Wales lock Deiniol Jones is poised to record the most appearances in the Magners League tonight (Friday).
Jones will play his 118th game in the Celtic competition if he steps off the bench in the south Wales derby against Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade.
The former Bridgend and Celtic Warriors forward will overtake ex-Newport prop Adam Black’s tally and was rewarded with a Wales re-call during the Six Nations.
Jones, 32, said: “There’s no special secret to playing so many games. professionalism has seen players get fitter, we do more analysis and preparation ideas change but the basics of the game have remained the same. It’s 15 men against 15 and it’s physical.”
Both teams have secured Heineken Cup qualification and Cardiff play in the semi-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup next week.
But Jones insists there will be nothing left in the tank for the derby.
He said: “There is no chance we will take this game lightly. Both sides know each other pretty well. We have the Amlin semi-final next week but this is Cardiff against Newport and the history of the fixture goes back a long way.”
Cardiff Blues: 15 Ben Blair 14 Leigh Halfpenny 13 Jamie Roberts 12 Dafydd Hewitt 11 Chris Czekaj 10 Ceri Sweeney 9 Richie Rees 1 John Yapp 2 T Rhys Thomas 3 Scott Andrews 4 Bradley Davies 5 Paul Tito 6 Maama Molitika 7 Sam Warburton 8 Andy Powell
Replacements: 16 Gareth Williams 17 Taufa’au Filise 18 Deiniol Jones 19 Andries Pretorius 20 Lloyd Williams 21 Dai Flanagan 22 Gavin Evans
