and bred, scrum half Lewis Jones spent his early days playing for his school and for his local club at junior and youth level. While studying at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen, Lewis was called up to the Blues age grade squads from under 16’s through to under 18’s. Whilst studying at Pencoed College, Jones also joined the Bridgend WRU College League side during his two years in sixth-form.

On being released by the Blues Academy in November 2010, Lewis Jones was offered a permanent contract with Pontypridd RFC and went on to play a significant part in the club’s successful campaign, culminating in a double try scoring, Man of the Match performance in the 2011 SWALEC Cup final.

After an impressive season in the Principality Premiership and a key player in Wales’ Under 20 squad, Jones was invited back into the Blues Academy a year later, before signing with the Blues senior side for the 2012/13 season.

Looking back on his progression, Lewis contemplates his good fortune and his future ambitions,

“I have had a bit of luck on my side this season. Unfortunately Lloyd (Williams) was banned, which meant I had a good run of games and a chance to start.

“I enjoy the way the Cardiff Blues play, as it is similar to the way I like playing and that has made my experience here all the more satisfying.

“My first Heineken Cup game didn’t go according to plan, when I got sin binned against Sale, but playing against Toulon was a fantastic experience, competing against players of that calibre was a real eye opener.

Lewis is very much part of a young group of players that the Blues are developing and retaining for the long term.

“Obviously there is a lot of us coming up through the Blues at the moment and we are getting a lot of experience early on in our careers, which hopefully will benefit us as individuals and also as a squad.

“It makes you feel at home playing with boys your own age. I played with Harry Robinson, Macauley Cooke, Ellis Jenkins, Owen Williams and Tom Young at the Junior World Cup two years ago, and that helped me settle this year. Then there are the Welsh internationals who have a lot of experience and are ready to help.

“It’s an exciting time to be involved at the Blues so I’m glad to have signed a contract extension.”

Marc Breeze commits to the Blues

Hooker, Marc Breeze, who joined Cardiff Blues from Aberavon RFC in October 2011, signs new contract with the region

Having started his career at blindside flanker, Marc played in the back row for Wales at U16 level, captaining the side.  However, Breeze converted to hooker under the guidance of former Wales hooker, Garin Jenkins, where he went on to earn caps at U19 and U20 level, forming part of the 2006 Grand Slam Junior World Cup side alongside current team mates James Down, Bradley Davies and Lou Reed.

His early career saw him play for both Aberavon and the Ospreys before leaving Wales,  to join London Welsh. Breeze returned to Wales, after struggling with the commute, to play for Aberavon in 2010, which saw him reach a total of 170 appearances for the Premiership side and soon after signed with the Cardiff Blues.

On his signing and subsequent contract extension Marc Breeze comments on his enjoyment playing with the Welsh Capital side,

“When I received the phone call last October to be part of the Cardiff Blues team I could not have asked for more. I had played against the boys regularly and played with some of them through the age grades, so I fitted in quite quickly.

“I played twenty-seven games in thirteen months and also played my first Heineken Cup matches with the Cardiff Blues, which has been great for me.

“The facilities at the Blues are the best in Wales. You can’t compare them with the ones at some of the other clubs that I have been to. Everything is in one location, which makes it so much easier. There’s no interruption to training and the kitchen is on site, which makes it all very easy to manage our nutritional intake.”

Speaking of the new coaching set-up, Breeze who has a degree in Sports Science from the University of Glamorgan and aspires to coach later in life having gained his level two coaching qualifications, said,

“I appreciate what Phil has done since he came in at the beginning of the season. He has put an emphasis on fitness and like most of the boys in the squad I am in the best shape of my career.

“The boys have been buying into his values all the way. He knows how hard we work and once our luck turns it will be good for us. Phil has given me confidence to play.

“There is a good set of boys here and great values. We work really hard for each other. We have a young team and if we keep it going we will benefit from it in a year or so.

“I am happy here and I am really settled with the boys. It’s important to get on with the coaching staff, if they can give you confidence in your own ability then it shows on the pitch and Phil has given us that.”

James Down signs new deal with Cardiff Blues

Posted on Jan 14, 2013 in Cardiff Blues

Cardiff Blues have confirmed that second row forward, James Down, has signed a new contract with the region

James made his senior debut with the Llantwit Fardre club and trained with Cardiff RFC in the summer of 2006. He then made his debut for Cardiff in the pre-season match at Selkirk while still in the Blues Academy. He made his Blues debut against the Border Reivers in January 2007.

Having progressed well, Down showed the potential he had over the next few seasons, but suffered a horrific broken leg when he fell at the tackle area in the second minute during the Racing Metro v Cardiff Blues match in Paris in November 2011. He has since recovered to become an integral part of the Cardiff Blues pack.

Speaking of the contract James said,

“It was an easy decision to sign again with the Blues.

“It’s my hometown region. I’ve played all my rugby here and come through the Academy system, so I always wanted to stay.

“It’s been really positive on a personal note to play a lot of rugby this year having picked up injuries in previous seasons. It’s good to play a lot of games in a row and I aim to stay in the team and hopefully build some wins up.

“It’s an important thing for any player to get a run of games to get some consistency and this is the first season I’ve been able to do that in a Blues shirt."

