Posted by There seems to be some sort of block on Cardiff ever lifting both the Indigo Group Premiership and Welsh Cup trophies in the same season. The Rags are destined to either win one or the other, or see the whole thing knocked on the head by a global pandemic!
In 2018/19 the Cup was won but Merthyr stood in the way of the League title, then covid-19 put paid to a charge for the double in 2019/20, before it was Newport who would knock us out of the Cup in 2021/22 while we pipped them to the post in the League.
Heading into 2022/23 there was an element of uncertainty around how the Blue and Blacks would fare. A pre-season friendly having to be cancelled due to a lack of available players was not a particularly good omen, while the usual summer of overhaul among the semi-professional squad had seen a shift towards a younger average age within the playing group.
By the end of November though those doubts were not just banished, but completely obliterated. Nine straight wins to kick the campaign off in style, with an average of 36 points scored and just 17 conceded per game, put the Rags riding high at the top of the table and managed to shake off the monkey on the back that was losing to Newport four times the previous season.
The mark of a great team is often how they bounce back from a defeat, so the first real challenge for Cardiff came in December after a disappointing loss away at then title challengers Aberavon on a bitterly cold Thursday night in Port Talbot. The answer was emphatic with Carmarthen brushed aside with an 82-0 victory at the Arms Park the following week.
With international call-ups and injuries having an effect, particularly on the tight five where Steve Law managed with just one specialist second row and hooker available for the majority of the second half of the campaign, January and February saw losses at the hands of Llandovery and Newport, but then came the now annual April push.
Four league wins, three of which coming with late try bonus point efforts, meant the Blue and Blacks kept our destiny in our own hands, and realised that with a terrific dismantling of Merthyr on the final day of the season when even the King’s Coronation was overshadowed by the 39-7 scoreline at the Arms Park. A third season in a row of being top of the table at the point the season stopped, a magnificent achievement.
Meanwhile alongside the league campaign came the Welsh Cup. Cardiff had progressed from a very tricky pool thanks to a home win over Merthyr before grabbing a losing point away at Llandovery and headed to The Wern for a semi-final against RGC where a terrific performance saw us run out 52-15 victors and book a place at the Principality Stadium.
It was old rivals Newport who awaited us for the tensest of tense games. Matt O’Brien and Dan Fish had a gripping kicking battle while the forwards on both sides hardly gave up a yard, so that in the end it was a moment of sheer brilliance from Joe Goodchild to dive into the corner and score the game winning try. A ninth Welsh Cup triumph for the Blue and Blacks.
Unfortunately that was not the end of the season as, for reasons that nobody can really explain beyond “well it’s the WRU, isn’t it”, the Premiership this year had end-of-season play-offs to determine who actually lifted the trophy.
The Black and Ambers were the opponents once again in the semi-final but this time it was more straight forward as a 21-7 win, including Dewi Cross’ 23rd try of a remarkable, record-breaking season, saw us head into the final against a Llandovery side that just had too much for the Rags. In the end it was one game too far for this squad and the Drovers deservedly won the battle on the day.
It was still a fantastic year for Cardiff though winning 23 of 28 games played, topping the league, winning the cup, exposing 17 Academy players to senior rugby and giving a young coaching staff experience week-in, week-out.
The upcoming summer will see a big evolution in the squad with some stalwarts moving on, a big overhaul of the Academy group and the usual tombola around the semi-professional squad, but as a last dance together for this Rags group it was a very successful one.
UPPA RAGS!
Cardiff Rugby Life 