Cardiff Blues welcome Zebre to Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday night hoping to leapfrog the Italian side in the Conference A table. Both sides fell to defeat in Round Seven of the Guinness PRO14 but Zebre only lost to the Toyota Cheetahs by a point and will fancy causing an upset in the Welsh capital. What’s at stake? The Blues know that a win can could lift them as high as fourth in the Conference A table and will be keen to continue their good form having pushed Scarlets all the way last week and beaten Toulouse in the Challenge Cup. Zebre, meanwhile, have enjoyed an excellent start to their Guinness PRO14 campaign and a victory for them could put real pressure on the Cheetahs who currently lie third. Team news (Cardiff Blues): Gethin Jenkins and Taufa’ao Filise return in the front-row whilst Macauley Cook and Damian Welch form the second-row, with Josh Turnbull starting at blindside flanker. Lloyd Williams and Steve Shingler form the halfback pairing whilst Aled Summerhill moves into the centre and Garyn Smith occupies the wing. Team news (Zebre): Zebre’s defeat at the hands of the Cheetahs leads to just one change from head coach Michael Bradley who brings in Gabriele Di Giulio on the wing. The side boasts seven Italian internationals in the starting XV with Dario Chistolini and Renato Giammarioli set to appear from the bench. Another replacement, Andrea De Marchi, will be looking to make history on Saturday and become the first Zebre player to reach 100 appearances for the club. Talking points: Blues head coach Danny Wilson is pleased to have some selection dilemmas: “We have some senior players back and bolstering up-front that we’ve needed. “That gives us a few selection decisions to make as opposed to perhaps not having them to make, so that’s pleasing. “I’ve been really impressed with the changes at Zebre. From analysing the team, they’re bordering on being unrecognisable from what we’ve seen in the past. “They’re playing a very different brand of rugby and have completely changed their approach. They’ve got some good personnel and athletes in there now and it’s going to be a new challenge for us. “We’re keen to get back to winning ways, at home. We need to show what we showed out in Toulouse, against Lyon and in the second half against Dragons.” Key Battle: Steve Shingler vs Carlo Canna Shingler returns at stand-off this week after starting on the bench in the Welsh derby against the Scarlets, and will look to link up with halfback partner Williams to create space for the backline. The Welsh fly-half goes up against the experienced Italy playmaker Carlo Canna, who almost kicked his side to a historic victory last week and is keen to make his mark ahead of the Azzurri’s autumn campaign. Key Stat: The Blues have won their last two matches at the Arms Park, both with try bonus points, against Dragons in the Guinness PRO14 and Lyon in the European Challenge Cup. Did you know? The Welshmen have not lost to an Italian opponent since a visit to Treviso in February 2016. Cardiff Blues: Matthew Morgan; Aled Summerhill, Garyn Smith, Willis Halaholo, Blaine Scully; Steve Shingler, Lloyd Williams; Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees, Taufa’ao Filise; Macauley Cook, Damian Welch; Josh Turnbull, Ollie Robinson, Nick Williams Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Corey Domachowski, Keiron Assiratti, George Earle, Sion Bennett, Tomos Williams, Ben Jones, Tom James Zebre: Matteo Minozzi; Giulio Bisegni, Mattia Bellini, Tommaso Castello, Gabriele Di Giulio; Carlo Canna, Marcello Violi; Sami Panico, Oliviero Fabiani, Eduardo Bello; Leonard Krumow; Valerio Bernabo; Giovanni Licata, Johan Meyer, Derick Minnie Replacements: Luhandre Luus, Andrea De Marchi, Dario Chistolini, Jacopo Sarto, Renato Giammarioli, Guglielmo Palazzani, Serafin Bordoli, Ciaran Gaffney TV: Live on S4C at 7.35pm Match officials – Referee: Sean Gallagher (IRFU), AR1: David Wilkinson (IRFU), AR2: Mike English (WRU), Citing Commissioner: Jeff Mark (WRU), TMO: Neil Hennessey (WRU) Guinness PRO14 Final 2018 Ticket Information: Fans can save up to 20% on selected tickets, and prices start at just €30 for adults and €5 for children, and be booked via www.ticketmaster.ie
