Blues change five for Bulls

Editor

Sir John Kirwan has made five changes to his Blues side as they prepare to take on the Bulls at Eden Park on Friday.

There are three changes in the pack, with James Parsons and Charlie Faumuina coming into the front row in place of Keven Mealamu and Angus Taavao-Matau.

Josh Bekhuis comes in for Hayden Triggs in the second row, while the other two new faces are in the backline.

In-form scrum-half Jamison GIbson-Park gets the nod over Jimmy Cowan, with the latter struggling with a shoulder problem.

The final change sees Ben Lam come onto the wing for Tevita Li, with Melani Nanai switching flanks to accommodate him.

The Blues have won their last two games at Eden Park but were well-beaten last time out away to the Rebels.

Blues: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Ben Lam, 13 Francis Saili, 12 George Moala, 11 Melani Nanai, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Steven Luatua (c), 7 Brendon O'Connor, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Culum Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 James Parsons, 1 Tony Woodcock
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18 Sam Pratley, 19 Will Lloyd, 20 Blake Gibson, 21 Jimmy Cowan/Jamie Booth, 22 Simon Hickey, 23 Matt Vaega

Date: Friday, May 15
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19:35 local (17:35 AEST, 09:35 SAST, 07:35 GMT)
Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Nick Briant (New Zealand), Aki Aso (Japan)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)