Belcher taking his chance and leading by example

With the evolution that Cardiff Rugby find ourselves in, a lot of focus has been on the new generation of players emerging from the Academy and getting a good amount of game time this season.

The likes of Evan Lloyd, Efan Daniel, Alex Mann, Mackenzie Martin and Cam Winnett have dominated the headlines as breakout stars, giving supporters hope that they are a core of players who can be built around over the next few years as the Blue and Blacks attempt to return to a level of competitiveness.

However, in order for them to thrive they have to be operating in an environment, and as part of a playing squad, that allows them to showcase their talents. Without a clever coaching team and a strong leadership group there isn’t the culture at the Arms Park that fosters young players stepping up into the first team potentially a year or two early.

With the average age of the Cardiff playing squad being relatively young there has had to be a number of players in their mid-late twenties who have stepped up as leaders. Corey Domachowski, Keiron Assiratti, Seb Davies, Ellis Jenkins, Thomas Young and Tomos Williams have certainly fitted the bill, but joining them and leading the starting XV on the majority of matchdays this season has been a slightly overlooked man of importance.

Liam Belcher is still only 27, although he seems to have been around for longer than that. He has 73 appearances for Cardiff under his belt in all competitions, across two spells as you may have forgotten he had a brief stint at Dragons before coming back as part of the old Celtic Cup squad.

After a few years competing with Kris Dacey and Kirby Myhill, he is now the number one hooker in the Blue and Blacks squad, and has taken on that responsibility alongside being a key leader. Despite that sudden rise to prominence within the playing group, his performances have not suffered. If anything, he’s playing the best rugby of his career.

Typically at the Arms Park, the hooker is a former back rower and Belcher retains all the skills he developed as a flanker. As above, he’s a bona fide jackal threat with a strong core and low centre of gravity getting him in strong positions over the ball.

He’s also a brilliant link player in attack, whether operating at first receiver or sliding into the wide channels. With Cardiff looking to play a fast-paced, expansive attacking style, having forwards who can handle the ball and have the vision to play into space is a key component for Matt Sherratt and Richie Rees to work with.

The slight of hand to put Domachowski and Assiratti into space is impressive, but the fired long passes are even better, especially as he stays alive in the final clip to link play twice and take Cardiff marching up the field.

With the Blue and Blacks lineout looking a lot better this season when Belcher is throwing – his 59 lineouts won are the sixth best in the league – and a key part of the Rhondda front row which has been increasingly strong at scrum time, the fundamentals are there for all to see.

What underpins all of that for the hooker is a turn of pace and an unbelievable engine that gets him right around the park covering every blade of plastic/grass. It puts him in a position to make repeated impacts on the game, particularly at turnover time where he’s on hand to secure ball and spark counter attacks.

The group of players that Belcher is a part of who have been around the club a while, are on the outskirts of the national squad or in that discussion, and have stepped up as leaders at Cardiff this year have been vitally important to the success the club have had with bringing through the next generation of talent and improving performances as a whole.

Individually he has clearly taken on his role as a leader of the group, and as the senior hooker working with Efan Daniel and Evan Lloyd who have stepped up into the first team squad this season, bringing them on to compete with him for the number two jersey.

He won’t be a headline grabber too often, but Liam Belcher has been a key cog in what has been good so far in 2023/24. A leader by example, who has done the hard yards when working through the pathway the long way round, he’s an ideal man for the young players to follow as part of a quality leadership group.