Posted by It’s that time of year again as the rugby season draws to a close to get the glad rags on, head out to awards night and pray the committee has put at least some money behind the bar.
For Cardiff RFC that would be very well deserved, although nobody should get their hopes up on the free drinks thing! The Rags have had a successful season in tough circumstances at the Arms Park, overcoming financial restrictions, a lack of Senior Academy players and a revolving door of permit players to get into the Indigo Premiership play-offs.
Unfortunately it wasn’t to be anymore than that despite a brave performance away at eventual champions Llandovery, but for the outgoing Steve Law, Gruff Rees, the coaches and players, they can hold their heads up high.
Breakout Player
A difficult one this year as there was a large amount of squad turnover across last summer, and the players that did remain have been our most consistent performers since rugby returned after the pandemic, and even before that.
There was one clear candidate though and that is Harrison James who has stepped out from the shadow of Dan Fish, having started just 10 games in 2022/23, to become a regular in the starting XV this season with 17 starts, the majority of which have come in the 10 jersey.
His confidence has visibly grown across the year thanks to the game time with the Rags, as well as featuring for Cardiff University in BUCS Super Rugby, with his kicking game in open play improving noticeably, while off the tee he recorded a personal best 179 points.
Young Player of the Year
Another award with a standout winner in my eyes for the 2023/24 season, and it’s a new face in the form of Cardiff Uni alumni and outside centre Luke Pollock.
The 23-year-old has been a revelation in the midfield, using everything learned from his time with the Ulster Academy and in BUCS Super Rugby to hit the ground running in the Premiership and form a well-balanced midfield partnership with Arron Pinches.
Defensively sound and an attacking weapon whether coming short from the 13 position and or making an arcing outside run, he has scored nine tries in 22 appearances across all competitions and will be a key player for the Rags in Super Rygbi Cymru if he is retained.
Try of the Season
I will nod to some efforts here as the coast-to-coast score finished by Dewi Cross at home against Merthyr was a brilliant team try, Cam Tyler-Grocott’s finish against Ebbw Vale wins the front row effort while Kodie Stone produced a few sharp finishes across the season.
However, the kick-off return try away at Merthyr in December is one of the best tries I’ve ever seen at any level.
Started by Craig Hudd receiving the kick-off and making a line break from nothing he offloads for Efan Daniel who has Tom Habberfield on his shoulder in support. Nathan Hudd appears on the switch pass before offloading for Morgan Allen who produces a monster fend and sends Dewi Cross away to step inside the last two defenders.
Just sublime.
Best New Signing
A properly competitive award this season with some new faces arriving last summer and making a real impact. The aforementioned Young Player of the Year Luke Pollock was right in the running, as was another Cardiff Uni alumni in Ethan Phillips who slotted seamlessly into the Rags engine room.
However, Craig Hudd just pips them both to take home the award after a fine debut season joining brother Nathan in the Cardiff pack after seeing the light and getting out of Newport.
The 27-year-old brought crucial versatility playing across the back row and moving into the second row when required, bringing a physical edge to his carrying and defensive work, as well as showing off his technical ability to top the Premiership’s turnover charts with a massive 50 in just 20 league games.
Hopefully plenty more to come from Craig, as well as Nathan, at Hudd Brothers Inc.
Best Academy Player
A smaller pool of candidates to choose from this season than in previous years, but still some talented individuals for Cardiff supporters to get excited about as the Rags remain a crucial piece within the development pathway puzzle.
Lucas De La Rua has looked a class above when given minutes in the Premiership this season, while Harri Wilde has shown some quality touches during a frustratingly injury-hit campaign for the fly-half, but the winner is the surprise package of Cam Tyler-Grocott.
Spending the majority of the first half of the season with Glamorgan Wanderers it wasn’t particularly in the plan for the loosehead prop to play as much Premiership rugby as he did in 2023/24, but called upon in February the 19-year-old became a key part of the pack that launched the run-in winning streak with his scrummaging and carrying catching the eye.
Performance of the Season
Despite a somewhat up-and-down campaign there have been a number of excellent showings from Cardiff this season; the 38-15 Cup win at home against Newport after a shaky start to the year in September, the 64-26 dismantling of Aberavon, and the play-off clinching 47-24 final day victory over Merthyr all stand out.
However, my winner is January’s 9-23 win on the road at Ebbw Vale to get 2024 started with a bang.
Having already lost to the Steelmen twice during the season to that point; at home in the league and away in the Cup, the trip to Eugene Cross Park did not looking appealing for the Blue & Blacks after a disappointing defeat at RGC last time out.
But an organised, physical and battling 80 minutes saw Cardiff come through a 10-minute man disadvantage spell and thanks to tries from Ethan Phillips, Jamie Hill and Dewi Cross end a strong home record for the hosts.
Player of the Year
Finishing with the big one, and it is a packed field of nominees this year. In fact it’s probably been the most difficult choice of any awards blogs I have done on this site.
I considered Alun Rees for his consistency at hooker, Sean Moore for his consistency at lock and blindside when needed, both Hudd brothers have been excellent, the perennially superb Morgan Allen, Tom Habberfield has had his best season in Blue & Black, Luke Pollock has been brilliant in the 13 jersey and Joe Goodchild has excelled whether at centre, wing or full-back.
Having resisted the urge to reward him with the main (non-existent) trophy last season though, I can no longer overlook Dewi Cross and the seemingly never-ending scintillating form the winger has been in.
The 24-year-old backed up his 23 tries in 21 games of the 2022/23 season with a still remarkable 16 tries in 22 games over the last 12 months, leaving him on the brink of breaking 200 points purely from tries scored.
Defensively he reads the game brilliantly, solid under the high ball, scans well in attack so that it’s not a coincidence he’s always on hand to finish so many moves, and has pace to burn when he needs to make a line break of his own. The total winger that many on the Arms Park terraces believe deserves a shot with the first team.
The 2023/24 Cardiff Rugby Life Rags Player of the Year is Dewi Cross.
Cardiff Rugby Life 