Preview: Dragons v Blues

If he comes off the bench during Friday's match at the Dragons, Blues lock Deiniol Jones will set a record for Magners League appearances.

If he comes off the bench in Friday's match at the Dragons, Cardiff Blues lock Deiniol Jones will set a record for Magners League appearances.

Jones equalled Adam Black's record of 117 last weekend in the Blues' 39-16 defeat of the Scarlets which guaranteed them Heineken Cup rugby next season.

The match also pits fly-half Ceri Sweeney back at his old stamping ground and against his former team-mates, after Sweeney has come through his first season at the Bloues impressively, especially in last week's derby win.

“Ceri has come in and shown a lot of strength of character,” said coach Dai Young to the Western Mail.

“We wanted to give Sam every opportunity we could and Ceri had to sit back in the wings, but he has come in and organised and run the team really well.

“His defence has never been an issue, he is very strong in that area, and his organisational skills have always been strong

“Where people have criticised him in the past has been with his kicking game. That has certainly improved and I think he has really played well for us. He has stood up.”

Meanwhile, James Arlidge starts at fly-half for the Dragons as Jason Tovey has failed to recover from a knock sustained in last weekend's win over Edinburgh.

Injury also keeps Joe Bearman out of the team following his return to action last weekend, he is replaced by Newport RFC Captain, Andrew Coombs.

Wales international Luke Charteris is also out, along with Matthew Watkins and prop, Pat Palmer.

Form: The Dragons have lost their last six matches against the Blues since their 14-13 victory at Rodney Parade on 27 December 2006. The last five matches played by Newport Gwent Dragons have all been won by the home side on the day. Dragons' only reversal at Rodney Parade in the Magners League since March 2009 was 9-14 to Scarlets on New Year's Eve. Cardiff Blues have suffered just one defeat in their last five Magners League matches: 20-29 at home to Leinster on 7 March, whilst the Blues' impressive away form has guided them to six successive wins in all competitions.

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Will Harries, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Richard Fussell, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Andrew Coombs, 5 Hoani MacDonald, 4 Rob Sidoli, 3 Ben Castle, 2 Tom Willis (c), 1 Hugh Gustafson.
Replacements: 16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Nigel Hall, 18 Lewis Evans, 19 James Harris, 20 Rhodri Gomer Davies, 21 Adam Hughes, 22 Alex Walker.

Cardiff Blues: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 Jamie Roberts, 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Chris Czekaj, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Maama Molitika, 5 Paul Tito, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Gareth Williams, 17 Taufa'au Filise, 18 Deiniol Jones, 19 Andries Pretorius, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Dai Flanagan, 22 Gavin Evans.

Date: Friday, April 23
Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 19.05 BST
Referee: Alain Rolland