Francis returns for Blues

Blues boss Tana Umaga has named a virtually unchanged team for their clash against the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.

Pivot Piers Francis has been cleared of the wrist injury that ruled him out last weekend’s match against the Brumbies on the day of the game.

Francis, who has been selected to play for England in Argentina next month, returns to fly-half with Bryn Gatland to come off the bench.

The rest of the side remains unchanged from the line-up that managed a bonus point win over the Brumbies in Canberra.

The team is facing the second of an exhausting six-match run that sees them home against the Cheetahs next Friday ahead of a one-off trek against the Stormers in South Africa, returning to meet the Chiefs and then travelling to Samoa to take on the Reds.

Blues: 15 Michael Collins, 14 Matt Duffie, 13 George Moala, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 James Parsons (c), 1 Pauliasi Manu 
Replacements: 16 Matt Moulds, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Leighton Price, 20 Murphy Taramai, 21 Billy Guyton, 22 Bryn Gatland, 23 Melani Nanai

Date: Saturday, May 6
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 21:45 local (09:45 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Will Houston (Australia), Graham Cooper (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)