Having gone down fighting against Bath last Friday night the Blues youngsters, led by Hewitt for the first time, will be looking to bounce back against the newly promoted Exeter Chiefs.
David Young has named his side which sees one change in the backs. Welsh international Tom James returns to the wing in place of James Loxton.
There are two changes in the forwards with Academy player Luke Hamilton coming in for Andries Pretorius at blindside and Josh Navidi replacing Ben White at openside.
Speaking ahead of the match David Young said,
“We faced a very strong Bath team last Friday and in fairness I think our players really fronted up to the challenge.”
“The conditions were terrible, so everything went against us from the start, but I was really pleased with how the boys played against a far more experienced team.”
“Obviously we want to win every game, but in my opinion the evening was just as important for a lot of our younger players and for some of the players who haven’t played much for us recently.”
“I thought they all put their hands up and showed what it meant to them to actually be part of the Blues set up and play for the Blues.”
The Blues have a special offer for under 16’s with match tickets costing only £1. To show their support for Remembrance week, the Blues are offering all members of the Armed Forces free entry to the Exeter match simply by showing their ID cards at the ticket office on the day, or quoting their ID number when calling the Cardiff City Stadium Ticket Office on 0845 345 1400.
Speaking of Exeter, Young added,
“When we played Exeter in the summer we totally dominated them and were by far the better team.”
“By their own admission after the game, the scoreline looked a bit more respectable after they scored two late tries.”
“However, you have to give them a lot of credit for what they have achieved in the premiership.”
“They have been outstanding and really deserve to be where they are in the league.”
“They are doing really well, they have got some quality players, but I think it’s more about their determination and commitment to playing for each other.”
“They had an impressive result against Wasps last weekend but it’s even more impressive when you look at the team they put out.”
“It was arguably their second team that played a very strong Wasps outfit so we know we will have to be at our best this evening to get a win.”
15 Dan Fish 14 Richard Mustoe 13 Gavin Evans 12 Dafydd Hewitt (Capt) 11 Tom James 10 Gareth Davies 9 Lloyd Williams
8 Tom Brown 7 Josh Navidi 6 Luke Hamilton 5 James Down 4 Bryn Griffiths 3 John Yapp 2 Gareth Williams 1 Tom Davies
16 Kristian Dacey 17 Sam Hobbs 18 Scott Andrews 19 Macauley Cook 20 Thomas Young 21 Tom Slater 22 Joseph Griffin 23 Owen Williams