Speaking ahead of the match, Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby, David Young, said,

“Treviso are a team that caused us bags of problems over in Italy so we know that this won’t be an easy game for us.”

“If I’m being truthful and realistic it’s a game that we should win and one we have to win.”

“Hopefully we can get the result and then it tees up the two big Welsh derby matches to finish off the season.”

“We know if we lose one game we are relying on other people, which obviously we don’t want.”

“I think we’ve wrestled the ascendancy back our way and if we win the three games we go through. It’s in our own hands and that’s all you can ask for at this stage of the season.”

“No matter who you are playing, if it’s in your own hands you’ve only got yourselves to blame if things don’t go your way.”

Cardiff Blues 15 Chris Czekaj 14 Leigh Halfpenny 13 Casey Laulala 12 Jamie Roberts 11 Tom James 10 Dan Parks 9 Richie Rees

8 Xavier Rush 7 Martyn Williams 6 Ma’ama Molitika 5 Paul Tito (c) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 Gareth Williams 1 John Yapp

16 Rhys Williams 17 Sam Hobbs 18 Scott Andrews 19 Deiniol Jones 20 Michael Paterson 21 Lloyd Williams 22 Ceri Sweeney 23 Dafydd Hewitt

Benetton Treviso 15 Joseph Maddock 14 Tommaso Benvenuti 13 Ezio Galon 12 Alberto Sgarbi 11 Ludovico Nitoglia 10 Willem De Waal 9 Fabio Semenzato

8 Paul Derbyshire 7 Alessandro Zanni 6 Manoa Vosawai 5 Valerio Bernabò 4 Francesco Minto 3 Lorenzo Cittadini 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (C) 1 Augusto Allori

16 Franco Sbaraglini 17 Michele Rizzo 18 Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet 19 Benjamin Vermaak 20 Robert Barbieri 21 Simon Picone 22 Andrew Vilk 23 Luke McLean

Following on from the news that Sam Warburton and Tom James have signed new contracts, three further Welsh international Blues players have also signed contract extensions with the region: Leigh Halfpenny, Bradley Davies and Chris Czekaj.

Halfpenny made the first of his 50 appearances for the Blues against Ulster at Ravenhill in May 2008, scoring 3 conversions in the 17-26 victory.

Later in 2008 he won his first welsh cap in the first game of the Autumn Internationals against world champions, South Africa. He scored his first points for Wales from a penalty kick in the 15–20 loss and went on to score his first two tries a week later against Canada.

A deadly finisher Leigh has scored 16 tries so far in his Blues career, and almost 200 points, including two tries for the region in the EDF Energy Cup final win over Gloucester at Twickenham and also one in the Amlin Challenge Cup Final win over Toulon in Marseille the following season.

Halfpenny was included in the British & Irish Lions squad for the tour to South Africa in May 2009 but had to return home from the Lions tour due to a recurrence of a thigh injury.

Speaking of his decision to sign a contract extension with the Blues Halfpenny said,

“I’m really pleased to have extended my stay at the Blues.”

“It’s a great club and I had no doubt that this is who I wanted to sign with and happy that we have come to an agreement.”

“I’ve not been tempted to play anywhere else as it’s a very ambitious club and the quality players we have here, with some good youngsters coming through, the future looks very bright.”

“You couldn’t ask for better training facilities, which are fantastic and for me there’s no better place for a rugby player to be.”

“We are seeing the Welsh talent coming through and it’s great that they have decided to stay with the region.”

“We won two titles in the last two years but we still have ambitions of winning more in the future which is why most of the players have extended their contracts.”

At 6ft 6ins tall and weighing over 19st Bradley Davies is a formidable force on the rugby pitch. Hailing from Llantrisant, the second rower captained Wales Under-19 to the Grand Slam in 2005 and the 2006/07 season saw him established in the senior Blues squad and he’s gone on to make 79 appearances for Cardiff Blues.

His energy and commitment around the field has impressed the Blues faithful and in the summer of 2008 he was selected in the Wales squad to tour South Africa but was not able to play due to injury. During the 2009 Six Nations Championship Davies made his Wales debut as a late replacement against Scotland.

Bradley Davies said, “It’s great news to have signed, not only for me personally, but for the rest of the boys who have signed also.”

“It’s nice that we have got a core of young players who have extended their contracts and can drive the region forward.”

