By Andrew Collins
March 1 2006

Dai Young selects a strong side to take on the Ospreys on Friday night. The Blues coach has the majority of his squad avaiable to him, with only 3 Welsh players unavailable but 2 injuries compared to the Ospreys current injury list.

As expected, Martyn Williams, Rhys Thomas and Rob Sidoli are held by the Welsh Rugby Union, but Mike Phillips, John Yapp, Gethin Jenkins and Nick Robinson are released.

The 4 Welsh squad members all start for the Blues, and they are joined in the line-up by U21 stars Chris Czekaj and Duane Goodfeild.

On the injury list, winger Lomu has pulled out with a halmstring injury, and Tom Shanklin is still out until mid-April with a knee injury that has hampered him since the Lions.

Rhys Williams returns to full back and also keeps his captains armband following Xavier Rush's breif spell against Edinbourgh.

James Goode partners Deiniol Jones at lock, with Jones being one of the player who's come under much criticsm for his performances. He was dropped following the loss to Leeds, but with Sidoli out, Jones is picked above Criag Quinnell who arms the bench.

The Blues won memorably against the Ospreys before Christams. Many fans made the trip (including myself) to the new Liberty Stadium, and witnessed the best Blues performance in years, and everyone will be hoping for a repeat performance.

The game has a massive bearing on who will end up bottom Welsh side and have to scrap out with the bottom Irish and Scottish sides for a play-off place.

Team:
Rhys Williams (c), Craig Morgan, Jamie Robinson, Marc Stcherbina, Chris Czekaj, Nick Robinson, Mike Phillips, Xavier Rush, Robin Sowden-Taylor, Maama Molitika, James Goode, Deiniol Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Duane Goodfield, John Yapp

Martin Jones, Ross Johnson, Craig Quinnell, Kort Schubert, Ryan Powell, Nick Macleod, Lee Thomas

Stories below include build up to the match in 'Blues prepare for Ospreys', the last match between the two sides in 'Blues get Festive' and the Edinbourgh review in 'Blues rot continues'.