Posted by At about 8.30pm on Saturday evening this piece was looking very different; heads were rolling, season tickets cancelled, players called out. It was all kicking off.
By 9.30pm Cardiff are the greatest team to have ever played rugby, the coaches are doing an unbelievable job, the players are all future British & Irish Lions and I’m setting up a tent to camp at the Arms Park because I can’t wait for the Blue & Blacks to play again at the end of November.
Fans are fickle, but times like the second half against Ulster are when the financial outlay, time commitment and emotional investment all become worth it. An incredible comeback in a raucous atmosphere as Matt Sherratt’s side roared back from 0-19 down at half-time to win 21-19 and end the fixture block in the United Rugby Championship play-offs.
It was a pressure game for Cardiff, no doubt about that. Three straight defeats, two of which were at home, culminated in a fixture where a loss would have had people asking real questions about the direction of travel in the capital. There would have been context to that, but ultimately results are what count and the patience with rebuilding won’t last forever.
In the first half it seemed like that pressure was really weighing on the shoulders of the players. There was a tensity to the kicking and aerial game that prevented the Blue & Blacks from getting any foothold in the game, the defence was almost too keen to be physical and ended up caught upright too often to lose the gain line, and there was an element of forcing line breaks in attack rather than building pressure.
The scrum was a bright point, as a Cardiff tight five dominated Irish opposition for the first time in recent history, but other than that there was little positivity to cling to as Ulster were able to win the possession and territory battle, eek a yellow card out of the home defence and then put us to the sword with an extra man.
So what changed? Well, to underline the fine margins of elite professional sport, not much! The Blue & Blacks slightly tweaked the kicking game to kick shorter and ensure there was proper aerial competition, there was more desire to play in the middle third, go through phases and exert pressure on the away side, and there was a touch more depth to the offensive line to afford the midfield some extra time on the ball.
Beyond that, there was simply a winning of the big moments. Iwan Stephens beating Stuart McCloskey to the left-hand corner for a brilliantly finished try, Rory Jennings kicking long and then scragging Mike Lowry to win a penalty in the Ulster 22, and James Botham teaming up with Stephens to hold Harry Sheridan up over the line when a try seemed the certain outcome.
Add in the perfectly judged use of the replacement bench by the Cardiff coaching staff; introducing a Blue & Black bomb squad just as momentum was building and the away side were down to 14, and then making the brave decision to replace Ben Thomas with Jennings mid-way through the second half, and it resulted in a superb turnaround.
Keiron Assiratti deserves a nod for his scrummaging performance, Josh McNally literally battled into the ground, Alun Lawrence was everywhere on both sides of the ball, Callum Sheedy’s all-round performance was vital but particularly his goal kicking was unwavering after a tough time off the tee of late, and Iwan Stephens was a deserved man-of-the-match for his try, counter attacking ability and defensive work.
It brings to an end an up-and-down fixture block in a positive fashion. The away win over the Scarlets and the second half against Ulster will stand out, but the home defeat against Scarlets still rankles while losses against Glasgow and Edinburgh saw us battle hard for an hour but then fall away.
Overall though there has to be contentment with 16 points – plus 10 on the fixtures against the same opposition last year, 3 wins – just 1 less than all of last season, and a spot in the URC top eight which is comfortably above our league standing in terms of playing budgets.
It hasn’t always been pretty, but in certain key areas of games there has been progress from Cardiff and the proof is in the pudding of the scrum, maul, kicking game, game management in key moments, and ultimately the results.
There’s still plenty to work on, no question about that, but with a few weeks rest, some huge names close to returning to fitness and a few winnable games coming up through November, December and January there is a good feeling around the Arms Park.
#TrustTheProcess
Cardiff Rugby Life 