“I think our academy system is showing it’s worth now, a lot of the boys have stepped up and played at a high level, either Heineken Cup, regional rugby or international level.”

“There’s great work being done at the Academy in Trefforest and the region is bearing the fruits of that.”

Speaking of the competition in the second row, Davies continued,

“I think people like Deiniol Jones and Paul Tito still have a lot to offer but we also have some youngsters like Macauley Cook coming through and James Down has also signed up also, so it’s good we have so much strength in the second row.”

“Personally I think it’s nice to play with boys I’ve grown up with, so it’s good to see the players who I came through the system alongside, getting the recognition with new contracts.”

Davies, who has become one of the stand out players for the Blues and Wales this season added,

“I always aim to improve with every game and I’d like to think I’ve brought a bit more consistency to my performances. I have to play to the best of my ability every week, otherwise I won’t get picked, such is the quality of players we have here at the Blues and in Wales.”

“It all starts with the region and if I play well for the Blues I hope I’ll continue to be picked for Wales.”

Chris Czekaj, who is on course to play his 100th match for the Blues against the Ospreys this weekend added,

“I’ve been six seasons with the Blues now and I’d be stupid to want to move with the progress that the team has made over the last few years.”

“I’ve really enjoyed the move from wing to full-back this season and I prefer playing full back now to be honest, so that’s where I see myself from now on.”

“I find you get more ball at full-back and I get to use my kicking game a lot more. You also get to see a lot more of the attacking opportunities from there.”

“Dan Fish has come through this season and put in some good performances, and he’s taken his chance well so it’s good to have that type competition along side a lot more established player such as Ben Blair.”

“A few boys I’ve played Age Grade and Academy rugby have signed also, so I think that’s a reflection on where we want to drive the region forward and that we are happy with all the facilities.”

The Blues have also been boosted by the news that Dafydd Hewitt, Josh Navidi, Andries Pretorius and James Down have also signed contract extensions.

Hewitt has taken his chance at centre for the Blues this season with some hard hitting tackles and powerful breaks winning many admirers. Having played over 50 matches for the Blues, Hewitt captained the team for the first time in January having previously captained Wales in the IRB Under-21 World Cup tournament in France in 2006.

Born and bred in South Africa, Cardiff Blues back row forward Andries Pretorius moved to the U.K. in 2006 to study Business at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, an establishment which has a proud rugby tradition. The powerful back rower from Durban has made steady progress since making his debut for the Blues against Connacht in December 2009, playing 17 games this season including 12 starts.

A bright prospect for the future, Open-side Forward Josh Navidi played for Wales Under 20’s in all of the 2010 Under 20’s Six Nations Tournament and lead the Wales Under 20’s to victory against France at Newport. He made his senior Blues debut against Heineken Cup champions, Leinster at the RDS in 2009, coming on as a replacement for Scott Morgan.
A big powerful second row forward, James Down, is another product of the Academy system. He missed most of the 2009/10 season with a knee ligament injury. He started the 2010/11 strongly, with some impressive performances, but frustratingly for the youngster he suffered a broken foot against Ulster in November, which will keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.
Speaking of the contract extension, Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby, David Young, said,

“I think it’s been well documented that we have to be sensible with our budgets and making sure that we are not overstretching ourselves financially.”

“However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have ambition, we want to be up there pushing with the big guys.”

“Obviously it’s important that we retain our quality players, as we look to rebuild, as all teams do.”

“This is a part of that process, and a very important part, because over the next 12 to 18 months these players will be crucial and a big part of the future of Cardiff Blues over the next three or four years.”

“It’s always been important to me to develop local Welsh talent.”

“I think it’s certainly the way forward, but it is something that we’ve done for a long time, and certainly under my reign as a Blues Coach. Over a third of our current squad have come through the Academy system.”

“As time goes on that is going to become more and more important.”

“The non Welsh factor needs to be relied on less and less each season, so it’s important that we put the hard work and money in to develop these players and making sure the pathway is there for these players to come through.”

It was thought Williams had been in talks with London Wasps, following his surprise absence from the Wales six nations squad. With Sam Warburton is such good form, the opportunities for the 35 year old would be strictly limited, but Cardiff fans will be buoyed by the news that the Pontypridd man is staying with the region.

This news opens the possibility that Williams will be given a chance to reach his century of caps by forcing his way back into Gatland’s failing Welsh squad and providing much needed leadership on the park.

