Cardiff Blues head coach Danny Wilson believes he finally has the kinds of headaches he always wanted.
A year ago – not long after succeeding Mark Hammett – Wilson was often left with brain pain over how to shuffle his meagre resources.
This season, he can afford to leave Sam Warburton on the bench for Friday’s game at Munster and still field a back row of Josh Navidi, Nick Williams and Ellis Jenkins, with Gethin Jenkins making his first start of the season in the front row.
Jenkins one of four Wales internationals that Wilson has recalled with Alex Cuthbert, Gareth Anscombe and Kristian Dacey also coming in after last week’s bonus-point win over Edinburgh.
“We sat round a table as a coaching group and we got the selection headache we wanted in terms of the recruitment that we have done,” said Wilson.
“We had some really tough decisions to make. Ultimately some of those decisions are based around winning a game of rugby and secondly making sure we develop a squad.
“I feel we have two players in every position of real quality, if we can keep everyone fit then selection becomes difficult which is what we want.
“If you look at the teams that win things, they do it off the back of a squad. We didn’t have that last year but are beginning to grow that.
“It’s a tough, tough league. We believe we are on the right track to building something but it’s still in that building phase and it will be for a while. We’ve had one week at home but know we have a huge challenge on Friday night.”
A 37-28 victory at the Arms Park in round 12 last season ended a run of five successive Munster victories in this fixture but the Blues have an impressive record in Cork.
They are the only visiting team to have won at Irish Independent Park on three occasions but Wilson is under no illusions of how difficult a prospect it will be.
Wilson said: “Munster showed how clinical they are playing their game against the Scarlets. They play a very abrasive, confrontational style both in attack and defence, there’s a lot around their set-piece and it is effective for them.
“We feel we have an approach which will suit the opposition we are playing but ultimately it’s about us being able to execute that against a good, pressure defence.
“We have to get it right mentally and physically. It’s a good challenge and we go there as underdogs but underdogs on the back of a good performance and result.
“We took them really close last season, we had a decent day, played some expansive rugby and tested them but came away with a narrow loss and learnt lessons from that.”
Cardiff Blues: 15 – D Fish; 14 – A Cuthbert, 13 – C Allen, 12 – R Lee-Lo, 11 – T James; 10 – G Anscombe, 9 – T Williams; 1 – G Jenkins (capt), 2 – K Dacey; 3 – T Filise, 4 – G Earle, 5 – M Cook, 6 – J Navidi, 7 – E Jenkins, 8 – N Williams.
Replacements: 16 – M Rees, 17 – R Gill, 18 – S Andrews, 19 – J Turnbull, 20 – S Warburton, 21 – L Williams, 22 – S Shingler, 23 – M Morgan.
