Josh Navidi starts for Cardiff Blues on Welsh derby day

Adam Kyriacou

There’s two games scheduled to take place in the PRO14 on Boxing Day as Cardiff Blues face off with Dragons at Cardiff Arms Park before Scarlets host Ospreys at Parc y Scarlets in another Welsh derby match.

Cardiff Blues v Dragons

Cardiff Blues welcome Josh Navidi back into the starting line-up for their blockbuster Boxing Day derby against Dragons.

The back-row star, who has been out of action since suffering a hamstring injury in Wales’ Rugby World Cup quarter-final win over France, will captain his side against their rivals.

John Mulvihill has made a total of five changes for the encounter, as the Blues look to make it two from two in the festive derbies, following last weekend’s win over the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium.

The only changes amongst the backline sees Hallam Amos introduced at full-back against his former side, replacing Matthew Morgan, who is named on the bench.

Navidi is joined in the back-row by Olly Robinson, who was a replacement in the victory at Swansea, and Shane Lewis-Hughes, who penned a new long-term deal with the region earlier this week.

Two further changes are made in the front-row, with Liam Belcher and Keiron Assiratti replacing Kirby Myhill and Scott Andrews, while James Ratti and Josh Turnbull form the second-row.

Seb Davies has also handed Mulvihill a boost, having recovered from a knee injury to take his place on the bench, alongside fellow internationals Morgan, Lloyd Williams, Rhys Gill and Scott Andrews.

Meanwhile, Dragons wing Jared Rosser will make his first appearance of the season as they make changes for Thursday.

Speedster Rosser, who has scored 13 tries in 40 appearances for Dragons, is handed a starting spot after recovering from a leg injury.

Dean Ryan makes five tweaks to the side that defeated Scarlets as he looks to inject fresh energy into his team with a five-day turnaround between games.

Wales international number eight Ross Moriarty starts his first game of the season, with back-row partner Aaron Wainwright moving to blindside flanker and Cory Hill into the second-row to partner Matthew Screech.

Experienced duo Richard Hibbard and Aaron Jarvis both come into the front-row to partner Brok Harris, after impressing from the bench in the derby success over Scarlets.

Centre Tyler Morgan is also named in midfield where he joins forces with Jack Dixon.

Several changes on the bench include the return of scrum-half Luke Baldwin, back-row Harrison Keddie and talented young prop Josh Reynolds.

The teams:

Cardiff Blues: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Josh Navidi (c), 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Josh Turnbull, 4 James Ratti, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Matthew Morgan

Dragons: 15 Will Talbot-Davies, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams (c), 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Cory Hill, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Josh Reynolds, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Harrison Keddie, 21 Luke Baldwin, 22 Jacob Botica, 23 Adam Warren

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Adam Jones (Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)

Scarlets v Ospreys

Scarlets have made three changes to their starting line-up for their PRO14 Boxing Day derby against the Ospreys.

Angus O’Brien, man-of-the-match in his previous appearance against Bayonne, gets the nod in the 10 jersey and replaces Dan Jones, who suffered a rib injury in the 22-20 defeat to the Dragons last weekend.

Wing Johnny McNicholl also picked up an ankle issue at Rodney Parade and misses out so Ryan Conbeer slots in on the right wing.

The other change sees Scotland international Blade Thomson come in for Uzair Cassiem at number eight.

Conbeer is named in a back three alongside Leigh Halfpenny and Steff Evans. Steff Hughes and Hadleigh Parkes continue in midfield, while O’Brien partners Gareth Davies at half-back.

The front five remains the same with the all-Wales international trio of Wyn Jones, skipper Ken Owens and Samson Lee packing down in the front-row and Jake Ball and Sam Lousi at lock.

Thomson is named alongside Aaron Shingler and Josh Macleod in the back-row.

With Cassiem named among the replacements, the other changes on the bench see the return of South African tighthead Werner Kruger and the inclusion of versatile back Paul Asquith.

Meanwhile, Wales international flanker Justin Tipuric leads the Ospreys for the West Wales derby against their local rivals.

Young Morgan Morris returns to the starting line-up, wearing the number eight shirt, with Olly Cracknell shifting to the blindside.

An unchanged front five from last weekend sees Nicky Smith, Scott Otten and Ma’afu Fia form the front-row and Adam Beard and Bradley Davies partnering in the second. Dewi Lake, Rhys Fawcett and Simon Gardiner provide the front-row cover and Marvin Orie and Dan Lydiate reinforce the pack off the bench.

Marty McKenzie starts at fly-half, partnering Aled Davies in the half-backs, with Scott Williams and Kieran Williams forming the centre partnership.

Cai Evans and Luke Morgan are joined by Lesley Klim in the back three to complete the starting XV with Shaun Venter, Luke Price and Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler all named on the bench.

The teams:

Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Ryan Conbeer, 13 Steff Hughes, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Josh Macleod, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Phil Price, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Tevita Ratuva, 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Paul Asquith

Ospreys: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Lesley Klim, 13 Kieran Williams, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Rhys Fawcett, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Luke Price, 23 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler

Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Dan Jones (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)