The former Blues captain has now put pen to paper and says:

“I’ve signed a year extension and happy that it’s all done and dusted,”

“It’s where I wanted to finish off and I’ve made no secret about that.”

“I’m over the moon that the club have come to an agreement that I will have my last season here.”

“Peter Thomas, David Young and Bob Norster have all worked hard to make this happen and I’m glad that it has all been sorted out.”

“In fairness Dai never said that he wanted to release me and I totally understood the clubs reasons for not doing things immediately.”

“It wasn’t a great couple of weeks, with the speculation and not being in the Wales squad, but I’ve tried to keep my head down and carried on playing for the region.”

“I was fortunate that the Blues had some big Magners League games so I could concentrate on them.”

“I’ve been here since 1999, so I didn’t really want to go anywhere else, I wanted to finish here, so I’m glad I’ve been given that opportunity.”

“I did weigh everything up, whether to go to play in England or France or completely retire from the game in June.”

“However, I’m still feeling well and playing well, and think I have something to offer the Blues next year.”

Speaking of being omitted from this year’s Six Nations squad, the 98 times capped forward said,

“Obviously, it was strange not being involved in the Six Nations and of course you miss it.”

“But I didn’t have too much time to think about Wales apart from the days of the internationals.”

“I went to both home games and enjoyed them as I was a bit more relaxed than usual.”

“However, I’ve enjoyed being in the Blues camp when the internationals were away, even though it was odd.”

“It was good to see some of the youngsters step up, guys like Dan Fish, Dafydd Hewitt and Andries Pretorius put in some big performances, so the future looks bright.”

With the Blues currently fifth in the Magners League, Williams continued:

“Because of the play-offs every game is huge and we are really challenging to be in the top four.”

“We’re in a good spot. We’ve got a game in hand, even though we have got some tough away matches coming up.”

“We set ourselves a target of a minimum of winning three of the four games during the Six Nations and we did that.”

“We set ourselves up for these last six games and have got a lot of firepower coming back from the international squads which will help.”

“These next two games are massive for us, but if we can win both that will set us up nicely.”

Speaking of Martyn’s announcement, Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby, David Young, added,

“I’ve repeatedly said that Martyn Williams wasn’t definitely leaving the club.”

“What I did say was, I would do everything within my power, with the support of Peter Thomas, to keep Martyn here for another year, so I’m delighted that he has agreed.”

“Nobody recognises more than me the value and the commitment Martyn has given to the Blues and that should be repaid from us as well.”

“Hopefully Martyn will have a great season to finish off his career next year.”

“He obviously looks after himself and he’s certainly not going to harm his reputation by playing for another season.”

“If he didn’t feel he had another year in him, he would be the first to say so.”

“I think if you look at his performances recently he’s been as good as he’s been for the last two or three years.”

“I know he’s going to be really keen to finish with a bang and I’m 100% confident that Martyn will do that, not only with his performances on the field, but also the way he helps a lot of the youngsters coming through as a role model.”

“It makes sense for us to retain him for another year.”

“Thankfully we have come to an agreement for another season and he will finish his career here at the Blues, where he should be.”

• 15. James Hook (Ospreys)
• 14. Morgan Stoddart (Scarlets)
• 13. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets)
• 12. Jamie Roberts (Blues)
• 11. Shane Williams (Ospreys)
• 10. Stephen Jones (Scarlets)
• 9. Mike Phillips (Ospreys)
• 1. Paul James (Ospreys)
• 2. Matthew Rees (Scarlets, capt)
• 3. Craig Mitchell (Ospreys)
• 4. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys)
• 5. Bradley Davies (Blues)
• 6. Dan Lydiate (Dragons)
• 7. Sam Warburton (Blues)
• 8. Andy Powell (Wasps)

The bench is shrouded in mystery, but John Yapp is likely to be the replacement prop, with Richard Hibbard stepping into Bennett’s sizeable shoes at replacement hooker. Former captain and falling star Ryan Jones may take a bench spot as a replacement utility back five player. Jones can fill in at lock, number eight or blind side flanker. This would probably mean no place for long time flanker Jon Thomas who fills a similar role as a utility second or back row man. Instead expect to see the unfamiliar face of Josh Turnbull, who has been turning in fantastic performances for the Scarlets at number seven.

