Cardiff Blues have confirmed that scrum half Lloyd Williams will be out of action for approximately four weeks following a knee injury suffered against the Ospreys over the weekend.
The Welsh international scrum half suffered grade two medial ligament damage that will see him side-lined for four weeks, with a possible return against Ulster in the last match of the regular season on May the 3rd.
With the Cardiff Blues v Ospreys fast approaching the Blues are gearing up for another visit to the National Stadium
The Blues first played at the Millennium Stadium during the 2005/06 season where they recorded a victory in a high scoring match against Leinster in the Magners League.
The following season didn’t go so well for the Capital region recording losses to Leicester in the Heineken Cup and Ospreys in the EDF Anglo Welsh Cup semi final.
However, the 2008/09 season was arguably the most memorable one, with the Blues recording a win over Gloucester in the pool stage of the Heineken Cup in front of over 27,000 supporters.
They then recorded a hard fought win over Toulouse in the quarter-final in front of 36,000 supporters before facing Leicester in the semi final.
In front of a record 44,000 supporter the Blues fought back through tries from Jamie Roberts and Tom James and two touchline conversions from Ben Blair, to record a 26 all draw, before missing out in a historic penalty shoot out.
For this weekend’s match season ticket holders are reminded that their tickets need to be collected from the Cardiff Arms Park Ticket Office before 4pm on Friday 29th March.
Season ticket holders wishing to renew their season ticket on the day of the double header can do so in the Martyn Williams Pack Bar situated behind the Family Stand.
The Gareth Edwards Lounge upstairs in the clubhouse will be open to the general public from 12 midday, with the downstairs Members Bar also opening at 12.
It’s the ideal venue to meet ahead of the matches on Easter Saturday (March 30) with the Newport Gwent Dragons kicking off against the Scarlets 2.30pm
Following the final whistle of the Cardiff Blues v Ospreys match the ever popular 4th Street Traffic will be performing in the Arms Park courtyard at 7.00pm.
Speaking ahead of the match Cardiff Blues flanker Sam Warburton said,
“I’m looking ahead to Judgment Day in the Stadium.
“Hopefully people will turn up who have the bug from the Six Nations and want to watch two great clashes.
“There was some good banter flying around when we were in the national squad.
“We had photo shoots for it while in the Welsh camp, head to head shoots with me and Justin, so we had a bit of a laugh with it.
“We are all looking forward to it and hopefully the fans will feel the same way too.
“I guess now with the hype of the Six Nations this is when kids get inspired to play and I think it’s great for the players to get out in the community and meet the kids, which is what we are doing with the Blues at the start of April.
“Hopefully it will inspire them to pick up a ball and keep playing.
“I think it is important for us to capitalise on events like the Six Nations and success to increase participation.
“The players going out to clubs is a great way for kids to get access to professional players and ask them any question they want and they can hopefully get a feel for what it takes to be a professional player.”
Tickets for the matches are available priced at Adults £25, U18s £10, Family ticket £50 (two adults, two children) Tickets available from wru.co.uk/tickets
Cardiff Blues in the Millennium Stadium
2005/06 Season
Cardiff Blues 40 – 31 Leinster Rugby Sunday 14th May 2006, KO 18:10
Att: 15,327 Magners League
2006/07 Season
Cardiff Blues 17 – 21 Leicester Tigers Sunday 29th October 2006, KO 15:00
Att: 26,645 Heineken Cup Pool Match
Cardiff Blues 10 – 27 Ospreys Saturday 24th March 2007, KO 17:15
Att: 40,057 EDF Energy Cup Semi Final
2008/09 Season
Cardiff Blues 37 – 24 Gloucester Rugby Sunday 19th October 2008, KO 15:00
Att 27,114 Heineken Cup Pool Match
Cardiff Blues 9 – 6 Toulouse Saturday 11 April 2009, KO 15:30
Att: 36,728 Heineken Cup Quarter Final
Cardiff Blues 26 – 26 Leicester Tigers Sunday 3 May KO 15:00
Att 44,212 Heineken Cup Semi Final
Blues add bulk to pack with the signing of Samoan international Filo Paulo
Born in Wellington, of Samoan heritage, Filo Paulo plays for Auckland Blues where he has been capped 26 times at Super Rugby level and made 35 appearances for North Harbour in the ITM Cup competition since 2008.
A physical player and strong line out jumper, Paulo can play in the second row or blindside and made his international debut for Samoa in their Autumn 2012 tests, playing against Canada and France. He was also part of the Samoa team that defeated Wales by 26 points to 19, at the Millennium Stadium in November.
Standing at 6ft 6in tall and weighing in at 19 stone Paulo is certainly a formidable presence on the pitch and had a stint with Ulster early on in his career before returning to New Zealand.
Speaking of the move Filo Paulo said,
"I am very excited to be joining Cardiff Blues. I know a lot of great players have worn the team’s colours so I am extremely grateful to be offered this opportunity and I will be giving my all in order to meet the high standards set by my teammates, the coaching staff and the supporters.
“Cardiff is a great city and the people are very friendly which will make the transition to Wales much easier. The dedicated fans and awesome game atmosphere are second to none so I am really looking forward to the challenge."
Cardiff Blues CEO Richard Holland, added,
“Filo will be a strong addition to our squad and we are delighted to have secured his services after long discussions with his people in New Zealand.
“He is a big ball carrying second row or blindside and the attributes he has certainly fits the bill of what we require at the Blues.
“We were monitoring him before he became an international and were impressed with his performances during the autumn internationals when he was part of the Samoan team that played France, Canada and defeated Wales.
“Filo will be arriving in the Blues in the next few weeks and once he’s settled in the supporters I’m sure will look forward to seeing him in action on the pitch.
Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby, Phil Davies, said,
“We are looking at specialist positions in recruitment, such as front row players and scrum halves.
“However, wherever possible in your back five of the scrum or the back five from the half backs, centres, wingers, full backs we are looking for some versatility.
“Because of the restrictions of the salary cap it is important to have certain versatility.
“Taking those principals on board Filo’s ability to play four, five, six or eight was a big influence on him coming here.
“He is only 24 years old and has played Super 15s for Auckland Blues and has played international rugby for Samoa.
“He is the right age profile and has an immaculate injury record, physically he is extremely fit.
“He will definitely add value to the current crop of back five players for us.
“He will be with us all the time, week in week out, and we have four other second rows who are all Welsh qualified.
“His arrival will add strength and depth to the team.”
Cardiff Blues season ticket holders are reminded that the deadline to reserve their seat and renew their season ticket is Sunday 31st of March.
Cardiff Blues have confirmed that Wales and Lions prop forward, Gethin Jenkins, will re-join the region for the 2013/14 season
Jenkins left the region at the end of last season to join RC Toulon in the south of France. The double British and Irish Lions prop first joined Cardiff Blues in 2004 and will link up with fellow Lion, hooker, Matthew Rees, who has also signed for the capital region.
Having started his rugby career at Beddau RFC, Gethin moved on to Pontypridd and then Celtic Warriors making his Wales debut against Romania in Wrexham in 2003.
Gethin played in all 10 Grand Slam games in 2005 and 2008 and also featured in every game of the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. A versatile prop who can play on either side of the scrum, Gethin became a national hero in Wales when his charge down try against Ireland at the Millennium Stadium in 2005 secured the Grand Slam for Wales for the first time for over 20 years.
Speaking of the signing Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby Phil Davies said,
“I am really pleased to have re-signed Gethin.
“We started the year knowing we had a young squad and it has been a massive season of progression, sometimes the results have not gone our way.
“Gethin will be coming back to an environment that is a little different from the one he left and I think, hopefully, he will enjoy it and I know that he will add a massive amount to the group.
“I have heard how professional he is and I am really looking forward to working with him and welcoming him back to the Blues.
“Gethin’s experience will add to the team, he is very vocal on the pitch and I am sure that a lot of the youngsters will also be very vocal with him as well next year.
“The experience of Gethin, Matthew Rees along with the likes of Gavin Evans and Dafydd Hewitt who are really experienced players will help.
“Hopefully with the youthful exuberance of the young players combined with the experienced players will be an excellent mix for us next year.
“Gethin is an international player, a Lion and a quality player.
“I am delighted that he has come back, it is a fantastic signing for us.
“It is great to be able to bring a senior Wales player back.
“It was not an easy signing at times but to be fair to Richard Holland and Peter Thomas, they both worked exceptionally hard at it.
“I was keen for it to happen and to be fair they have done that, so credit to them.
Cardiff Blues CEO, Richard Holland, added,
“Gethin is undoubtedly a quality player having played for Wales for a decade and toured with the Lions twice.
“A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to bring Gethin back to Wales and we are delighted that he has signed with the Cardiff Blues.
“As well as signing experienced players such as Gethin and Matthew Rees we have also signed key youngsters that we will build the team around for the future.
“Gethin will add a great deal of experience to our pack and I’m sure he will be looking forward to pairing up with fellow Lion, Matthew Rees, in the front row.”
Cardiff Blues go into Friday night’s match having won their last two RaboDirect PRO12 contests against Dragons and Munster.
They face a Leinster side that has won four straight games in all competitions since losing 19-27 to table topping Ulster at Ravenhill on 21st December.
The Leinstermen’s only defeat to a Welsh region in their last five encounters in all competitions was 10-19 at Ospreys in November and they have lost just one of their last twelve clashes with the Blues in all tournaments since 2007.
Speaking ahead of the match Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby, Phil Davies, said,
“I think at the end of the day the aim we have, as a region over the next four to five years, is to build a strong squad.
“I have no doubt that we will be stronger going into the end of this season than we were last year. Next season we will be stronger again.
“Leinster are ahead of us in this process but we are heading in the right direction.
“For me, tomorrow’s game has a bit of pride attached to what we have to deliver.
“Over in Dublin it was not a good performance.
“The second half was creditable but the first half we got hammered. I didn’t enjoy that. I didn’t enjoy the game or what happened afterwards.
“We have to lay a strong marker down on Friday. We have to put in a massive performance against one of the top squads in Europe.
“It is a great challenge for the team. We want to try and win the game and the next few games so we can keep pushing towards the top four.”
Cardiff Blues v Leinster Friday 8 February, 7.30pm kick off. Tickets available by calling 029 2030 2030 or online at www.cardiffblues.com/tickets
15. Jason Tovey 14. Owen Williams 13. Gavin Evans (c) 12. Dafydd Hewitt 11. Harry Robinson 10. Rhys Patchell 9. Lewis Jones
8. Robin Copeland 7. Rory Watts-Jones 6. Michael Paterson 5. James Down 4. Macauley Cook 3. Taufa’ao Filise 2. Rhys Williams 1. Sam Hobbs
16. Marc Breeze 17. Nathan Trevett 18. Scott Andrews 19. Luke Hamilton 20.Josh Navidi 21. Alex Walker 22. Ceri Sweeney 23. Richard Smith
Not available for selection:
Andi Kyriacou- Neck operation return in April
Dan Fish- Suffered shoulder nerve palsy in match against Zebre. Return mid February
Tom James- Fractured sesamoid (big toe). Surgery to remove pin on Wednesday 5thDecember, return in late February.
LONG TERM
Jake Copper- Woolley- right knee ACL injury 4 months
Tom Davies- ACL knee reconstruction this week, 4 months