Five things to watch in pre-season

Cardiff Rugby return to the field for the first time in five months on Friday night as Scarlets visit the Arms Park for a pre-season friendly ahead of the United Rugby Championship starting next month.

The game will mark the first time Matt Sherratt takes the Head Coach’s spot in the Blue and Blacks box as he aims to get his side ready for the campaign across two 80 minutes, with a visit to the Ospreys in the calendar the following week.

So what will Jockey be looking for from these “friendly” Welsh derbies? I’ve compiled a list of five things to keep an eye on.

1. How well drilled is the set piece?

The summer has seen a significant amount of upheaval in the Cardiff ranks, most notably the coaching ticket as a number of people departed and replacements have only arrived in dribs and drabs. Last season Duane Goodfield ran the scrum while T Rhys Thomas was the overarching forwards coach, but with both heading on to pastures new it has fallen to Scott Andrews to fill the void.

Bubba has enjoyed a strong coaching apprenticeship with the club’s age grade sides, Academy setup, Cardiff University RFC and as a player/coach with the Rags, but this is a major step up with a lot of responsibility. It is also unclear just how long he’s had to work with the squad full-time.

The set piece will be a particular focus for the former Wales international tighthead prop, with a much younger and inexperienced profile of props as Rhys Barratt steps up to the first team, and Rhys Litterick and Ciaran Parker join the club, while the hooker corps sees emerging talents Efan Daniel and Evan Lloyd backing up Liam Belcher.

Having a solid scrum and lineout will be key for Cardiff in avoiding a long slog of a season.

2. How will an “exciting” brand of rugby work?

In recent video interviews with Sherratt and Ellis Jenkins there was strong reference to the Blue and Blacks being a team that gives 110% this year, while attempting to entertain supporters with the style of rugby played at the Arms Park.

Jenkins made specific reference to the “Cardiff Misfits” fortnight where a thrown together group took on Harlequins and Toulouse in the Investec Champions Cup in December 2021, enjoying the lack of pressure and expectation on them, freeing them up to play expansive attacking rugby with a “give it a go” mantra.

There’s a similar feel around the club this season due to the tumultuous last 12 months, but the challenge will be recreating that for more than a one-off block of games. Playing exciting rugby is all well and good, but there’s a fine line between being ambitious and reckless. If Sherratt’s men stray too far towards reckless too often then the entertainment factor is lost.

It’ll be interesting to see how much running rugby is played across pre-season and into the first few weeks of the season, especially with a changeable weather forecast.

3. Who lines up at half-back?

Part of the summer of upheaval has seen an impact on the playing squad, with some areas of the pitch hit harder than others. Half-back is one of those that has suffered a number of key departures with Lloyd Williams heading for Ealing, Jarrod Evans moving to Harlequins, and Rhys Priestland opting to hang up his boots.

With Tomos Williams likely to miss large parts of the season due to international commitments, there will be a new feel to a crucial area of the team starting with pre-season. I’ve previously looked at how Ellis Bevan and Jamie Hill are stepping up at scrum-half, and they will be joined by Tinus de Beer and Arwel Robson who have arrived at the club as fly-half options.

Understanding which combinations work best and developing those relationships is a major aim for pre-season, while it remains to be seen whether Ben Thomas will slot in at 10 at all, or if Academy/Rags squad members Dai Jones, Harrison James or Harri Wilde get any opportunity.

The sooner this area of the pitch is settled the better, trying to build a half-back combination as the season wears on is a big risk.

4. Which young players take their chance?

With the financial belts tightening within Welsh rugby there will be an increased focus on bringing through young talent at Cardiff, as the transition squad trains full-time with the first team this season and will likely get significant minutes across the URC and European competition.

There has been a noticeable lack of Academy or transition players in the Rags squad so far this season, with the expectation being they will get their opportunity to play in the pre-season friendlies, having a chance to stake their claim for a spot in matchday 23s during the early part of the campaign.

I’ve already mentioned Barratt, Lloyd and Wilde, and they are joined by Adam Williams, Mackenzie Martin, Alex Mann, Gwilym Bradley, Lucas de la Rua, Jacob Beetham and Cameron Winnett as those in contention to face Scarlets and/or Ospreys. There is also a possibility that the aforementioned Jones and James, plus Ethan Phillips and Luke Pollock from the Rags squad could also get a run out.

Plenty of exciting talent listed there, and plenty of opportunity for them to show their quality.

5. What to do with the troublesome 13 jersey?

As well as half-back, the other major concern that supporters have had over the summer has been in midfield where, for a long time, Ben Thomas was the only recognised centre that would be available all season as Mason Grady was named in the Wales squad.

Fortunately Rey Lee-Lo was re-signed in September to add quality and depth, but it’s still the case that one injury in midfield will begin a selection crisis. As a result Sherratt will have to take a look at some other options in that outside centre spot.

Harri Millard has also re-signed but with only two first team starts at 13 over the last four years may well be seen as more of a winger now. Owen Lane could finally make the long trailed move into the midfield spot he filled when progressing through the pathway, while Aled Summerhill and Cameron Winnett both played at outside centre in their youth. Pollock in the Rags squad was named in the BUCS Super Rugby Team of the Year at 13 last season, but his ongoing availability is unconfirmed.

There’s no ideal options there, meaning Sherratt will need to assess what is at his disposal over the next two games in order to get a contingency plan in place.