The scrum half choice has to be either the feisty Tavis Knoyle, or the experienced Dwayne Peel. It’s the experience of Peel that gets him the nod, but Knoyle’s time will come – perhaps in this six nations. Rhys Priestland has been another outstanding performer this season, filling the very large boots of Stephen Jones at the Scarlets for much of this season with considerable aplomb. Priestland has a great boot and can run with the ball in hand, unlike Jones, whose main asset outside his place kicking and organisational skills is his defence, where he is rock solid. Able to fill the 10, 12 and 15 slots, expect Priestland to be Wales’s utility back bench man.

Another big question is whether Gatland will go for a fresh pair of legs for either side of the scrum, or include another back in the bench line-up. Given Wales’s perceived weakness in the front row after losing both Jenkins and the virtually irreplaceable Adam Jones, Gatland would be wise to offer options at both tight and loose-head. This would see either Scott Andrews or Ryan Bevington making a bow. There’s a case for both, but playing Bridgend boy Bevington means putting Yapp on the tight-head side of the scrum against the huge form of Andrew Sheriden, not a game-plan many Welshmen would relish. This can only mean the inexperienced Scott Andrews will get the nod ahead of Bevington – a player who has a huge future, but perhaps isn’t ready for the international arena just yet. Andrews has yet to turn in a performance that would class him as anything other than a make-do replacement. Wales will have to make do.

The Welsh team taking the field will have a solid look to it. Certainly, do not expect Paul James to take a backwards step. He might not have Gethin Jenkins’ engine, but the man can scrummage with the best of them and he’s defensively sound. Matthew Rees has steadily improved over the years to the point where he is possibly the best hooker in British rugby. If he has a weakness it is his lineout throwing and he appears to have addressed that problem in recent years. Craig Mitchell is an up and coming prop whose best years are ahead of him; expect great things from this young man in the future.

The Welsh second row of Alun-Wyn Jones and Bradley Davies is fearsome combination. The athleticism of the Jones combined with the powerhouse Davies will strike fear into the hearts of many a team. Both players are likely to feature strongly, with Wales looking to dominate the loose against an England pack who have suffer their losses as well.

The back row has a coltish look to it to outsiders, but make no mistake, there’s plenty of muscle in that division. New boy Dan Lydiate has proven to be one of Wales’s most effective performers, to the extent that many observers are making comparisons with England’s great Richard Hill. Clichés abound about him doing the “unsung work”, but the truth is, you rarely notice Lydiate in the heat of the game, but on review he seems to be everywhere. Shaun Edwards sees him as the “cement” which holds the team together and a huge performance from the 23-year-old Llandrindod Wells born Dragon will go a long way to securing a Wales victory.

On the other side of the scrum to Lydiate, Sam Warburton will continue his upwardly mobile ascent into the firmament of Welsh stars. Testimony to his considerable ability, he has replaced the ever-present until now, Martyn Williams, a man regarded as one of the finest flankers ever to wear the Welsh shirt. Williams once said of Warburton: “He has everything, and he doesn’t realise it yet”. It’s time for Warburton to realise his huge talents and secure the number seven for himself.

At the back of the scrum Andy Powell will have the chance to prove himself as one of Wales’s most destructive players. Having put the aberration of his golf-buggy adventure behind him by starting with a new club, the misfiring Wasps – Powell must use is all too evident athleticism to good effect and create havoc in the England ranks by running hard and direct at their defence. Anything less than a big game from him and not only will Wales suffer, but so too will Powell’s prospects.

Behind the pack, Wales are looking full of running, something that has been lacking in recent games, a fact that is is perhaps owed more to the backroom staff than the men on the field. The return of the huge figure of Jamie Roberts to the centre will provide much added impetus to a back line that has looked static at times. Roberts combined with Scarlets’ speedster, Jon Davies will be a handful and given a fair amount of ball, we will see Wales make hay amongst the English back line.

On the wings, Shane Williams returns to a collective sigh of relief from Wales fans everywhere, only for Halfpenny to injure himself and Morgan Stoddard to find himself in the number 14 shirt. Stoddard has converted from fullback to a wing, presumably because he has the defensive attributes of a revolving door. This is a massive weakness for Wales. The England back three and scrum-half have bags of pace and will exploit any gaps if they have decent ball. Stoddard needs to up his game in this respect, but put the ball in his hands and his never-say-die attitude and powerful running will threaten most sides.

