Taulupe Faletau will make his first appearance of the season in Cardiff’s east Wales derby against the Dragons on Friday nightFaletau has signed a new deal to stay at CardiffFaletau has signed a new deal to stay at Cardiff(Image: Kian Abdullah/Huw Evans Agency)

Taulupe Faletau will offer Steve Tandy a massive boost as he returns from injury just days before the new Wales head coach names his squad for the autumn.

The talismanic No. 8 starts for Cardiff against his former club Dragons on Friday night at Rodney Parade (kick-off: 7.45pm), with the 34-year-old making his return from a calf injury. Tandy names his first Wales squad on October 21, ahead of the first autumn fixture against Argentina on November 9.

Faletau hasn’t featured since Wales’ first Test against Japan in Kitakyushu back in July.

He lines up alongside in-form Dan Thomas and Wales international Alex Mann in the Cardiff back-row in the east Wales derby in Newport, going up against Wales team-mate Aaron Wainwright.

“Whenever he’s on the team-sheet, he always lifts everybody’s confidence in the team,” said Cardiff coach Corniel van Zyl on Faletau. “We know what we can do. Hopefully he can bring that to the pitch.”

Wainwright starts in a much-changed Dragons team following their 49-0 defeat to Glasgow last week, with Shane Lewis-Hughes and Wales U20s captain Harry Beddall starting alongside him.

There are just five survivors from the Dragons’ starting side in Scotland – with only Harri Ackerman, Aneurin Owen, Fine Inisi, Seb Davies and Lewis-Hughes keeping their places as the Men of Gwent search for their first victory over Cardiff in a decade.

Elsewhere in the Cardiff team, Wales loosehead Corey Domachowski makes his first appearance of the campaign for Cardiff, while George Nott starts following Wales second-row Teddy Williams’ serious foot injury last weekend.

In the Cardiff back, Josh Adams is back after completing his return to play protocols, while Ben Thomas also starts after completing his two-match ban.

He starts in midfield alongside Jacob Beetham, who will play in his fourth different position in as many games.

Having come off the bench to play inside centre in the opening match, he now adds a start at outside centre alongside outings at full-back and wing to his busy start to the season.

Van Zyl has also opted for a 6-2 split on the bench, allowing him to call upon former Dragons back-row Taine Basham upon his return to Rodney Parade.

Dragons RFC: Angus O’Brien (C), Rio Dyer, Aneurin Owen, Harri Ackerman, Fine Inisi, Tinus de Beer, Rhodri Williams; Wyn Jones, Brodie Coghlan, Robert Hunt, Seb Davies, Ben Carter (C), Shane Lewis-Hughes, Harry Beddall, Aaron Wainwright

Replacements: Oli Burrows, Rodrigo Martinez, Dillon Lewis, Matthew Screech, Ryan Woodman, Niall Armstrong, Cai Evans, Huw Anderson.

Cardiff Rugby: Cam Winnett; Josh Adams, Jacob Beetham, Ben Thomas, Tom Bowen; Callum Sheedy, Aled Davies; Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher (C), Keiron Assiratti, Josh McNally, George Nott, Alex Mann, Dan Thomas, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Evan Lloyd, Danny Southworth, Javan Sebastian, Rory Thornton, Alun Lawrence, Taine Basham, Johan Mulder, Ioan Lloyd.

* Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here for all the breaking news.

You can also follow us on social media on our X account, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

For more exclusive stories and in-depth analysis, you can sign up for the Inside Welsh Rugby substack newsletter here.