Liam Belcher will captain Cardiff Rugby in their opening pre-season friendly of the season against Ealing Trailfinders at Trailfinders Sports Club tomorrow afternoon (3pm KO).
The homegrown hooker leads a new look Blue and Blacks side which includes seven new signings in the starting line-up.
It includes academy products Tom Bowen and Steffan Emanuel who rejoined the Club in the summer, and along with Matty Young are in line to make the first senior appearances of their careers.
Belcher is joined in the front row alongside academy product Rhys Barrett and Rhys Litterick, while new signing Josh McNally joins Teddy Williams in the second row.
Ben Donnell and Alun Lawrence are selected in the back row with Dan Thomas who joined from Bristol Bears in the summer.
In the backs, new signings Johan Mulder and Josh Thomas will pull the strings, with Rory Jennings and Harri Millard making up the centres. Iwan Stephens, Gabriel Hamer-Webb and Bowen form the back three.
Cardiff Rugby head coach Matt Sherratt, said: “We’ve had a really good off-season and the boys have trained very well, but we’re now looking forward to getting back out on the pitch for what should be an entertaining encounter against Ealing Trailfinders and an important step in our preparations for the BKT United Rugby Championship season.
“By winning the Championship last year, Ealing showed they are a very strong outfit and should give us a good test tomorrow.
“We’ve gone with a blend of youth and experience for this opening game, and included plenty of the new faces who joined us in the summer.
“The fixture is the perfect opportunity to blood them into the team, look at a few new combinations and give them some valuable game time.”
The Blue and Blacks will utilise rolling replacements with 13 players named on the bench including new signings Dafydd Hughes, Danny Southworth, Aled Davies and Emanuel.
Cardiff Rugby: Tom Bowen; Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Harri Millard, Rory Jennings, Iwan Stephens, Josh Thomas, Johan Mulder, Rhys Barratt, Liam Belcher ©, Rhys Litterick, Josh McNally, Teddy Williams, Ben Donnell, Dan Thomas, Alun Lawrence.
Replacements: Dafydd Hughes, Danny Southworth, Will Davies-King, Rory Thornton, Gwilym Bradley, Aled Davies, Tinus de Beer, Matty Young, Efan Daniel, Lucas de la Rua, Mackenzie Martin, Steffan Emanuel, Rey Lee-Lo.