Stoddard’s obvious limitations makes the choice of the mercurial James Hook at fullback all the more strange. Hook has a good boot and can run with ball in hand like few other players in Britain, but he is not noted for his defensive abilities. England will kick aerial balls at Hook all evening and unless Stoddard is sharing responsibility for the catching duties, the back three will be exposed. If England kick badly however, Welsh fans can relish the sight of Shane Williams, James Hook and Morgan Stoddard running the ball back at them. One way or another, there will be tries.

At halfback, Gatland has gone for stability… or not. Mike “Spikey” Phillips is about as unstable a character as we will have on the Millennium Stadium pitch and will vie with Stoddard and Hartley for the angry man award. Paradoxically, this is also an asset for Phillips. He has the ability to wind other players up and with Ben Youngs in such fine form, he needs everything he can use. If Youngs gets past Phillips then he’s away. The young man is a huge threat and Wales will no doubt be making plans to nullify him and will have taken note of the Scarlets “closing the door” technique which involves isolating the ball carrier by placing players between him and attacking pack, then turning the ball over. If, on the other hand, England can get a cluster of players, notably their back three and Youngs behind Wales, then it is an almost certain try time. Foden, Ashton and Cueto are all in excellent form and will be targeting the Phillips, Stoddard, Hook channels.

By contrast, you could not want a more expert defensive capability than Stephen Jones at number ten, perhaps second only to Jonny Wilkinson as a tackling fly-half, Jones is absolutely solid. He lacks pace however, and presents another avenue for Youngs to exploit, who together with the improving Flood represent a serious threat at half back.

The England team expected NOW CONFIRMED to take the park is:

• 15. Foden
• 14. Ashton
• 13. Tindall
• 12. Hape
• 11. Cueto
• 10. Flood
• 9. Youngs
• 1. Sheridan
• 2. Hartley
• 3. Cole
• 4. Deacon
• 5. Palmer
• 6. Wood
• 8. Easter
• 7. Haskell

Subs: Thompson, Wilson, Shaw, Worsley, Care, Wilkinson, Banahan.

The back three of Cueto, Ashton and Foden need no introduction and provide plenty of pace, although Foden has a habit of getting isolated, his first instinct is to run every ball, good or bad and occasionally this can get him in trouble. Wales will need to be at their very best at kicking into space and giving chase to deal with Foden. If he combines with Ashton or Cueto, they will make yards and the home team will suffer.

Tindall and Hape are the soft underbelly of the England team. Calling Tindall soft is perhaps a misnomer, but it is true to say that the veteran centre has little vision and is a traditional bosh it up the middle player, both in attack and defence. You know what Tindall is going to do, but dealing with him is another matter. If he manages to deal with Roberts and Davies in defence, then there will be more than a few surprised looks on the faces of the Welsh management. New Zealand import Hape is another matter, he is very much a modern player, being quick, elusive and good in defence. He is more than capable of holding his own in the battleground of the centres and may make life difficult for the Welsh backs.

The England front row are likely to be dominant. Not an unusual situation for an England front row you might think, but Wales’s first choice of Jenkins, Rees and Jones would have been expected to dominate. With injuries ruling out the two props this is unthinkable and England will be counting on a big performance from Sheriden, Hartley and Cole. If they fail in this respect, then it could be a long night for England… and Wales will notch up an eight year run of wins over the men in white in Cardiff.

The second row of Deacon and Palmer are distinctly vin ordinaire and will have their hands full in both the set pieces and in the loose with big carriers like Jones and Davies ready, willing and able to make inroads into the England defence.

New boy Tom Wood will step into a world he has only dreamed of when he takes his place on the Cardiff pitch. He is a confident, athletic flanker who has turned in some great performances for Northampton this season and could go on the secure the number six or seven shirt for his country on a permanent basis if he comes up with performance against Wales. Comparing him with Wales’s Lydiate will be interesting – expect both these players to be in the Lions mix when selection time comes. That puts Haskell in the unfamiliar role of having to wear number seven on his back. Haskell has been in great form for his club, but on the other side of the pack. He is not and has never been a natural open side flanker. Whether this is misinformation emanating from the England camp, things have got that desperate, or they are looking for something new to deal with the muscular threat of Warburton, only time will tell.

