Gethin Jenkins has blossomed since his move to the region following the collapse of the Celtic Warriors, while Robin Sowden-Taylor has spent his entire career at Cardiff, and is live up to the much deserved hype, comparing him to Martyn Williams.

25 year old Sowden-Taylor said today,

"Cardiff is where I grew up and it's the only place where my heart is. Obviously, sometimes you have to think about elsewhere to improve your rugby but at the same time I feel I'm really on my toes here," said Sowden-Taylor, who is set to be Wales' first-choice open-side flanker following Williams' international retirement. I'm getting regular rugby and the competition is really good between me and Martyn. I find that I'm really pushing myself everyday rather than starting every game week in week out, which may put you in a comfort zone. That's certainly not the case with me at the moment, which is good on a personal level and hopefully that will improve my game."

The flanker suffered a career threatening ankle break against the Ospreys last season, but fought back to fitness in just 7 months.

Jenkins, 27, has effectively committed his best years with the region, this contract seeing him through to his 30^th birthday. He told the BBC,

"I'm happy at the Blues and don't live far from where we train. We've been promised new training facilities so hopefully they'll be finished soon. We've also made some good signings which has strengthened the squad."

John Yapp has already signed a deal for the same length, while Xavier Rush is expected to seal a new 2 year contract, meaning all 4 players will be with the region when they switch stadiums in 18 months.

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