5th November 2018

Dan Fish will captain Cardiff Blues as he makes his 100th appearance for the region in tomorrow's Syft International Challenge against Uruguay at the Arms Park (7.05pm).

The 27-year-old made his regional debut against Aironi in 2010, having come through the ranks at Glamorgan Wanderers.

He has seen his game time limited by a succession of injuries in recent seasons but will lead Wales’ Capital Region in their first fixture against international opposition since 2010, as he hits his personal century.

Nineteen of the match-day squad have graduated through the Cardiff Blues academy set-up with all but one Welsh qualified.

Cardiff Blues head coach John Mulvihill said: “It’s a great achievement for Fishy to reach 100 appearances following a couple of tough seasons. He starts at fly-half and also captains a team that has a good blend of youth and experience.

“The Celtic Cup competition was fantastic for us as a development tool and it’s good to give a lot of those guys a start against international opposition.

“It will be another level up from what they are used to but we have also included a good amount of experience – the likes of Dan, Matthew Morgan, James Down and Rory Thornton - around the young guys to make sure it is a beneficial experience for them.

“It promises to be a great occasion at the Arms Park and Uruguay will certainly present a formidable challenge.

“They qualified for the World Cup, where they are in the same pool as Wales, outright and this is the beginning of their preparations for that. We will need to be at our best against a full strength Uruguay on Tuesday night.”

For a second successive World Cup, Uruguay are among Wales' opponents in Pool D with Georgia, Fiji and Australia the other teams. Following Tuesday night’s encounter, they take on Ulster at Ravenhill.

Cardiff Blues: Matthew Morgan; Aled Summerhill, Harri Millard, Max Llewellyn, Cam Lewis; Dan Fish (capt), Lewis Jones; Rhys Carre, Liam Belcher, Keiron Assiratti, James Down, Rory Thornton, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Sion Bennett, Alun Lawrence.

Replacements: Ethan Lewis, Rhys Gill, Will Davies-King, Miles Normandale, Ioan Rhys Davies, Jamie Hill, Ben Thomas, Ioan Davies, Peter Lloyd.