There is every reason to believe that the two flankers will actually start the game with the reverse numbers on their backs: Haskell at six and Wood at seven, but Martin Johnson, who is easing into his role as England team supremo quite nicely will no doubt have something up his sleeve and may well have drawn on the resources of more than a few heads to do something different. Gatland would be wise to do the same.

This is going to be one hell of a six nations opener and will have most pundits scratching their heads when trying to call it. Game on.

Sweeney last started for the Blues on the 27th of November when they recorded a 38-6 victory over Glasgow. Tom Slater starts at scrum half, while Tom Shanklin is paired with Jamie Roberts at Centre for the first time this season. Leigh Halfpenny starts on the wing having come off the bench in last Friday’s win over the Ospreys.

In the forwards Tom Brown starts at Number 8 for the first time in the Magners League, his other two starts being in the LV=Cup. There is one other change in the forwards with John Yapp starting at tighthead in place of Fau Filise.

Cardiff Blues ended a three game losing run with their 27-25 victory over Ospreys on New Year’s Eve and will aim to start 2011 with a win when they welcome their Italian opponents.

The Blues have won all seven previous encounters against Italian sides in all competitions while Aironi Rugby are still without a win in the Magners League.

Despite the record Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby, David Young, has seen an improvement in Aironi’s recent matches.
“We have faced Aironi already this season and it was a hard match out in Italy. Certainly Rowland Phillips will get their team well organized,” said Young.
“I think their results have shown that they’ve been very close in the last couple of games and recently recorded a famous win over Biarritz in the Heineken Cup.”
“We are expecting a tough game, but it’s a game we have to win. That’s where we are in the season. We need the wins and bonus points if we can get them.”
The Blues won 20-3 when the two sides met at Stadio Zaffanella in October and could climb back into the top four again if they get the right result.

“On the back of two good performances and getting nothing it was nice to get the result against the Ospreys,” added Young.

“Hopefully we are all happier working after a win than we would be working after a loss.”

“From now on every game has to be a cup final and a must win game for us. This is not the time to go on a bad run and we aim to start 2011 strongly.”

15 Chris Czekaj 14 Leigh Halfpenny 13 Tom Shanklin 12 Jamie Roberts 11 Tom James 10 Ceri Sweeney 9 Tom Slater

8 Tom Brown 7 Sam Warburton 6 Andries Pretorius 5 Paul Tito (c) 4 Bradley Davies
3 Jon Yapp 2 T Rhys Thomas 1 Gethin Jenkins

16 Gareth Williams 17 Scott Andrews 18 Sam Hobbs 19 Deiniol Jones 20 Martyn Williams 21 Rhys Downes 22 Dan Parks 23 Dafydd Hewitt

The Murrayfield head coach has backed his players to seize on those memories and construct the sort of fast start so crucial to a successful European campaign. He said: “We go to Cardiff in a very positive frame of mind after the last couple of games, and mindful of the fact that in this competition, how you fare in the first couple of matches is crucial.

“We can take a lot of confidence from the fact we won all our home pool games last season, but we know the next step is picking up points on the road.

“We’ve done well in Cardiff in the recent past and I’ve been really struck by the determination of the guys to maintain that record and get our campaign off to a positive start.

“There’s been an edge to training this week, just what you would want in the run-up to such an important game. It’s now about carrying that into the match itself and making sure we come away with the right result.”

Moffat has today named a 25-man squad for the fixture. Chris Paterson returns to the fold after missing the win over Aironi because of a foot injury, while Mike Blair, who was withdrawn from the replacements bench for that game after sustaining a slight tweak to his hamstring, is also included.

Back-row forwards Ross Rennie and Netani Talei, neither of whom featured in Italy, are both in the squad, alongside wing/centre David Bishop, who joined Edinburgh on a three-month contract earlier this week.

Moffat will confirm his starting line-up tomorrow. The head coach said: “It’s good to have so many guys putting their hand up for selection.

“This is the sort of game that every player wants to be a part of, and the team we send out on Saturday will be absolutely raring to go.

“It’s vital that we set a positive tone for the campaign as a whole, and set ourselves up well for when we come back to Murrayfield to play Northampton next week (Saturday 16 October, kick-off 1.30pm).” 

