World News – GB – Cardiff Blues v Ulster: Live Updates

Les Bleus face strong opposition with visitors from Belfast having won their first three PRO14 games

The Cardiff Blues face a tough task as they face the unbeaten Ulster in their temporary home at Rodney Parade tonight

The Belfast men won three of three in the Guinness PRO14 and weren’t too hard hit by international calls, so they will be tough opponents

Head coach John Mulvihill has made some changes as the Blues lost 38-27 to Munster in a Monday night thriller in Limerick last week

Josh Turnbull returns to the blind flank after completing his three suspension matches, while Will Boyde makes his first appearance of the season alongside him in the back row

The game is live on Premier Sports, but if you can’t get in front of the TV, stay tuned for all the action

Cardiff Blues: Matthew Morgan; Aled Summerhill, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo, Hallam Amos; Jarrod Evans, Lewis Jones; Corey Domachowski, Kristian Dacey (captain), Dimitri Arhip, James Ratti, Rory Thornton, Josh Turnbull, Will Boyde, James Botham

Alternates: Ethan Lewis, Brad Thyer, Scott Andrews, Ben Murphy, Olly Robinson, Jamie Hill, Jason Tovey, Garyn Smith

Ulster: Michael Lowry; Craig Gilroy, Stewart Moore, Stuart McCloskey, Louis Ludik; Billy Burns (captain), John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, Adam McBurney, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Matty Rea, Nick Timoney, Jordi Murphy

Alternates: John Andrew, Jack McGrath, Ross Kane, Sam Carter, Sean Reidy, Alby Mathewson, Luke Marshall, Ethan McIlroy

Something close in the first minute as Blues scrum half Lewis Jones pirate after the ball came loose at a lineout

He appears to be winning the race as he heads for the Ulster line, but Billy Burns returns just in time to save the day

After a minute of silence in memory of JJ Williams, the match began with Ulster kicking off towards the former Rodney Parade clubhouse as heavy rains fell

An eleventh hour change for the Cardiff Blues squad, Willis Halaholo stepping down after failing a fitness test

This sees Garyn Smith starting in the center and Owen Lane in good form again on the bench

Welsh winger Lane has been sidelined since sustaining a shoulder injury in the same indoor training match that saw Josh Navidi suffer a concussion at the end of the month. September

Cardiff Blues coach John Mulvihill admits his side lacked a bit of physique against Munster in Limerick last week

He brought Josh Turnbull and Will Boyde to the back row for tonight and expects them to throw their bodies all over the place, which he says the team needs

Cardiff Blues skipper Kristian Dacey says they are looking for a quick start tonight and will also have to play with the conditions on a rainy and windy evening at Rodney Parade

Opposing captain Billy Burns believes securing position on the pitch and limiting errors will be essential given the weather

It’s great to see Matthew Morgan making his way through the park after the traumatic ankle injury he sustained against Leicester in January

The man known throughout the game as « Nipper » spoke before the clash with Ulster

James Botham makes his fifth straight open side league start for Cardiff Blues tonight and is going really well

He is the best Guinness PRO14 tackle so far this season, with 56 hits, and coach John Mulvihill is delighted with the progress the 22-year-old has made

« He has 160 km / h no matter what. He’s a very good athlete and he puts his head where you wouldn’t set foot

Scrum-half John Cooney and center Stuart McCloskey have both been released from the Ireland squad to feature in an Ulster roster that shows a number of changes from the squad that beat the Dragons 40-17 last week

Cooney will be matched at half-back by Billy Burns, who returns from injury to the side’s captain at No.10, while Michael Lowry and Craig Gilroy come in the bottom three

Up front Nick Timoney starts at No.8, as hugely influential South African running back Marcell Coetzee is rested, with hooker Adam McBurney and lock Kieran Treadwell making their first starts this season

Cardiff Blues coach John Mulvihill has spoken of the ‘strange’ experience of playing on a Monday night as his side have four of these new-style fixtures in a row

He also described the challenge presented by Ulster, who he says have lost just three players or players to the Ireland squad and have very good foreigners

Aussie coach predicts: « They will come with enormous physicality and try to maim us to death » So he says his players have to be physical and really step up

The Cardiff Blues backline that was so threatening in Limerick last Monday remains intact for Ulster visit

Josh Turnbull is back from a three-match suspension he won after being sent off against Zebre in the season opener PRO14

He took advantage of Game A against the Dragons which took place last Wednesday as it counted as the third and final game of his ban

The Welsh international retreats to the flank on the blind side, James Ratti resuming his familiar lock spot

In another change to the back row, fit-again Will Boyde arrives for his first appearance of the season

Ulster Rugby, PRO14, Cardiff Blues, Rugby union, John Cooney, Stuart McCloskey, Ireland, Billy Burns