Cardiff Rugby have welcomed back a quintet of Wales internationals for Friday night’s derby against the Dragons at Rodney Parade (7:45pm).

The Blue & Blacks have made a total of seven changes for the BKT United Rugby Championship clash and first Welsh derby of the season. 

Four of the changes come in the pack where Corey Domachowski makes his first appearance of the campaign to re-form an all Rhondda front-row.

George Nott gets the nod to start against his former team after Teddy Williams suffered a serious injury in last week’s victory over Connacht. In the back-row, Alex Mann returns to the number six jersey after being managed in Round Three, while Taulupe Faletau makes a welcome return to action.

Behind the pack, Aled Davies partners Callum Sheedy in an experienced half-back pairing, and Ben Thomas returns following suspension to combine with Jacob Beetham in the centre.

Josh Adams has also completed his return to play protocols to slot into the back-three again with Cam Winnett and Tom Bowen. 

Excited by the challenge

Cardiff coach Corniel van Zyl said: “We were really pleased with the fight and resilience last week against Connacht, in what was an attritional, hard-fought win.

“There’s no doubt we will need a lot of the same characteristics on Friday against the Dragons. It’s a Welsh derby, which are always tight affairs and Rodney Parade is a tough place to go. 

“The Dragons rotated their team a bit last week so they will be fresh and hugely motivated to take us on Rodney Parade. 

“They will throw everything at us, but we are excited by the challenge. It has been a short turnaround, but we have prepared well. Again, it is a case of concentrating on ourselves and putting our game on the pitch.”

Van Zyl has opted for a 6-2 split on the replacements bench, with plenty of forward firepower to call upon, including former Dragons centurion Taine Basham. Johan Mulder and Ioan Lloyd provide the back-line cover. 

Cardiff Rugby team to face Dragons RFC on Friday night (7:45pm) at Rodney Parade:

Cardiff Rugby: Cam Winnett, Josh Adams, Jacob Beetham, Ben Thomas, Tom Bowen; Callum Sheedy, Aled Davies; Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher (capt), Keiron Assiratti, Josh McNally, George Nott, Alex Mann, Dan Thomas, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Evan Lloyd, Danny Southworth, Javan Sebastian, Rory Thornton, Alun Lawrence, Taine Basham, Johan Mulder, Ioan Lloyd.