EDINBURGH SQUAD FOR HEINEKEN CUP POOL 1 MATCH AGAINST CARDIFF BLUES, SATURDAY 9 OCTOBER, CARDIFF CITY STADIUM, KICK-OFF 5.45PM (LIVE ON SKY SPORTS VIA RED BUTTON)

BACKS: Chris Paterson, Jim Thompson, Mark Robertson, Tim Visser, Ben Cairns, Alex Grove, James King, David Bishop, David Blair, Mike Blair, Greig Laidlaw

FORWARDS: Allan Jacobsen, Geoff Cross, Kyle Traynor, David Young, Jack Gilding, Ross Ford, Andrew Kelly, Scott MacLeod, Fraser McKenzie, Craig Hamilton, Netani Talei, Alan Macdonald, Ross Rennie, Roddy Grant.

Rhys Wiliiams - forced retirement

Educated at Ysgol Iolo Morganwg and Cowbridge Comprehensive School, Rhys burst onto the international scene in 2000 making his Wales debut in the Six Nations Championship match against Ireland in Dublin, playing at full-back.

He had already represented Wales at all age grade levels from Under 16 to Under 21, playing in the Youth World Cup in 1999. He went on to win 44 caps for Wales playing at full-back and wing and starred for Wales during the 2005 six nations, scoring two tries against Scotland on the way to Wales’ first Grand Slam for 27 years.

At club level, Rhys progressed through the age grade system at Cardiff RFC before making a try scoring debut as an 18 year old for the senior side in the 98/99 season. He was also part of the Cardiff RFC squad that won the Welsh-Scottish League title in 1999.

His record for Cardiff RFC and Cardiff Blues makes impressive reading, scoring 100 tries in 187 appearances for the club and then the region. He is in joint 7th place with Tom James in the all time top scorers for the Cardiff Blues with 100 points (20 tries) and was Captain of the Blues during the 2005/06 season.

Williams - a great servant for club and country

Speaking of the announcement Rhys said: “I’m obviously massively disappointed to receive the news from the Doctors, but I hope in the future to look back on my rugby career and be proud of my achievements in the game.”

“Rugby has been a huge part of my life and has given me many wonderful opportunities and memories.”

“I’ve been fortunate enough to see the world while playing the game I love and have met a lot of people and made many lifelong friends.”

“To Captain the Cardiff Blues during the 2005/06 season was a huge honour and I’m also proud that I’ve only ever played for my hometown of Cowbridge and for Cardiff and the Blues.”

“I’m also vey proud to have represented my country on 44 occasions.”

“I’d like to thank everyone at the Cardiff Blues and to all the supporters for all the encouragement they have given me, especially over the challenges of the last few seasons.”

“I would especially like to thank my wife Liz and family for all their support and also to my namesake, surgeon Rhys Williams and the Cardiff Blues medical team headed up by Tim Atter for all their efforts over the last year.”

“A new chapter in my life begins and I’m looking forward to gaining some experience in the business world.”

Speaking of the announcement Cardiff Blues CEO, Robert Norster said; “Throughout his entire illustrious playing career with Cardiff RFC, the Blues and the Wales national team, Rhys Gethin Williams has consistently proved to be the proverbial model professional. The level of warmth and affection he attracts from people across the game is perhaps unsurprising given his impressive rugby and athletic abilities, good nature and profile topped off with an almost unhealthy level of good looks! Joking aside, he remains a most genuine individual with a hugely likeable character who continues to represent our team and indeed our national sport so exceptionally well.

“Having fought so tirelessly to repeatedly rehabilitate following an appalling catalogue of injuries, it is fully understandable that this day has sadly now arrived. However, an enforced and premature retirement it most certainly is at the tender age of just 29 years of age. An articulate individual with an impressive skill set both on and off the field of play, Rhys is better positioned than many to successfully develop his onward career. Despite having done so much in his curtailed playing career, it is an absolute certainty that Cardiff Blues and the national sport of Wales has not heard or seen the last of this impressive ambassador of our game.”

Blues Director of Rugby, David Young added; “It is always a sad day when a player is forced to hang up his boots and even sadder one when one of the genuine good guys is put in that position which Rhys most certainly is. On the field, his pace and elusive qualities were an integral part of his success and marked him out as a special performer with try-scoring abilities up there with the very best to have ever worn the shirt. His game understanding is also of the highest order as was evident in his time as captain of the team and will serve him well in any onward involvement in the game he may choose to pursue.”

“On behalf of everyone at the Blues, I wish him every success following what has been a long, successful and distinguished playing career”.