Looking to the future James said,

“We have a lot of talented young players who are gaining experience week in week out and I think, hopefully we will see that talent come through in wins.

“Certainly in seasons to come I can’t see any reason why we can’t challenge for honours with the talent we have, if we can keep hold of quality players.

“The Arms Park has always had a fantastic atmosphere and I grew up watching Cardiff RFC as it was then and then the Blues later on. It’s good to come back and the atmosphere is still great.

“Phil Davies has also come in and put in some systems and a new dynamic to training. I think we are only a few inches away from putting in a string of wins together and moving up the Rabo table.”

Having been called up to the Wales squad during the autumn internationals James now is eager to get back in the Wales squad.

“It was a real honour and privilege to be called up to the Wales squad, even though it was only for a short time.

“To contribute to the training was brilliant and to be in that environment gave me a taste of it and made me want it more.”

Halfpenny back for Cardiff Blues side to face Toulon

Posted on Jan 11, 2013 in Cardiff Blues

Cardiff Blues have made four changes for their Round 5 Heineken Cup match against Toulon

There are three changes in the backs with Leigh Halfpenny starting at Full Back in place of Jason Tovey. Gavin Evans has recovered from a back injury and Alex Cuthbert from a facial injury to start in the back line in place of Owen Williams and Richard Smith.

There is only one change in the forwards with James Down in instead of Bradley Davies who remains at home with his partner, who is expected to give birth to their first child over the weekend.

Speaking ahead of the match, Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby Phil Davies said,

“Over the last six weeks there have been a few key moments for me. Montpellier away, although we lost, we put some good things together and our players were clapped off the field at the end of the game, I think that was a boost for their confidence.”

“Also our performance against the Dragons saw us able to control the game and close the game out. We stole a few key line-outs and our defensive line was superb. We kept our discipline and organization to get over the line.”

“Munster was another one, you could see the players thinking their way through the game. Watching it on TV wasn’t pleasant but you could see the way they managed that game, putting into practice how to control different game scenarios, which has been a huge focal point for us this season.”

“We have a lot of experiences thrown at the young group and they have coped with it well. Now we just need to keep that game management going and fine-tune the details within the plays to become more effective.”

“Physically we are going into the Toulon match in the best shape we have been in as a group. The progress we have made from when we started back in June is quite staggering. I am confident, especially after the good results of the last few games that we are in the best place to be going out to face the Top 14 side.”

“We need to go out there and make sure we front up physically and when we have the ball we get over the gain line.”

Although the Blues cannot qualify for the quarter final of the Heineken Cup, the Round 5 and 6 matches will still have an impact on the seedings for next season. 

“It goes without saying that we want to stay in the top tier but we just need to keep working hard and if we can get the results to keep us up then that’s fantastic.”

“The progression is going in the right direction and if we can keep churning out results it will bring everyone more confidence.”

“It’s a big team effort here; Gareth and Xavier did a great job at the weekend. We have been working hard all year, everything is following on and we are building a bit of momentum.”

“The longer we have been working on particular things the better we are becoming. Our tackling technique is getting better and the system itself is constantly improving. The last few games have shown the improvement but it will be a big test for us this weekend.”

“We will change a few things around for Toulon as there are a few circumstances we cannot control. It will be a challenge for us but if we can believe that we can do it then that’s half the battle.”

RC Toulon v Cardiff Blues

Saturday 12 January 2:35pm kick off (local time)

Team v Toulon 15. Leigh Halfpenny  14. Alex Cuthbert  13. Gavin Evans 12. Jamie Roberts  11. Harry Robinson 10. Rhys Patchell 9. Lewis Jones

8. Robin Copeland  7. Sam Warburton 6. Josh Navidi (c ) 5. Lou Reed  4. James Down  3. Beniot Bourrust  2. Rhys Williams 1. Sam Hobbs

16. Kristian Dacey  17. Nathan Trevett  18. Scott Andrews  19. Macauley Cook 20. Luke Hamilton 21 Gareth Davies  22. Ceri Sweeney  23. Owen Williams

Leinster name all-Irish starting XV to face Cardiff Blues

Posted on Oct 26, 2012 in Leinster

Leinster have named an all Irish starting XV with their team to face the Cardiff Blues in Saturday’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash in the RDS (KO: 6.30pm).

Jonathan Sexton makes his 98th appearance and is just five points away from passing the 500 point career mark in league games. He partners Eoin Reddan (who is set to make his 70th appearance) at half back.

Gordon D’Arcy links up with Brian O’Driscoll in the midfield, while David Kearney will make his 40th appearance and start his first game of the season after being named on the right wing.

Up front, Devin Toner locks down at second row alongside captain Leo Cullen. Hooker Richardt Strauss, who was named in the Ireland panel for the first time earlier this week for the forthcoming November series, is named in the front row alongside international props Cian Healy and Mike Ross.

Back-row forward Rhys Ruddock, meanwhile, takes his place in the Senior panel for the first time this season and is named amongst a replacements bench which includes Isaac Boss and Sean Cronin.

There will be lots of Halloween activity around the ground on Saturday including a Haunted House, fancy dress competition and special firework display! Come down in your best Halloween costume to support the team and be in with a chance to win some great prizes on the night. With all of this and many other Halloween games it is set to be a spooky night down at the RDS! Gates open at 5pm.

 

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