Jamie Roberts skippers Dragons against Cardiff Blues

David Skippers
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Two PRO14 games are scheduled for Saturday with Dragons and Ospreys hosting Cardiff Blues and Scarlets in their respective matches.

Dragons v Cardiff Blues

Wales international duo Aaron Wainwright and Jonah Holmes return to the Dragons’ starting line-up for Boxing Day’s PRO14 derby clash with Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade.

Boss Dean Ryan makes a total of eight changes to the side that faced Bordeaux-Begles in Europe last time out.

Holmes slots in at full-back while there is also a recall for speedsters Ashton Hewitt and Owen Jenkins on the wings.

Jamie Roberts is named captain against his former region and is paired with Jack Dixon in midfield. Nick Tompkins misses the game on compassionate leave.

Matthew Screech and Ben Carter return to join forces in the second-row while Wainwright is named at number eight and Harrison Keddie returns in the six jersey.

Prop Brok Harris packs down up front and will play his 100th PRO14 game, with Wales international prop Leon Brown and scrum-half Luke Baldwin named among the replacements.

A number of players are self-isolating due to community transmissions, including scrum-half Rhodri Williams who misses the derby game.

Meanwhile, Cory Hill will captain Cardiff Blues on Boxing Day in the first of three consecutive PRO14 Welsh derbies.

The Wales second-row moved to the capital city from the Dragons in the summer and will slot into the back-row as John Mulvihill makes one change from the side selected to face Stade Francais.

That European encounter was called off but head coach Mulvihill has retained all but Alun Lawrence, who drops out for the return of specialist openside James Botham.

Wales’ capital region have triumphed over the Dragons in the last 10 Championship encounters, however the hosts go into the East Wales showdown on the back of three consecutive wins.

Mulvihill will be absent from Rodney Parade after being identified as a Covid-19 close contact but will be keeping a close eye on affairs from home.

Hill captains the side wearing the number six jersey alongside the returning Botham and ever-reliable Josh Turnbull, while Seb Davies and Ben Murphy combine in the second-row.

The same front-row that triumphed in Newcastle two weeks ago are given the nod once more with Kristian Dacey packing down between Brad Thyer and Dillon Lewis.

In the backs, Lloyd Williams partners Jarrod Evans and Max Llewellyn combines with Garyn Smith in the midfield. Josh Adams makes his first appearance since his autumn exploits, in a back three which also contains Aled Summerhill and former Dragons flyer Hallam Amos.

There is plenty quality and experience among the replacements with international trio Rhys Carré, Shane Lewis-Hughes and Tomos Williams, and star centre Rey Lee-Lo included.

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Jonah Holmes, 14 Owen Jenkins, 13 Jack Dixon, 12 Jamie Roberts (c), 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Josh Lewis, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Harrison Keddie, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Lewis Evans, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Luke Baldwin, 22 Aneurin Owen, 23 Evan Lloyd

Cardiff Blues: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Josh Turnbull, 7 James Botham, 6 Cory Hill (c), 5 Seb Davies, 4 Ben Murphy, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Rey Lee-Lo

Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Dan Jones (Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)

Ospreys v Scarlets

Ospreys head coach Toby Booth has named his team to face the Scarlets on Boxing Day in their PRO14 derby clash.

Despite taking place at Parc y Scarlets, Ospreys will be designated as the home team. This is because Liberty Stadium is currently undergoing emergency pitch works.

In team news, Dan Evans will make his 150th appearance for the Ospreys on Saturday in the first of the festive derbies.

Justin Tipuric takes the reins as captain, linking up with Dan Lydiate and last weekend’s try-scorer Morgan Morris in the back-row. Rhys Davies and Adam Beard form the second-row with Gareth Thomas, Dewi Lake and Tom Botha up front.

Ifan Phillips, Rhodri Jones and Ma’afu Fia provide the cover off the bench alongside Sam Cross and Lloyd Ashley who complete the forward contingent.

Stephen Myler and Reuben Morgan-Williams retain the nine and 10 jerseys with George North and Luke Morgan on the wings alongside Evans at full-back. Scott Williams and Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler form the centre partnership with Rhys Webb, Josh Thomas and Keiran Williams completing the matchday 23.

Their opponents, Scarlets, welcome back Wales internationals Jake Ball and Steff Evans for this encounter.

Ball has come through the return-to-play concussion protocols, while Evans has recovered from illness as the two personnel changes to the starting XV that was selected to take on Toulon last weekend in a Champions Cup match that was eventually cancelled.

Evans is joined by Johnny McNicholl, who slots in at full-back, and Tom Rogers in an exciting back three; Wales and British & Irish Lions centre Jonathan Davies partners skipper Steff Hughes in midfield, while Dan Jones and Kieran Hardy are again picked at half-back.

Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias and Javan Sebastian form the front-row, while Ball packs down alongside rising prospect Morgan Jones at lock. Ed Kennedy, Uzair Cassiem and Josh Macleod are again named as the back-row trio.

There are a number of changes among the replacements. In come loosehead prop Phil Price, Fijian second-row Tevita Ratuva, Scotland international Blade Thomson and Wales U20s fly-half Sam Costelow. South African tighthead Pieter Scholtz will make his Scarlets debut if he appears off the bench.

The Scarlets’ weekly round of Covid-19 testing produced one positive case and that player is currently isolating in accordance with public health guidelines.

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 George North, 13 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Ifan Phillips, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Lloyd Ashley, 20 Sam Cross, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Josh Thomas, 23 Keiran Williams

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Steff Hughes (c), 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Josh Macleod, 6 Ed Kennedy, 5 Morgan Jones, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Phil Price, 18 Pieter Scholtz, 19 Tevita Ratuva, 20 Blade Thomson, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Tyler Morgan

Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Aled Evans (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

 

Cardiff Rugby