Blues make five changes for Montpellier rematch

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There is one change in the backs with Lewis Jones starting at scrum half in place of the suspended Lloyd Williams. In the backrow Sam Warburton starts at openside having overcome a chest infection, Josh Navidi moves to blindside and Robin Copeland moves down to the bench.

There is a brand new front row with Benoit Bourrust, Rhys Williams and Taufa’ao Filise all starting and Marc Breeze, Sam Hobbs and Scott Andrews all moving to the bench.
The Blues are still without Leigh Halfpenny, Bradley Davies, Jamie Roberts, Andi Kyriacou, Michael Paterson, Chris Czekaj, Dan Fish and Tom James who all suffered medium term injuries.

Montpellier v Cardiff Blues Saturday 15th December, 7pm kick off live updates on twitter.com/cardiff_blues

Cardiff Blues:15. Jason Tovey 14.Alex Cuthbert 13. Gavin Evans 12. Dafydd Hewitt 11. Harry Robinson 10. Rhys Patchell 9. Lewis Jones

8 Andries Pretorius (c) 7. Sam Warburton 6. Josh Navidi 5. James Down 4. Lou Reed 3. Benoit Bourrust 2. Rhys Williams 1. Taufa’ao Filise

16. Marc Breeze 17. Sam Hobbs 18. Scott Andrews 19. Macauley Cook 20. Robin Copeland 21. Robert Lewis 22. Gareth Davies 23. Owen Williams

Not available for selection:
Leigh Halfpenny- Severe stinger in match against Australia and is receiving on-going review by specialists
Bradley Davies- Suffered concussion in match against New Zealand. Expected to be back in training on 11 December
Jamie Roberts- Suffered elbow hyperextension in match against Australia and seeing specialist on Wednesday 5th December. Expected back 6 weeks
Andi Kyriacou- Suffered concussion against Ospreys. Expected to be back week leading up to Scarlets or Dragons match4 – 6 weeks
Michael Paterson- Fractured little finger against Ospreys. Surgery Thursday 6 December. As per specialist review but expected back in 4 – 6 weeks
Chris Czeckaj- Foot ligament injury. Surgery to remove pin 13th December, expected back early January
Dan Fish- Suffered shoulder nerve palsy in match against Zebre and seeing specialist. Awaiting results
Tom James- Fractured sesamoid (big toe). Surgery to remove pin on Wednesday 5th December, back 6 weeks post operation.

LONG TERM
Jake Cooper – Woolley right knee ACL injury 4 months
Tom Davies- ACL knee reconstruction this week 4 months

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