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Preview: Cardiff Blues v Biarritz

Thursday 04th December 2008

Biarritz: On a downward spiral

Cardiff Blues coach David Young has welcomed back his Welsh internationals for the Round Three of the Heineken Cup clash with Biarritz Olympique at Arms Park on Friday.

Wales internationals Leigh Halfpenny, Tom Shanklin, Andy Powell, Martyn Williams and Gethin Jenkins all return to the starting XV with Robin Sowden Taylor and Tom James on the bench.

Meanwhile, Biarritz manager Laurent Rodriguez has swung his axe and made seven changes to his starting line-up after going down at home to Stade Français last weekend.

BO also received a late injury blow when Argentine full-back Marcelo Bosch was forced to withdraw from the starting line-up after breaking down during the captain's run on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the back-line, Philippe Bidabe returns to the midfield to partner French international Damien Traille. Julien Peyrelongue and Fabien Cibray will form the half-back combination as first choice fly-half Valentin Courrent is injured. There is no place for French international scrum-half Dimitri Yachvilli.

In the pack, prop Campbell Johnstone does not feature in the matchday squad and Benoit August drops to the bench in favour of Mosese Moala.

Form: Biarritz are on a downward spiral that must be making their heads spin. Four consecutive losses to Bayonne, Perpignan, Toulon and Stade Français have left the Basque giants languishing in tenth place of the French domestic championship. Cardiff didn't fare very well in their last outing, losing 28-0 away to Glasgow in the Magners last weekend, but did win all six of their prior matches in all tournaments. Cardiff lead the group after winning their opening matches against Calvisano and Gloucester with a bonus point. 2006 Heineken Cup Finalists Biarritz are second after beating Calvisano in their last European outing. The teams have met four times previously, with the French side winning three times.

The teams:

Cardiff: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 Jamie Robinson, 12 Tom Shanklin, 11 Gareth Thomas, 10 Nicky Robinson, 9 Jason Spice, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Maama Molitika, 5 Paul Tito, 4 Deiniol Jones,3 Gary Powell, 2 Gareth Williams, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Faao Filise, 17 Rhys Thomas, 18 Scott Morgan, 19 Robin Sowden-Taylor, 20 Darren Allinson, 21 Ceri Sweeney, 22 Tom James.

Biarritz: 15 Benjamin Thiery, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Philippe Bidabe, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Ilikena Bolakoro, 10 Julien Peyrelongue, 9 Fabien Cibray, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Mohammed Dridi, 6 Peïo Som, 5 Trevor Hall, 4 Jérôme Thion,3 Mosese Moala, 2 Benjamin Noirot, 1 Fabien Barcella,
Replacements: 16 Benoit August, 17 Eduard Coetzee, 18 César Damiani, 19 Wenceslas Lauret, 20 Romain Cabannes, 21 Jean-Baptiste Roidot, 22 Laurent Tranier.

Date: Friday, December 5
Venue: Cradiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 20.00 GMT
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Touch judges: Simon McDowell (Ireland), Sean Flannery (Ireland)
Television match official: John Sheehan (Ireland)

Heineken Cup Pool 6 Win Outright: Cardiff 1/6