Posted by There are wins, and then there are WINS. Some are regulation, some are perhaps even undeserved, but on Friday night at the Arms Park it was a Cardiff win that had built and built over weeks for a playing and coaching group that thoroughly deserved it, and supporters who stuck by them through some frustrating losses.
In another world the Blue and Blacks are six from six heading into December. The win over the Dragons at Rodney Parade was surrounded by three losses by seven points or less, plus the draw away to Zebre. A different bounce of the ball or a slightly lower tackle here and there, and suddenly Matt Sherratt’s men are in the dizzying heights of the play-offs.
However, to get to this point a young and freshly thrown together squad, coached by a young and freshly thrown together coaching ticket, needed to learn some important lessons. On the evidence of Friday’s game against the Stormers, that learning is being undertaken at a rapid pace.
The South Africans started fast and physical. Being 0-14 down inside 20 minutes was nowhere near the game plan for the Blue and Blacks, but there wasn’t a huge amount of concern, I felt. This group know they will battle to stay in games, and there were flashes of quality that belied an ability to get back towards level terms.
What’s been missing was two-fold; winning little moments to maintain momentum, and converting 22 entries into points.
For Cardiff those little moment wins were present in abundance; Ellis Jenkins and Evan Lloyd forcing handling errors, Cam Winnett’s up-and-under leading to a penalty win, Winnett chasing Gabriel Hamer-Webb’s kick through to force a scrum five, Alex Mann’s counter ruck, Ellis Bevan preventing Stormers from finding touch, Jenkins’ crucial 80th minute turnover.
All these things added up to not only giving the Blue and Blacks momentum and field position, but piling the pressure on the opposition leading to unforced errors and poor decision making. The South African side on Friday were effectively the Blue and Blacks against Benetton last month, in the game but just unable to get enough of a grip to win it.
Then on top of that was a clinical instinct in the red zone. Last week I wrote about Matt Sherratt and Richie Rees needing to find a solution to the problem of converting pressure into points. The answer was largely a back-to-basics approach, tighten up when the line is in sight and pick-and-go. Worst case scenario is that you narrow the opposition defence, best case is the forwards punch over.
Cardiff managed to make it a best case scenario on the day as some well controlled pick-and-go sequences saw Liam Belcher go over in the first half, and crucially Rhys Litterick score the match winning try with the last play of the game, but we also had an added element to our attack too around getting the ball in the hands of danger men as much as possible.
Rhys Carre, Lopeti Timani, Cameron Winnett and Mason Grady all had license to influence play whenever possible while they were on the field, and the stage was set for Grady in particular to show off all his pace, power, physicality and determination, topped off by a back peel from an attacking lineout that saw Ellis Jenkins shovel a little pass for Grady to break through a gap and force his way over for a try.
In the end this all adds up to an excellent win over last season’s United Rugby Championship runners-up, one which has been coming for a few weeks but arrives with a mix of excitement and relief that it finally did all come together for Cardiff and the rewards followed on. Heading into December on the back of another frustration would have been a very tough spot to be in.
Perhaps adding to just how good the win felt was the fact that eight of the 15 on the field in the crucial final quarter of the game were aged 23 or under. Only two, Ellis Jenkins and Josh Turnbull, were aged 30 or over. It underlines just how seriously this squad is in evolution, but also just how much talent there is within the ranks, and how keen they are to learn and improve.
Now, whereas the last few weeks I’ve stressed enthusiasm and optimism on the back of some less than ideal results, this week the result is ideal but I’m stressing reservation and calmness!
The next few weeks will be tough, and present different challenges. Welsh derbies see form go out the window, and expose the young players to a packed Arms Park with good numbers of away fans, while the Champions Cup will pit us up against some of the best sides in England and France.
All we can do is continue to use the previous week as a benchmark and look to improve, whether the results follow or not. That starts with welcoming Scarlets to the capital on Saturday and continues through to Toulouse and Bath.
Enjoy, but don’t get carried away! #TrustTheProcess
Cardiff Rugby Life 