One of 15 players in the match day squad that have come through the Blues’ academy system, Lewis is joined by a number of his former Wales Under 20 teammates in a side looking to improve after defeats to London Scottish (26-21 at home) and Jersey Reds (49-12 away).
New signing Pele Cowley gets his first taste of action at scrum-half and is joined by Ben Jones at fly-half, while Garyn Smith and Harri Millard providing a familiar centre partnership.
“This is another great opportunity for boys in our academy and the Premiership to put their hands up for the first team squad. Ulster A will undoubtedly be a huge test but we have prepared well and have a nice mix of youth and experience, with some Premiership players bringing a hard edge to the pack,” said Cardiff Blues Elite Performance Pathway manager, Richard Hodges.
The unbeaten Scarlets side will also be heading to Ireland for a Pool 4 clash with Leinster A in Dublin. The Welsh regional side have picked up maximum points after try-bonus victories over Nottingham and Richmond in the opening rounds, while Leinster are in second place on five points.
Morgan Allen will once again captain the side after leading the exciting young squad to the opening victory against Nottingham. Experienced senior regional players including a front row of Dylan Evans, Emyr Phillips and Peter Edwards, while Tom Williams, Richard Smith, Steff Hughes and Aled Davies add experience to the backline.
“We need to ensure we get something out of the game this weekend. The back-to-back nature makes it a little edgier and makes for a very exciting challenge,” said head coach Dai Flanagan.
“We’ll be looking to keep the momentum going after a great start to the campaign. We have a very similar group representing the region and they’re a close squad as they train together regularly.
“Leinster are definitely favourites and they’ve shown great strength in depth over this recent international period. It is a fantastic opportunity for our players to come up against seasoned, experienced players.”
Leinster will have Irish international back row man Dominic Ryan and Ireland A lock Ian Nagle up against them in the home pack at Donnybrook. The two teams will meet again on 17 December at Carmarthen Park in the second leg of the back-to-back matches.
The Ospreys will be seeking their first win after losing to London Irish and Cornish Pirates in their opening two games. They head to Galway to face Connacht Eagles in Pool 3.
“We were well beaten down in Penzance and were not only disappointed with the result, but also with our performance. We felt we didn’t back up the good performance we put in the previous week against London Irish,” said head coach Tom Smith.
“They say that you learn more from losing than you do from winning and, hopefully, it will give us a little more steel and determination going into round three. We’ve kept a similar squad from the last two matches, although it’s still a really young team that’s learning and growing together.”
The Dragons are set to have fit-again James Benjamin back in action to lead them in their trip to Pontefract to face the English Championship high-flyers Yorkshire Carnegie. Back row man Benjamin hasn’t played for three months since suffering a leg fracture playing for Bedwas in their excellent win over Principality Premiership leaders Merthyr in September.
Joining Benjamin in the Dragons pack will be former Wales tight head prop Craig Mitchell, who is on the comeback trail from an Achilles problem. Bedwas forward Robson Blake, who has been given a professional deal by the Dragons thanks to his promising Premiership performances, will join Benjamin in the back row.
Former Wales Under 20 lock Joe Davies and teenage outside half Arwel Robson are also likely to appear in the game on Sunday, while Bedwas back rower Andrew Waite and the Newport pair of Elliot Frewen and John Lavender are also in the squad.
The Dragons picked up a four-try bonus point in a defeat at Bedford in round one and were edged out 28-27 at home by Ealing Trailfinders last time out.
British & Irish Cup – Round 3
Friday, 9 December
Pool 1: Ulster A v Blues PS XV
Saturday, 10 December
Pool 2: London Welsh v Doncaster Postponed
Pool 3: Connacht Eagles v Ospreys PS XV
Pool 4: Leinster A v Scarlets PS XV
Sunday, 11 December
Pool 5: Yorkshire Carnegie v Dragons PS XV
Cardiff Blues PS XV (Blues Academy unless stated): Gareth Thompson (Cardiff); Kyle Evans (Merthyr), Harri Millard, Garyn Smith (Cardiff Blues); Teri Gee (Cardiff), Ben Jones, Pele Cowley (Cardiff Blues); Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher, Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues, captain), Ben Murphy (Merthyr), Nick White (Merthyr), Shane Lewis-Hughes, Morgan Sieniawski, Cam Dolan (Cardiff Blues)
Reps: Ethan Lewis, Rhys Carre, Kieron Assiratti, Hemi Barnes (Pontypridd), Dane Blacker, Cameron Lewis, Declan Williams
Scarlets PS XV: Tom Williams; Ioan Nicholas, Steff Hughes, Billy McBryde, Richard Smith; Jack Maynard, Aled Davies; Dylan Evans, Emyr Phillips, Peter Edwards, Josh Helps, Rynier Bernardo, Tom Phillips, Josh Macleod, Morgan Allen (captain)
Reps: Luke Garrett, Taylor Davies, Nicky Thomas, Ben Thompson, Shaun Evans, Declan Smith, Dion Jones
Ospreys PS XV: Phil Jones; Jay Baker, Joe Thomas, Keiran Williams, Tom O’Flaherty; Luke Price, Matt Aubrey; Rowan Jenkins, Hugh Gustafson (captain), Dan Suter, Jack Pope, James Ratti, Joe Tomalin-Reeves, Will Jones, Charlie Davies
Reps: Ifan Phillips, Alex Jeffries, Mitchell Walsh, Adam Thresher, Mike Sully, David Evans, Andrew Claypole
