The Welsh international loose forward, Taulupe Faletau, will make his first appearance of the season and he has been out of action since suffering a broken shoulder in April.

He is one of six changes to the forwards, with captain Liam Belcher also returning to pack down between Corey Domachowski and Will Davies-King in the front row.

Josh McNally is recalled to the starting line-up alongside Teddy Williams, while James Botham returns to the back row with Faletau and Dan Thomas.

Taulupe Faletau. Photo: X

In the backs, Aled Davies and Callum Sheedy reform their growing partnership, while Wales star Ben Thomas is back alongside Rey Lee-Lo. Two further changes come in the back three, where Cam Winnett returns from a week off, and the academy graduate Tom Bowen (18) is handed his senior debut.

The Cardiff coach, Matt Sherratt, said the match against the Cheetahs is an important fixture after losing 37-26 away to Lyon in France last week. “We’re looking forward to getting back to the Arms Park for a really important fixture in this competition.

“We have spoken this week about how much we would love to have knockout rugby at the Arms Park, and that process starts against the Cheetahs on Saturday.

“It’s brilliant to be able to bring the likes of Liam Belcher and Toby Faletau back after injuries, and we are all pleased to see another pathway graduate, Tom Bowen, make his debut at just 18, just a week after Steff Emanuel.

The former Griquas scrumhalf Johan Mulder will play off the bench for Cardiff. Photo: Morgan Piek

“The Cheetahs are a quality side. They drew with Perpignan last week and will be coming here with a real point to prove. They are well-coached and have a lot of dangerous players, so we will need to be at our best.”

Cardiff boasts an unbeaten record against the Cheetahs at Arms Park, a streak that dates back to when the Free Staters pioneered South African participation in European rugby by competing in the then-PRO14.

Saturday’s (14/12) game between Cardiff and the Cheetahs at Cardiff Arms Park kicks off at 22:00.

Cardiff Rugby – 15 Cam Winnett, Josh Adams, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 James Botham, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Will Davies-King, 2 Liam Belcher (captain), 1 Corey Domachowski   

Replacements – 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Kieron Assiratti, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Alex Mann, 21 Alun Lawrence, 22 Johan Mulder, 23 Rory Jennings

Cheetahs – 15 Michael Annies, 14 Munier Hartzenberg, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 Ethan Wentzel, 9 Ruben de Haas, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Chucky van der Westhuizen, 1 Schalk Ferreira

Replacements – 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Hencus van Wyk, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Pierre Uys, 20 Friedle Olivier, 21 Daniel Maartens, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 George Lourens

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek  dg