Posted by To bring the squad building series to a close it’s time to look at the Cardiff back line going forward, and potentially why there’s no need to touch it at all!
So far I’ve gone over my views on some of the out-of-contract big names in the Blue & Blacks’ squad, how there may be some overhaul of the non-Welsh qualified players in the squad, and with the budget and nWq spots that are opened up on the back of those things, that the recruitment focus has to be on the tight five – tighthead and second row in particular.
After all that, even with a slight uplift in budget should negotiations with the Welsh Rugby Union actually make it anywhere, there is unlikely to be much, if any, money left over for further additions. Good news though, that is absolutely fine for the backs at the Arms Park.
Going through the stocks behind the scrum for Cardiff and scrum-half seems to be settled. Aled Davies and Ellis Bevan are reportedly contracted for next season, and Johan Mulder seems to be doing enough to earn a new deal. With a shortage of quality Welsh-qualified 9s available, and after the South African’s performances in recent weeks, it seems wise to re-sign him.
At fly-half it seems highly likely Tinus De Beer will leave for pastures new over the summer, opening up some of that aforementioned budget and an nWq spot, but in Callum Sheedy, Ben Thomas and Harri Wilde, who will graduate the U20 set up after this season, there are competent options to wear the 10 jersey.
If Thomas is seen more as a fly-half moving forward, and Rory Jennings is moved on to add more to the budget and nWq pot, then there are ready made inside centre options at the club. Steff Emanuel has already looked composed on his first team debut, and after more Rags and D20 rugby he’ll be ready for greater levels of senior professional exposure, while ahead of him should be Jacob Beetham.
The Brecon boy will be 24 at the start of next season and now needs to be playing regularly. That doesn’t seem to be forthcoming at full-back, but with his background as a fly-half, his size and physicality through contact, and his general rugby IQ, Beetham would be an ideal fit in the Cardiff midfield.
Outside centre sees Mason Grady now stepping up as first choice in that key channel, while Elijah Evans will have graduated the 20s and be looking for some senior game time. As mentioned in the nWq piece though, if Rey Lee-Lo was up for one more year in Blue & Black then that would be a no brainer to say yes to his experience and quality.
On the wing the depth of quality remains strong; Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Iwan Stephens, Harri Millard and Theo Cabango are all good players, while Tom Bowen looks like a future star set to breakthrough and if Josh Adams can be retained then that is a world class option out wide. Regan Grace could also be a possibility to extend if he proves his fitness and potential over the next few months.
And finally full-back where Cam Winnett continues to improve in the 15 jersey, with Matty Young hopefully ready to step up having enjoyed an excellent first half of this season playing for the Rags and could find more minutes available if Beetham does become the inside centre I would hope him to be.
There’s some risks there, no question about that. Perhaps risks that are much easier to take when writing blogs about the squad rather than actually actually recruiting and retaining players, such as running with not much depth in the centres, or with the inexperience of a number of youngsters transitioning from the Academy to the first team at second on the depth chart.
However, by investing the available budget and nWq spots in that tight five and ensuring that the pack for the vast majority of the season is well stocked and capable of physically competing with the opposition, it gives these exciting talents the opportunity to step into senior professional rugby in a side that can give them the platform on which to show their skills off.
If Cardiff fail to recruit a suitably deep and strong tight five, and once again end up in games where we are playing some good rugby but ultimately never likely to win because teams can just bully us up front, it doesn’t feel massively like progress. There is a need to break that vicious cycle somehow and rethinking recruitment priorities is an element we can control.
Supporters are aware that the Blue & Blacks remain financially limited and are still in a rebuilding phase even into 2025/26, but there are possibilities to address the issue that has plagued the club for over a decade now and if those continue to be ignored it’s difficult to keep faith in a project that will ultimately have the same results over-and-over.
It seems to me that with the right type and number of players out of contract, and a small amount of extra money in the budget, a perfect storm has hit the Arms Park and this is the way to ensure it leaves a meaningful legacy.
Cardiff Rugby Life 