RUGBY MAGNERS LEAGUE CONNACHT v CARDIFF:IN THEORY, if Cardiff earn 10 points from their final two games and Leinster get no points from their remaining two matches, the Welsh club could win the Magners League. That is such a long shot as to be in the realm of miraculous, but Cardiff will travel to Galway with that in mind.
Perhaps more importantly to those who will be at Leinster's match at the RDS on Saturday, if Connacht can beat Cardiff in the Sportsground, then Leinster have won the championship.
On 46 points, Cardiff could not then catch Leinster, who have already secured 55 points.
Similarly, Connacht have equally slim hopes that third-from-bottom Ulster, who are eight points ahead of them, will get no points from their final two games and they (Connacht) can gain enough from two matches to claim the third Irish Heineken Cup place.
So, it is a case of these two sides going into this match with wild hopes and of other matches going 100 per cent their way.
Coach Michael Bradley is used to such end-of-season scrambling, and he has made only one change from the team that faced Dragons last time. Robbie Morris has recovered from injury and he goes in at tighthead prop.
Samoan brothers Ofisa Treviranus and Ray Ofisa are named in the match 22 for the first time since December, while former England Under-21 Michael McCarthy is also on the bench.
Cardiff, critically, have captain Xavier Rush back where he does most damage, at number eight, having recovered from a bicep injury, and Jason Spice returns to scrumhalf. Rhys Thomas starts at hooker and Scott Morgan in the secondrow.
Cardiff have won their last three matches in the league, against Edinburgh, Llanelli and Ulster, and have won four of their last five games against Irish teams. Against Connacht, the Welsh side's record is even more impressive: they have confined them to just one win from nine outings, back in September 2005.
"We know it's a very important game, but it's a difficult place to get a result. They are a determined team and play on your mistakes," said Cardiff director of rugby David Young.
"With the team that we have selected, I fully expect us to get the result. It won't be easy, but I expect the quality in our team to shine through. It's been a talking point for us to be the best placed Welsh team at the end of the season and a win should cement that. Being second in the league is a bit out of our hands, because it depends how Munster do, but being second isn't as important to me as being the best Welsh team."
As an aside, Deiniol Jones will become the first player to play 100 games for Cardiff. The secondrow, recalled to the Wales side this season after an absence of five years, partners Morgan there.
CONNACHT:G Duffy; M Mostyn, M Deane, K Matthews, D Riordan; T Nathan, C McPhillips; B Wilkinson, A Flavin, R Morris; D Gannon, A Farley (capt); J Muldoon, J O'Connor, C Rigney. Replacements: J Fogarty, R Loughney, M McCarthy, R Ofisa, R Shaw, A Dunne, O Treviranus.
CARDIFF BLUES:B Blair; J Roberts, T Shanklin, G Thomas T James; N Robinson, J Spice; X Rush (capt), M Williams, M Molitika, S Morgan, D Jones, T Filise, T R Thomas, G Jenkins. Replacements: J Yapp, G Williams, B Davies, B White, M Lewis, Re Rees, D Flanagan.
Verdict:Cardiff win
