Posted by As I write this piece on Wednesday afternoon, some four days after Cardiff fell to a home defeat against Connacht, I’m still unsure what to make of the game that took place at the Arms Park.
The season so far has been a thoroughly enjoyable one; the development of young players, the work of a new coaching staff, an exciting style of play and some great occasions in the Investec Champions Cup. While the results have not followed, they have not been important within the wider context of goings-on at the club and in Welsh rugby as a whole.
Throughout the period though there’s been a nagging thought that the hype will only last so long. How long? Well, how long is a piece of string, but as much as the majority of Blue & Blacks supporters have got on board with the project this season, that tag of “brave losers” needs to be shaken off eventually.
Saturday’s game against Connacht seemed like an ideal spot to do that. The selected squad appeared, on paper at least, to be comparable to the Irish opponents with whom we have developed an element of rivalry over recent years of performing at similar levels and enjoying some close games. As much rivalry as the United Rugby Championship can foster, anyway.
With another capacity crowd at the Arms Park thanks to “Club Day”, where up to 4,000 junior players, coaches and parents from local community clubs attended on free or discounted tickets, gaining a statement win would have really cemented the feel good feeling in the capital.
Unfortunately that didn’t come to fruition. The red card is a starting point for that, especially coming so early in the game. Rey Lee-Lo just gets it wrong and pays the price with the dismissal, mistakes happen and the team has to react. Initially that reaction was very good and Cardiff managed proceedings well, kicking cleverly and asserting some dominance through contact that won a run of penalties.
It was a particularly good defensive performance, the area of the Blue & Blacks’ game that was arguably slightly lagging behind during the first half of the season, as a committed display around the fringes and over the ball prevented Connacht from ever taking advantage of their extra man, or two as it was for a brief period.
However, there was a feeling that ultimately Matt Sherratt’s men just lost control of the game as the second half wore on. Not dramatically, nor incompetently, but with two inexperienced scrum-halves, a fly-half who was receiving treatment before ultimately hobbling off, and an inexperienced full-back, managing those conditions was a tough task.
They will learn plenty from that, and of course Cardiff were missing 11 players to international duty, plus injury absentees, as opposed to two of the Irish side being in their national team squad. The man disadvantage was a further hindrance, but the frustration remains about the result particularly as Connacht were relatively poor on the day.
Opportunities to get a win on the board are few and far between for the rest of the season thanks to a difficult run of fixtures starting with the visit of the ever-strong Leinster the weekend after next, and supporters will have to cling to the positivity of individual progress, alongside signing announcements for next season, once again.
Hopefully in camp though the mindset is slowly turning from one of development to one of performance, focusing on results. Yes, it’s a results business, but that’s also because this group is capable of producing those results. They have shown they have more than enough to be beating sides like Connacht, it’s time to believe it and produce on-field.
The final reflections on Saturday focus on the Clubs Day aspect of the game though, with those thousands of mini & junior players and coaches from clubs across the region and beyond parading around the pitch at half-time and entering the field at full-time to get pictures and autographs off their heroes in the team. So many were part of the parade that they even managed to delay the restart of the game!
A huge congratulations to the staff at the club and community foundation that facilitated the occasion. If just a small percentage return to the Arms Park then that’s a great success, but there is even success beyond that in that young boys and girls seeing players from their club and area playing professional rugby can have a material impact on their lives.
#TrustTheProcess
Cardiff Rugby Life 