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
Fresh from witnessing Wales retain the RBS 6 Nations title, forwards coach Robin McBryde believes the success will breed new confidence in his side.
Wales lifted the RBS 6 Nations trophy for the fourth time in nine years on Saturday as they beat England 30-3 in a thrilling encounter at the Millennium Stadium. The victory meant Wales retained the title, winning it in back-to-back years, for the first time since 1979.
As he did back in 2009, McBryde will step up to lead Wales on their summer tour later this year and he will be in the stands at the Millennium Stadium on March 30 to run the rule over contenders for tour places as the Judgement Day encounters pit all four Welsh regions against each other. He believes the squad that heads to Japan will be brimming with confidence.
“The squad we take to Japan will head over there full of confidence and belief,” he said. “Players who played in the Championship will have the belief behind them but also players who maybe didn’t feature will be boosted as success breeds success. It was a very accomplished performance on Saturday.
“We spoke during the week that it was just another test match that we had to go out and win and that’s exactly what we did. We didn’t focus on the points difference or the advantage they went into the match with, we were focused on the 80 minutes in front of us.
“The side went out and started well, controlled the early exchanges and took us into the break with a small cushion. In the second half we stepped it up and showed the sort of performance we all knew we were capable of and it was a fantastic way to win the Championship.
“In was a huge day. The city and the stadium were packed and the crowd were at their best and it was great to put that sort of performance together to reward them. It was a very physical and I thought our defence and physically was fantastic. We were always on the front foot and the pack did really well at set piece and around the park and really gave us a really good platform.
“The squad worked extremely hard to retain the title. After the disappointment of the Ireland game to put themselves back in contention and to then go out and win the Championship was impressive and they deserved that reward.”
Wales head to Osaka and Tokyo on their two-test tour of Japan this summer and McBryde will announce his squad following the British and Irish Lions squad selection later this spring. The former Wales hooker is looking to blend experience and youth in his squad and believes it will be a valuable trip for less experienced Test players.
“For North America in 2009 we took a good mix of experience and youth and I’m sure that will be the case again this summer,” he added. “It’s a good chance to reward players with more international game time and give players the opportunity to play at this level.
“Back in ’09 we took boys like Sam Warburton, Jonathan Davies, Dan Biggar and Craig Mitchell with us and look at where they are now. It’s great to see how far they have come and what they have achieved since that tour.
“The Lions will obviously impact on selection but it will be taking experience out to Japan with us. We will also be looking to reward players who have performed for their regions week in and week out and who put their hand up towards the end of the season.
“There are some big games coming up and some very big head-to-heads on Judgement Day and it’s a chance for players to show us what they can do and to fight for their chance to play for Wales this summer.”
The RBS 6 Nations trophy will return to the scene of its dramatic capture by Wales at the Regional double-header match to be held at the Millennium Stadium a week on Saturday.
Over 30,000 Welsh rugby fans have already bought tickets to the ‘Judgement Day’ fixture, which pits the Dragons against the Scarlets and the Blues against the Ospreys in an East versus West Rabo Direct Pro12 double derby day clash, which will now also become a celebration of the national cause.
Most of the Wales squad which retained the title they took in 2012 with a clean sweep, by recording the nation’s greatest ever victory over England last weekend, will be on display on the pitch in Regional team colours introducing some fascinating head to head clashes.
But the coaching team which played its own integral role in the 30-3 victory over England and the retention of the Championship title in 2013, will also attend as special guests and to see their latest acquisition of silverware paraded in front of the Welsh fans.
The Welsh Rugby Union is hoping to use the event to help fans show the national squad just what their recent successes have meant to them and also allow fans to relive the glorious scenes of Wales’ consummate demolition of England in the capital less than a week ago.
The Judgement Day event in itself represents the first time all four Welsh rugby Regions have come together to play under the same roof and is a chance to celebrate the regional game in Wales and its value to the national game.
“The trophy will be displayed proudly at pitchside and paraded around the ground at both matches,” said a WRU spokesman.
“It’s incredibly difficult to quantify what success on the rugby pitch means for the nation,but the scenes at the Millennium Stadium last weekend go some way to explaining just how passionate we all are about our national sport.
“Judgement Day, a week on Saturday, is a perfect and timely opportunity for us to celebrate again the success of the Wales national squad, to let them know how proud we all are of them and to watch some fascinating clashes as many of them go head to head in their Regional colours.”
Wales flankers Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) and Sam Warburton (Blues) provide the most direct match up of the day, but the likes of Dan Biggar, Adam Jones (Ospreys), Jamie Roberts, Leigh Halfpenny (Blues),Andrew Coombs, Toby Faletau (Dragons), George North and Jonathan Davies (Scarlets) are also set to return to the Millennium Stadium turf to take on their national team-mates.
Judgement Day – Millennium Stadium, Saturday 30 March
Dragons v Scarlets 2.30pm
Blues v Ospreys 5.15pm
Tickets: Adults £25, U18s £10, Family ticket £50 (two adults, two children)
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