Posted by You can spend all summer looking forward to the new season, going over the new faces in the squad, previewing the fixtures, convincing yourself it is going to be a successful one for your team, and then all of a sudden Cardiff are 15-0 down after 10 minutes away at Scarlets in round two.
The hope wasn’t quite on a killing spree, but it was certainly draining the life out of the Blue & Blacks faithful. After the somewhat unconvincing nature of the win over Zebre, the opening exchanges in Llanelli were seemingly confirming worst fears that the settling down of this squad was going to take longer than the fixture list was affording us winnable games.
There was the misfortune of the bounce of the ball, but beyond that it felt as if the Scarlets were faster around the field and compounding that by simply working harder. Cardiff were getting pinned in our own half again, struggling to clear our lines, conceding some soft penalties and then allowing the home side to extend their lead.
While Blue & Blacks supporters in the ground or at home were resigning ourselves to what seemed to be the most disappointing of derby outings though, on the pitch there was no panic. In fact, there was even a small win as Josh McNally and Liam Belcher combined to disrupt a breakdown to win a penalty under our own sticks, just stemming the home tide briefly.
From there it was all Cardiff, displaying all the qualities of a top side and the growth of a team that has come on leaps and bounds since the summer of 2023.
Firstly, it was composure. Once the score reached 15-0 it was Matt Sherratt’s men who looked like they were cruising, learning from the performance of round one and choosing to retain possession in the middle third of the pitch for five-to-six minutes, including making a scintillating break from nothing as Ben Thomas produced a half-break and McNally linked the play to a flying Mason Grady.
With possession comes pressure and with pressure comes penalties. The Blue & Blacks edged up the field and launched a well-manoeuvred driving maul. Quickly back into stride with a try under the belt, a four-phase attacking set from a midfield lineout saw Grady again released, this time by Cam Winnett, with nobody stopping the hulking winger on his way to the line.
The next quality was patience. There was no chasing the game despite a level of dominance and still being three points down on the scoreboard. Cardiff managed to stem a period of Scarlets pressure in an organised and physical manner, before again exerting some pressure and eking out penalties shortly after the break to set up camp in the opposition 22.
With the hosts going down to first 14 and then 13-men there may have been a temptation to force an attack over the line, but the pack remained strong at the scrum before the backs worked Harri Millard free out wide for the go-ahead try. From that point on, around 25 minutes to go, it was all about the final quality of this Blue & Blacks showing – control.
Ellis Bevan, Callum Sheedy, Ben Thomas and Cam Winnett managed the kicking game to perfection, driving the Scarlets deep into their half, constantly asking them to attack from deep and even causing an error from Ioan Lloyd that was capitalised on by Dan Thomas and namesake Ben for the latter to stride in and get the bonus point try.
Thomas, the flanker, along with McNally led a constant physical edge that disrupted the home side’s breakdown and set piece, as well as pouncing on any loose possession, and Sherratt’s replacements were timed well to bring maximum impact off the bench in a demanding encounter down west.
There were elements of luck, no doubt about that, with Sam Costelow missing two pretty regulation kicks at goal, while Liam Belcher’s yellow card was unfortunate but a hindrance to seeing out proceedings, but the way Cardiff dealt with any bumps in the road was a credit to the growth of the young members of the squad, as well as what the experienced new signings have brought to the environment.
There are tougher challenges again to come, not least the visit of reigning United Rugby Championship champions Glasgow Warriors to the Arms Park on Friday night, but two wins from two and 10 points from 10 is the dream start. It literally cannot get any better, and yet there’s a feeling there is still more to come from this Blue and Blacks side.
#TrustTheProcess
Cardiff Rugby Life 