The crucial round 5 Heineken Cup match kicks off at 3.40pm at the Madejski Stadium, with the Blues looking to repeat the win they notched up against Irish in November.
There are three changes in the backs, with Henson having his first run out at inside centre for the Blues, having impressed with his displays at full back. There are also two new wingers with Alex Cuthbert returning having recovered from a groin injury and Chris Czekaj from a hamstring strain.
There are a further 4 new faces in the pack with T Rhys Thomas returning from a neck injury and Fau Filise from a shoulder injury, both starting in the front row. There is an all new second row with Bradley Davies and captain Paul Tito both starting. Michael Paterson moves to blindside in place of Maama Molitika who moves down to the bench.
It will be the 100th Heineken Cup match for Cardiff Blues and Cardiff RFC. The Blues and Edinburgh are level on 13 points with Edinburgh topping Pool 2 courtesy of a superior overall try count, but thanks to a losing bonus point at Murrayfield the Blues are 5-4 ahead in match points from their back-to-back meetings with the Scottish club in Rounds 3 and 4.
15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Casey Laulala 12 Gavin Henson 11 Chris Czekaj 10 Dan Parks 9 Lloyd Williams
8 Xavier Rush 7 Sam Warburton 6 Michael Paterson 5 Paul Tito (c) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 T Rhys Thomas1 Gethin Jenkins
16 Ryan Tyrell 17 John Yapp 18 Scott Andrews 19 Maama Molitika 20 Josh Navidi 21 Richie Rees 22 Ceri Sweeney 23 Richard Mustoe
Not available due to injury:
Jamie Roberts - knee
Dafydd Hewitt - hamstring
Gavin Evans - head
James Down - ankle
Andries Pretorius - knee
Deiniol Jones - shoulder
Kristian Dacey - shoulder