After a quick six-day turnaround, Cardiff will aim to increase the gap between themselves and fifth place as they face 10th-place Swansea at the Cardiff Arms Park.
Due to the Wales Women’s Six Nations campaign getting underway on Saturday against Scotland at the Arms Park, this match has been rescheduled to take place two days earlier under the Thursday night lights.
Last time out, The Blue and Blacks returned to winning ways as they put aside a spirited Carmarthen Quins side 28-14 at The Park.
The visitors for Thursday’s clash come into the game on the back of only winning one of their last five matches. The All Whites last win was against the Quins at St Helens, where they edged out a 12-7 victory.
The last time these two met was in mid-November last year, when The Blue and Blacks won 22-12. That day, Joey Tomlinson scored his first try of the season, quickly followed by his second, and Tom Habberfield also crossed the whitewash.
Before that meeting back in November, the last five previous meetings have gone the way of The Blue and Blacks, 29-8, 45-0, 27-20, 17-10 and 24-5.
You have to go back to April 13th 2019, when the All Whites were last victorious over The Blue and Blacks.
The Cardiff Arms Park has not been a happy hunting ground for the All Whites, as the last time they won there was back in February of 2017 when they won 34-33 after a late Jack Wilson conversion.
Players Chat
After winning his club cap last time out against Carmarthen Quins, Craig Hudd gave me his thoughts on the Quins win and also the All Whites, he said: “It was great to get back to winning ways after a couple of tough fixtures against three top teams in Llandovery, Pontypool and Newport.
“We were always expecting a challenging game against a strong Carmarthen side, especially on their home turf, we knew we were going to be in for a battle for 80 minutes.
“I think there was a slight bit of disappointment from the boys that we didn’t convert more of our chances and pick up the bonus point.
“With that being said, it’s a tough place to go, and with us missing a few key players, we knew we just had to get the job done and come away with the win,” he added.
Come Thursday night, it would’ve been 49 days since The Blue and Blacks last played a home game, Hudd said: “We are definitely looking forward to being back at home this week, having played three away games on the bounce, it’s going to be a welcome return to the CAP.
“Swansea are a good side with a lot of threats up front and out wide, we know we are going to be in for a tough test against a good opposition.
“Playing Swansea is always a challenging game, and it was a close game earlier in the season where we managed to win at their place, so we know they will be looking for revenge when they visit on Thursday night.
On the playoffs, Hudd insisted: “The next four games are vital to us.”
“We have had a bit of an up-and-down season, but now we must win these next four and build momentum while hopefully qualifying for the playoffs.
“Where you are only two cup finals away from league winners,” he concluded.
Team News
Head Coach Steve Law makes a handful of changes to his starting XV that faced Carmarthen Quins on Friday night; Arwel Robson returns to the starting XV at 10 as Harrison James relocates to inside centre.
Joe Williams joins Robson in the half-backs as he replaces Tom Habberfield, who went off early at The Park.
Within the forwards, Craig Hudd moves back to the blindside, replacing Evan Rees, who drops onto the bench. Nathan Hudd returns to the side on the openside.
After putting Wales U20s into the lead last Friday against Italy, Kodie Stone returns to the starting XV alongside Matty Young, who also returns after scoring the last try of that encounter with the Azurri. Both replace centurion James Beal and Jacob Lloyd, who drop onto the bench.
Luke Pollock will be unavailable, which means Jason Harries will move to outside centre after an outstanding performance last time out.
How Cardiff RFC lineup:
15 Matty Young
14 Kodie Stone
13 Jason Harries
12 Harrison James
11 Joe Goodchild
10 Arwel Robson
9 Joe Williams
1 Cam TylerGrocott
2 Alun Rees
3 Freddie Barnes
4 Sean Moore
5 Ethan Phillips
6 Craig Hudd
7 Nathan Hudd
8 Morgan Allen (C)
Replacements:
16 Jamie Goldsworthy
17 Eddie Drake
18 Adam Williams
19 Evan Rees
20 Tom Fitzpatrick
21 Tom Habberfield
22 Jacob Lloyd
23 James Beal
Words By Harry Tovey
HTSPORTSNEWS 