Jason Spice comes in for Richie Rees, and Dai Flanagan comes in for Nicky Robinson who has failed to recover from a hip muscle injury sustained against Leicester.

In the forwards the front row that performed strongly in Leicester remains the same as does the back row. The only change in the pack sees Deiniol Jones coming into the second row in place of Bradley Davies.

The Blues are expecting a large crowd for the game; stand tickets for the match are severely limited, with only a handful remaining whilst terrace tickets are available at £15 for adults and £5 for juniors. (Tickets can be purchased at www.cardiffblues.com or by calling the ticket office on 029 2030 2030.)

Speaking ahead of the match Cardiff Blues Director of Coaching David Young commented, “The Heineken Cup is always a tournament we look forward to playing in and yardstick by which we get measured. There’s a big focus by the players, fans and media alike on the tournament.

“It’s not a bad draw for us, there are no easy groups, but it probably isn’t as difficult as we had last year. We’re not saying it’s an easy group, but we are aware we could have had lot tougher draws.

“I think Bristol are very physical up front and play a very direct game with a very aggressive defence and I’m sure we will have a packed stadium as they will bring a lot of travelling support.

“Every year we’ve improved in the Heineken Cup and closed the gap on some of the bigger teams we’ve played. I think we pushed the big boys really close last year and this year we have a slightly better draw. We’ve got to be at our best to get out of the group and that has to be our focus.”

Blues: Ben Blair; Tom James, Jamie Robinson, Tom Shanklin, Gareth Thomas; Dai Flanagan, Jason Spice; John Yapp, Gareth Williams, Taufa'ao Filise, Deiniol Jones, Paul Tito, Maama Molitika, Martyn Williams, Xavier Rush (Capt)

Replacements: Gethin Jenkins, T Rhys Thomas, Robert Sidoli, Scott Morgan, Richie Rees, Tal Selley, Rhys Williams

Bristol: TBC

Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)