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Harries hits half a century as Cardiff face Bulls in Pretoria

First Team News | 2nd December 2022


Jason Harries will make his 50th appearance for the club as Cardiff take on Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

The wing joined the Blue and Blacks ahead of the 2018/19 season, and makes his sixth consecutive start in the BKT United Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld.

Dai Young’s side head to the High Veldt on the back of an impressive bonus point win over Cell C Sharks in Durban last Sunday, but have been forced to make a number of changes.

Harries is part of a new look back three with Aled Summerhill replacing the injured Theo Cabango and Cam Winnett handed the number 15 jersey to make his third start.

Ben Thomas moves to inside centre, replacing Max Llewellyn, who picked up an ankle injury against the Sharks, and is joined by Wales Under-20 international Mason Grady.

Jarrod Evans and Lloyd Williams will once again form the half back partnership, with the latter set to move within one appearance of his 250th for the club.

Kristian Dacey is brought into the front row - alongside Rhys Carré and Dmitri Arhip - to replace Liam Belcher.  Seb Davies, who returned to action as a replacement last week comes in for Rory Thornton.

After an impressive outing in Durban, the back row of James Botham, Thomas Young and captain Josh Turnbull remains unchanged.

Young said: “We were really pleased with our performance and result last week against the Sharks but this week presents an even greater challenge.

“The Vodacom Bulls are a formidable side, arguably the most physical of the South African outfits, they had a good win against the Ospreys and are home at Loftus Versfeld.

“We can take some confidence and momentum into the game but we are under no illusions of how big a challenge we face and we have to bring that same level of performance and intensity we saw last week. 

“We are disappointed to pick up some short-term injuries as we would have liked to have kept some continuity but it gives others opportunities and that will bode well for the weeks ahead.” 

Shane Lewis-Hughes has joined up with the Blue and Blacks squad in South Africa this week, and is immediately drafted onto the bench.

Teddy Williams, Kirby Myhill and Harri Millard are also introduced to the matchday 23, with the latter set for his first competitive appearance of the season.

Cardiff: Cameron Winnett; Jason Harries, Mason Grady, Ben Thomas, Aled Summerhill; Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams; Rhys Carré, Kristian Dacey, Dmitri Arhip, Lopeti Timani, Seb Davies,  Josh Turnbull (capt.), Thomas Young, James Botham

Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Corey Domachowski, Will Davies-King, Teddy Williams, Shane Lewis-Hughes, James Ratti, Ellis Bevan, Harri Millard

 Unavailable for selection: Dillon Lewis, Josh Navidi (neck), Taulupe Faletau, Tomos Williams, Rhys Priestland, Owen Lane (ankle), Willis Halaholo (hamstring), Josh Adams, Liam Williams (shoulder), Matthew Morgan (knee), Jacob Beetham (knee), Gwilym Bradley (foot), Rory Thornton (shoulder), Rey Lee-Lo (family commitments), Liam Belcher (neck), Max Llewellyn (ankle), Theo Cabango (ankle).