Posted by Here we are again, ladies and gentleman. It’s another Cardiff Rugby losing bonus point in the United Rugby Championship, and it’s another away trip shrouded in refereeing controversy.
The Blue & Blacks fell to an agonising 19-17 defeat away at Ulster on Friday night, a result that even the Welsh Rugby Union wrote in their match report had seen Matt Sherratt’s men robbed at the death thanks to the third of three “interesting” decisions from the match officials.
Focusing on Cardiff’s performance to start though and it was a mixed bag from the visitors on the night against an Irish side that have had a tough season so far, sacking their coach, their CEO departing and on the back of a heavy defeat at the hands of Clermont in the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
Jockey’s side started the better but once again failed to convert pressure into points on a regular basis. Kickable penalties were turned down, red zone attacking sets were rushed and resulted in turnovers, and as the first half wore on the midfield attacking sets lost structure and ended up with some kicks through in hope, more than expectation.
Then after a solid start to the second half forced Jacob Stockdale into receiving a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on the attack fully faltered against 14-men. Perhaps an element of feeling a need to play to width with a man advantage, perhaps the pressure of knowing the 10 minutes were crucial, either way losing that sin bin period 0-7 was a blow.
It’s been an issue for Cardiff’s season where we have seen the opposition pick up eight yellow cards for a total of 72 minutes playing with an extra man, but an aggregate score of just 33-31 in our favour. A total of two points from attacking against 14-men is simply not enough for a side with play-off ambitions.
There was plenty of good from the Blue and Blacks; the defence was excellent, particularly in how it adapted to Ulster preventing the jackal so switched to simply standing firm and forcing handling errors, the lineout was solid, the scrum was largely on top, and the kicking game was good although the hosts were excellent in the air.
Individually Liam Belcher led by example again, Ben Donnell produced another big showing at lock, Mackenzie Martin carried well after coming on early for the unfortunate Taulupe Faletau, and Mason Grady continues to evidence a really strong defensive understanding at outside centre which was the concern for many when he switched inside from the wing.
The stand out player was undoubtedly Theo Cabango though, the winger who has had a tough time with two bad shoulder injuries in quick succession, but in a first start since November was busy, sharp with ball-in-hand, defensively solid and showed he hasn’t lost his nose for the line with two (three) excellent finishes.
Unfortunately though Cabango would not end up on the winning team, with a feeling of real injustice over some refereeing decisions. I try to avoid focusing on the officiating too much, as it saps the joy out of rugby, particularly in the URC, but after a game like Friday night it’s impossible to avoid.
Firstly, there was Cormac Izuchukwu preventing Thomas Young from scoring in the corner by what could have been perceived as kicking the ball out of the Cardiff flanker’s hands. If that was the case, and there could have been few complaints if it was penalised, it would have been a penalty try and yellow card. Even if seen as accidental though the Ulster player knocks the ball loose in the field of play meaning the restart should be a five-metre attacking scrum. Instead a goal line drop out was awarded.
Secondly, ahead of Ulster’s try there is a clear knock-on from scrum-half John Cooney as the ball comes down off the top of the lineout. By the time the try is scored too many phases have passed for the TMO to review it, a ridiculous directive in itself, but it should never have got that far with the Irish touch judge staring at the incident from no more than 10 metres away.
And finally we reach the game deciding decision as Cardiff’s final try is pulled back with Rhys Carre adjudged to have deliberately knocked down a pass before the ball hits an Ulster attacker and is turned over for the Blue and Blacks to head up field.
I don’t know if Carre does or doesn’t touch it, and that’s because the pictures shown are entirely inconclusive. There is no possibility that the TMO can say with 100% confidence that there is contact from the prop, nor that it goes forward or that he wouldn’t have been able to recover possession if the opposition player wasn’t there.
Leaving aside the conspiracy theories about the refereeing in Ireland, although Cardiff have now seen consecutive trips to the Emerald Isle disrupted by poor officiating after the failure to send John Ryan off in Munster, there is a clear issue with home bias generally in the URC. If Friday’s incident had taken place at the Arms Park then there is a much higher likelihood that Carre isn’t penalised.
In the end it leaves a seriously sour taste in your mouth, and for the Blue and Blacks going into the week where season ticket renewals come out, it raises a question about whether spending a not insignificant amount of money is worth it in a league that cannot guarantee fair results on the field.
The majority of us will renew no matter what because we’ve been brainwashed into supporting Cardiff regardless of the competition or league, but it’s understandable that there’ll be people who may be on the fence during this time of economic hardship where disposable income is at a premium.
Hopefully, despite the injustice, they can see that Sherratt’s side remainon the up though, and as improvements continue the ability of the refereeing team to impact results will be taken away as we start beating teams by a cushion rather than games remaining tight as this young side learn how to put opposition sides away and manage proceedings effectively.
Attention now turns to the final game at the Arms Park of this season, with Edinburgh the visitors next week. The players and coaches have to use Friday night to put a chip on their shoulder and take it out on the Scottish side to secure what would be a statement win for this campaign.
Stick your own two fingers up to the URC by packing CAP and driving Cardiff on in spite of everything. #TrustTheProcess
Cardiff Rugby Life 