Posted by Every now and again a player arrives at the Arms Park and becomes an instant cult hero. Typically they are guys who have come in from outside of Wales without necessarily massive acclaim or fanfare, but take to the jersey and the club in such a way that it is impossible not to embrace them as a terrace favourite.
Think of Olly Robinson arriving and turning over everyone in sight while struggling to constantly re-adjust the blue scrum cap, or Blaine Scully full length diving into the corner to score against Scarlets then getting up to high five a fan. These are the moments that new signings are anointed as fully fledged Blue & Blacks.
This season we have seen another name added to that list, and he comes in the form of Josh McNally.
The 34-year-old arrived over the summer after a long stint at Bath with some question marks around signing a player towards the latter end of his career who hadn’t held down a full-time spot in the starting XV at The Rec in recent years. Those questions have been answered and then some, as the RAF Technician has instantly become a key cog in the Cardiff pack.
While McNally has played in the back row earlier in his career, and had showed flashes of his carrying ability at Bath last season, I certainly hadn’t quite expected him to come in and have such an impact on Cardiff’s attacking game.
How wrong I was to doubt the big lock though who has slotted in seamlessly to that midfield carrying pod that the Blue & Blacks love to run off 10. Stepping on to the ball with a bit of pace on it, he has the footwork and acceleration to beat the first man and get us quick front-foot possession to play off.
As well as that his vision and awareness gets McNally regularly into areas to receive offloads or little tip on passes to make either half-breaks or full on line breaks, even if the next gear doesn’t quick kick in these days to threaten the next layer of defence! That vision, as well as some excellent hands, means he is equally dangerous when linking the attacking play as well as carrying.
McNally’s handling and awareness are vital in that first receiver role where he can either carry, pop the ball on to another forward in the pod or pull it back for the fly-half, but he takes that to another level against Sharks with the no-look reverse for Tom Bowen to fly around the outside and score. That is top class stuff from an experienced and confident player.
The link play against Scarlets is particularly impressive too, eyeing up that opportunity to be on the receiving end of a Ben Thomas offload and having the calm head in some unstructured attack to flick the ball on to Mason Grady despite Johnny Williams being right in his face.
It was in defence and at the set piece where it was felt McNally would make the biggest impact though, and that has certainly proven to be true with the lock sitting 5th in the United Rugby Championship tackle stats on 124, and 11th in turnovers won with 9.
What McNally has provided is a real hard edge in the tight exchanges, whether tackling around the fringes or working at the defensive breakdown. His nine turnovers haven’t come from jackals, but largely from disrupting rucks or knocking the ball free in contact.
Cardiff have lacked consistent physicality in these areas for too long but the Englishman has provided it and then some, even if it does cross the line into illegality perhaps a touch too often. It is arguably preferable to have a discipline issue than the soft underbelly that we have seen at the Arms Park all too often.
Fortunately McNally can make up for those infringements when the opposition kick to touch through his maul work, which has been the main driver behind his rise to cult hero status. A one-man destroyer of mauls, although often backed up by second row partner Teddy Williams, he has gone up against the likes of Ospreys and the South Africans, who have traditionally bullied us in this area, and come out victorious.
As demonstrated in the final clip, McNally’s maul work has also extended to our attacking drives, where Cardiff have been a lot more consistently potent this season. Driving into good field position from midfield, scoring from close range, and opening up attacking opportunity for the backs where the opposition aren’t able to predict we’ll play straight off the top into midfield without a driving maul to use.
The lock’s impact has extended beyond just his playing ability too. His leadership has been noticeable on the field, to the point of him captaining the team against the Sharks, and it is no coincidence that Teddy Williams has seen great development in his own game from playing alongside his more experienced partner in the engine room.
With Welsh rugby likely to stay at a financial disadvantage to the majority of opponents across the URC and European competition over the coming years, looking for added value in signings like Josh McNally will be crucial in order to fight to be competitive against the odds.
The more of him, the merrier!
Cardiff Rugby Life 