{"id":5506,"date":"2015-03-06T14:51:15","date_gmt":"2015-03-06T14:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/?p=5506"},"modified":"2015-03-06T14:51:15","modified_gmt":"2015-03-06T14:51:15","slug":"blues-v-connacht-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Blues v Connacht preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CARDIFF Blues will start Alex Cuthbert, Gareth Anscombe and Kristian Dacey against Connacht tonight, after the players were released by the Welsh camp.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5514\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5514\" style=\"width: 282px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-5514 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/imgres-5.jpg\" alt=\"imgres-5\" width=\"282\" height=\"179\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5514\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5514 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/imgres-5.jpg\" alt=\"imgres-5\" width=\"282\" height=\"179\" \/><\/noscript> Arms Park<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nThey make up three of the six changes to the side from last week\u2019s win against Edinburgh, as Josh Navidi comes in at at number eight, Taufa&#8217;ao Filise at tight-head and second-rower Lou Reed make up a new look forward pack. The changes mean Manoa Vosawai, Adam Jones, Filo Paulo and Tom Isaacs all drop to the bench, while Richard Smith loses out entirely to make room for Cuthbert.\u00a0Sunday\u2019s stand-off Rhys Patchell will move to full-back to make room for Anscombe, in the only other change.<br \/>\nCuthbert will have a point to prove after his axing from the Wales squad, following a three-year international run, and the Lions winger has told Blues coaches he is ready to prove his quality on the pitch and show the welsh camp what they are missing. The blues will be hopeful Cuthbert can help them continue their perfect response to a difficult period after a desperately needed home win on Sunday.<br \/>\nThey ran four tries past Edinburgh in the first game since the departure of director of rugby Mark Hammett. But temporary coaches Paul John and Dale McIntosh will want improvement against a Connacht side boosted by the return of full-back Mils Muliaina from injury. Muliaina\u2019s return means Tiernan O&#8217;Halloran moves to the wing, they also bring\u00a0two new faces to their pack \u2014 George Naoupu at number-eight and Mick Kearney at lock.<br \/>\nConnacht will almost certainly offer a sterner test than Edinburgh \u2014 they are sixth in the Pro12 table, within touching distance of qualification for the European Rugby Champion\u2019s Cup. The Irish side are fresh from thumping Treviso 53-5 \u2014 a team who thrashed the blues on a recent trip to Italy. The win was Connacht\u2019s second win on the spin,and with the return of on-field leader Muliaina they will come to Cardiff full of confidence.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5515\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5515\" style=\"width: 231px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/imgres-31.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5515\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/imgres-31.jpg\" alt=\"Alex Cuthbert returns from Wales duty to start for Blues\" width=\"231\" height=\"218\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5515\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5515\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/imgres-31.jpg\" alt=\"Alex Cuthbert returns from Wales duty to start for Blues\" width=\"231\" height=\"218\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> Alex Cuthbert returns from Wales duty to start for Blues<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nAnd although John and McIntosh will have been very pleased with Sunday\u2019s win, the Blues still conceded two tries \u2014 showing they have not plugged all the holes in the team\u2019s shaky defence this season. Despite scoring their first try from an attacking lineout, as the game wore on, Edinburgh began to dominate the set piece. This has been a problem area for much of the season and must get better.<br \/>\nThe win will still have lifted spirits at the Arms Park, after a dismal season under Hammett that does not reflect the talent the Blues have at their disposal. Many at the start of the season expected them to be the highest ranked Welsh region, but they are the lowest in the Pro12.<br \/>\nNews yesterday from McIntosh, saying the club wanted the return of Jamie Roberts, will also help raise the mood. The centre is expected to be released by Racing Metro at the end of the season. Roberts has been linked with an Arms Park return on a WRU duel contract following a potential release. Speculation has also linked him to English sides, including Harlequins and Saracens, but McIntosh will hope he can be tempt the Welsh international into returning home. He would add to the international talent pool already available and could help for a stronger season in 2015\/16. But for now the Blues must focus on getting the basics right in defence and at the set piece \u2014 if they don\u2019t, a strong Connacht side will punish them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CARDIFF Blues will start Alex Cuthbert, Gareth Anscombe and Kristian Dacey against Connacht tonight, after the players were released by the Welsh camp. They make up three of the six changes to the side from last week\u2019s win against Edinburgh, as Josh Navidi comes in at at number eight, Taufa&#8217;ao Filise at tight-head and second-rower Lou Reed make up a new look forward pack. The changes mean Manoa Vosawai, Adam Jones, Filo Paulo and Tom Isaacs all drop to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[2776,1875,1291,2777,2778,2663,2011,154,339,1030],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-alex","tag-blues","tag-cardiff-2","tag-connacht","tag-cuthbert","tag-jamie-roberts","tag-pro12","tag-rugby-2","tag-wales","tag-wru"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Blues v Connacht preview - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blues v Connacht preview - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CARDIFF Blues will start Alex Cuthbert, Gareth Anscombe and Kristian Dacey against Connacht tonight, after the players were released by the Welsh camp. They make up three of the six changes to the side from last week\u2019s win against Edinburgh, as Josh Navidi comes in at at number eight, Taufa&#8217;ao Filise at tight-head and second-rower Lou Reed make up a new look forward pack. The changes mean Manoa Vosawai, Adam Jones, Filo Paulo and Tom Isaacs all drop to the [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-06T14:51:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/imgres-5.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cathyduncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cathyduncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cathyduncan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/\",\"name\":\"Blues v Connacht preview - The Cardiffian\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/imgres-5.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-06T14:51:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/41c76b1e66d8cf6e57cba8550c3772b1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/imgres-5.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/imgres-5.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2015\/03\/06\/blues-v-connacht-preview\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blues v Connacht preview\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\",\"name\":\"The Cardiffian\",\"description\":\"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/41c76b1e66d8cf6e57cba8550c3772b1\",\"name\":\"cathyduncan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/d4d0895f6e1f7ccb86d04236a870a18b\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cd1b1b63598c25c15d3e0d390366ec2ba1c99865b1a23c34339be8c5c396a81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cd1b1b63598c25c15d3e0d390366ec2ba1c99865b1a23c34339be8c5c396a81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cathyduncan\"},\"description\":\"Lecturer, Cardiff University News Journalism MA. 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