The BT Sport Arms Park side travel to the North East to take on Newcastle Falcons on Friday night in their first Anglo-Welsh fixture this season.
The competition gives regions the chance to blood the next crop of local talent against the future stars of the Aviva Premiership. And Kyriacou has backed the Blues’ young-guns to grab their chance against the Falcons.
He said: “It’s a huge opportunity for a number of players on the fringes and younger guys that our Academy system has pinpointed as the future of the region.
“A total of 16 of the match day 23 are a product of the Blues Academy so that is really big positive in terms of the future and our homegrown players.”
The Blues were the last Welsh side to win the competition when they romped to a 50-12 Twickenham triumph over Gloucester in 2009 – with a fresh faced Leigh Halfpenny crashed over for two of the six tries in the victory.
And Kyriacou has warned Newcastle they will face a deadly blend of youth and experience at Kingston Park on Friday night.
He said: “The players who have played regular first team rugby in this first block have been given some time to recover, but we will have some senior pros involved too.
“The likes of Lou Reed, Ellis Jenkins, Tavis Knoyle and Rhys Williams will be involved. They have played a lot of PRO12 rugby over the years and are more than experienced enough to be put in this environment and cope with it.
“They will also be crucial for the younger guys, people like Garyn Smith who we are keen to see, so it will be good to see how they all gel together.”
