Josh Navidi returns from injury to start in Cardiff’s United Rugby Championship clash against Ulster at Kingspan Stadium on Friday (KO 7.35pm).
Dai Young’s Blue and Blacks return to competitive action for the first time in five weeks, having claimed a dramatic win over defending champions Leinster last time out.
Academy product Navidi, who was selected for the British and Irish Lions last summer, has been sidelined since October after suffering a shoulder injury in the opening minutes of the league encounter with Vodacom Bulls.
Navidi is part of an all-international homegrown back row, with James Botham handed the number eight jersey. Ellis Jenkins is named on the blindside, having been released from the Wales squad for this weekend’s action.
Matthew Screech also returns from the sidelines to partner Josh Turnbull in the boiler room. Club captain, Turnbull, will draw level with Ian Keatley in second place in the league’s all-time top appearance makers.
Loosehead prop Brad Thyer is set for his first Cardiff appearance since October, forming the front row alongside Kirby Myhill and Dmitri Arhip.
Lloyd Williams and Jarrod Evans link up at half back with Rey Lee-Lo and Willis Halaholo reunited in midfield.
A back three of Aled Summerhill, Owen Lane and Hallam Amos complete the starting line-up.
Looking ahead to the clash, director of rugby Young said: “When you have players of equal quality, you can rotate a little bit, while not losing the performance you’re looking for.
“We want to make sure that we’re looking after the players so that when we go to South Africa we’ve got enough bodies.
“The league table isn’t pretty reading when you look at it, because we’re in twelfth place.
“But when you start scraping through the ceiling, you see that we’ve played the least amount of games.
“But the message to the players is that it’s in our hands. We’ve got the ability to go out to play and perform and if we pick up points along the way there’s no reason why we can’t climb the table rapidly.”
Young added: “Going to Belfast is a massive challenge, but it’s a great place to play rugby, and that’s the first thing.
“It’s a cauldron of rugby and the supporters there are fantastic. For me, it’s a venue you want to play at.
“People talk about daunting places to play, and yes it’s a tough place to go but it’s a fantastic atmosphere, whether it’s with you or against you. So yes it is somewhere you want to go to play.
“Hopefully a part of our upward trend is going to places and getting results. But Ulster’s form this season has shown how tough it’s going to be for us.”
Keiron Assiratti comes onto the bench to cover as hooker, while Jamie Hill could make his first appearance of the campaign.
James Ratti and Rhys Carré are also named amongst the replacements, joining Jenkins and Halaholo in being released from the Wales squad for the trip to Belfast.
Cardiff currently sit in 12th place in the table, but have up to five matches in-hand, with Friday’s encounter set to kick off an intense run-in for Young’s men.
Cardiff Rugby: Hallam Amos; Owen Lane, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo, Aled Summerhill; Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams; Brad Thyer, Kirby Myhill, Dmitri Arhip, Josh Turnbull (capt.), Matthew Screech, Ellis Jenkins, Josh Navidi, James Botham
Replacements: Keiron Assiratti, Rhys Carré, Will Davies-King, Teddy Williams, James Ratti, Jamie Hill, Ben Thomas, Matthew Morgan