Rhys Carré will make his first Guinness PRO14 start as Cardiff Blues travel to the Scottish capital to take on Edinburgh on Saturday (KO 7.35pm)
The promising loosehead prop has made seven Championship appearances from the bench this season and made an impact as a replacement during last week’s defeat to Glasgow Warriors at the Arms Park.
Carré is one of five changes made for the trip to BT Murrayfield, with head coach John Mulvihill making four of those changes in the pack.
Hooker Liam Belcher also makes his first PRO14 start for the region, joining Carré and Moldovan international, Dmitri Arhip, in the front row.
George Earle is re-introduced to the second row, while Cardiff Blues academy’s Shane Lewis-Hughes replaces Josh Turnbull in the number six jersey.
Elsewhere, Willis Halaholo is reunited with Rey Lee-Lo in the midfield in an otherwise unchanged backline.
Kristian Dacey is ruled out of the clash, with number eight Nick Williams taking over the captaincy duties in his absence.
Thirteen of the match-day 23 have progressed through the Blues academy and Mulvihill has been delighted with the progression of his young guns, particularly in-form wings, Owen Lane and Aled Summerhill, have scored five tries each in their last four appearances.
Mulvihill said: "We're bringing through a lot of the younger crew this season. There was always going to be a change in the guard but it's probably happened a little bit earlier than we first anticipated.
"If you give young people an opportunity, and they take it, you have to reward them. The only way to build experience is to give them opportunity and see how they go.
"I don't want to be a coach who can't pick a player because they haven't got the experience.
“I told Owen [Lane] that he really needs to back himself, and he’s really spurred on in recent weeks, and it’s been great to see Aled Summerhill doing the same.
“If you’re one of the other wings in the squad, then it will be tough to get back in because those boys are playing really well.”
Wales’ Capital Region are currently four-points adrift of the top three with six regular season fixtures remaining and Muvihill expects a formidable physical challenge against the Scots.
He added: "Richard Cockerill will have them primed as a very physical team, and that's in his DNA," said the head coach.
"We're expecting a strong set-piece, a lot of physicality but they've also got good backs and run a lot of inside balls so they'll keep testing our defence.
"It would be nice to win on the road before facing the Kings at home. Those games will set us up nicely before we play a run of Scarlets, Munster, Connacht and Ospreys.
"We're still in the mix with a few games to go, but we know that we're in a really strong Conference.”
Wing Jason Harries returns from a foot injury to take his place on the bench and could feature against his former side.
Replacements Corey Domachowski and Alun Lawrence are rewarded for their fine form for Pontypridd in recent weeks, as the latter could make his Championship debut for the region.
Cardiff Blues: Matthew Morgan; Owen Lane, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo, Aled Summerhill; Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams; Rhys Carré, Liam Belcher, Dmitri Arhip, George Earle, Rory Thornton, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Olly Robinson, Nick Williams (capt.)
Replacement: Ethan Lewis, Corey Domachowski, Scott Andrews, Macauley Cook, Alun Lawrence, Dane Blacker, Steven Shingler, Jason Harries