The 31-year-old has played just twice this season, having been a regular for Wales last year

Wales wing Josh Adams has been released back to Cardiff for Saturday's Welsh derby against the Ospreys in order to get more game time.

The 31-year-old returned to action earlier this month, coming off the bench against Northampton Saints before starting in the defeat to the Sharks last Friday night. He was a regular for Wales last season, starting two Tests in the autumn - being sent off against next month's first opponents Japan - before starting all of the Six Nations matches and two further games in the summer.

He'll now feature at St Helen's on Saturday night, as the Ospreys welcome them to their new home.

Mark Jones' side began life at the refurbished Swansea venue last weekend with a comfortable win over the Dragons, with little time to spare before taking on more Welsh opposition.

After a tough start to the season in South Africa, the Ospreys won back-to-back derbies against the Men of Gwent to push themselves up into the top eight - making them currently the highest-placed Welsh side.

With Wales squad members Tom Rogers, Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams and Gareth Thomas currently in camp preparing for the opening Nations Championship match against Japan, Jones is forced into making some changes from last Saturday.

Luke Davies and Lawson Creighton replace half-backs Morgan-Williams and Edwards in the starting side, while Luke Morgan is brought into the back-three in place of Rogers - with Iestyn Hopkins shifting from wing to full-back.

Loosehead Steffan Thomas starts in place of namesake Gareth, while there's also starts for James Ratti and Ross Moriarty in the pack.

On the bench, Harri Wilde - on loan from Cardiff - covers fly-half.

As for the Blue and Blacks, they're looking to bounce back after being beaten at the Arms Park for the first time in 2026 last Friday.

Matty Young and Tom Bowen are brought into the back-three alongside Adams, as the only changes in Cardiff's backline.

However, Josh McNally is the only starter in the pack from last week's clash with the Sharks - with a number of Cardiff's Wales call-ups unavailable.

Danny Southworth, Daf Hughes and Keiron Assiratti start in the front-row, while Alun Lawrence makes his first appearance of the seaosn in a new-look back-row with Semisi Paea and Dan Thomas.

On the bench, Lucas de la Rua and Osian Darwin-Lewis are included for the first time this season.

“It has been a really tough run of fixtures and it is testing our squad depth but we are looking forward to the challenge of facing the Ospreys at their new home ground," said Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl.

“They are a quality team and they will be full of confidence following back-to-back wins over the Dragons, either side of a win in the European Challenge Cup, and buoyed by being at St Helen’s

“That provides a real challenge for us, but we see it as an opportunity, and it is one we are excited for. Welsh derbies always add a bit more flavour to the mix and is always closely contested games. It’s about getting a good performance on the pitch and improving from our last game“

Ospreys: Iestyn Hopkins; Luke Morgan, Owen Watkin (cc), Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Lawson Creighton, Luke Davies; Steffan Thomas, Sam Parry (cc), Tom Botha, James Ratti, Ryan Smith, Liam Wright, Ross Moriarty, Morgan Morris.

Replacements: Efan Daniel, Cam Jones, Ben Warren, Rhys Davies, Morgan Morse, Harri Williams, Harri Wilde, Evardi Boshoff.

Cardiff: Matty Young; Josh Adams, Le Roux Malan, Steff Emanuel, Tom Bowen; Jarrod Evans, Johan Mulder; Danny Southworth, Daf Hughes, Keiron Assiratti, Josh McNally (capt), Rory Thornton, Semisi Paea, Dan Thomas, Alun Lawrence.

Replacements: Tom Howe, Scott Sio, Javan Sebastian, Tom Manz, Lucas de la Rua, Aled Davies, Callum Sheedy, Osian Darwin-Lewis.