Blues will hit Leinster hard

Celtic League preview: Leinster are up against it in this contest. Fortress Donnybrook is now a faded memory and Cardiff will have sniffed this out over the past month or two.

Beset as usual by injuries and missing international squad members, coach Gary Ella has a skeleton crew. Injuries to front-row players make the scrum a talking point where loosehead John Lyne comes in for Enda Bohan, who misses out for personal reasons. The back five - although containing some very able footballers, notably captain Des Dillon and Niall Ronan - just doesn't have the profile of the type of unit you would like to see operating at this level.

Again the back line looks lively.Felipe Contepomi again has to play at inside centre but with full back James Norton there along with Brendan Burke, Christian Warner and John McWeeney, Leinster are not short of pace.

They have beaten Cardiff twice in the Heineken European Cup but lost in their away Celtic League match and go into the fourth meeting of the season with some trepidation over their form. Following last week's 40-34 defeat to Edinburgh Leinster have lost their last four matches, whereas Cardiff have won their last four.

Canadian international Dan Baugh returns to the back row in a much changed Cardiff side. Matt Allen and Pieter Muller come into the centre while Craig Morgan reverts to the wing, allowing Donavan van Vuuren to come back to 15.

In the second row Craig Quinnell packs down with Jim Brownrigg as Cardiff seek their fifth win in succession.

LEINSTER: J Norton; J McWeeney, C Warner, F Contepomi, B Burke; M Leek, B O'Meara; J Lyne, D Blaney, S Brophy, C Potts, B Gissing, D Dillon, N Ronan, A McCullen. Replacements: B Blaney, A Kearney, S Crawford, B O'Riordan, J Downey, G Brown.

CARDIFF BLUES: D van Vuuren; J Vaughton, M Allen, P Muller, C Morgan; N Robinson, R Powell; K Fourie, A Lewis (capt), D Crompton, C Quinnell, Jim Brownrigg, M Cockbain, D Baugh, R Sowden-Taylor. Replacements: D Fenton, R Thomas, H Senekal, R Appleyard, A Moore, J Robinson, N Walne

Referee: A Ireland (Scotland).