Posted by For the third year in a row it feels like the write-up of the first Cardiff RFC fixture block of the season is essentially the same thing; deal with some early season adversity, combinations click and players get fit, start winning.
In 2023/24 there was the uncertainty of the club’s financial state and a lack of senior academy members that led to a rocky start of the final Welsh Premiership campaign, then last season the introduction of a bunch of new academy players overcame a slightly shaky first three weeks before going on a five-game winning run.
This year so far the challenges have been two-fold; the promotion of another set of senior academy members plus injuries to key men in the pack. We’ve seen the likes of Ioan Emanuel, Tom Cottle, Ieuan Davies, Lloyd Lucas, and Rhys Cummings step in from the Cardiff or Bath pathway, while Alun Rees, Sean Moore, Nathan Hudd, Craig Hudd and Aled Ward have missed some or all of the games to-date.
The result of that is new faces and a stretched squad have had to deal with a lot of the early season action. An opening day win over RGC was followed up by a tough loss at home to Carmarthen on a five-day turnaround, before the daunting task of heading up to Ebbw Vale with an underpowered pack proved to be a real challenge and a 20-60 defeat.
However, the postponement of the reverse fixture against the Steelmen and then a week off for Cymru D19 & D20 camps came at the perfect time for Dan Fish’s side as stalwarts of the pack regathered fitness and some hard work on the training paddock got the Super Rygbi Cymru campaign back on track.
Aberavon were dispatched by a 45-26 scoreline before a comprehensive 31-3 win over Pontypool signalled Cardiff were well and truly up and running, with the 37-28 victory over Llandovery the cherry on top of winning cake and lifting the side back up to third in the table prior to a few odd fixtures taking place during the Autumn Internationals.
What all this underlines once again is how well the Blue & Blacks tread the line of winning and being competitive with developing the next generation of first team players at the Arms Park, and how important the spine of semi-professionals in the squad are to that.
The likes of Cottle in the engine room, Evan Rees stepping up as a key figure in the back row, Lucas running the show at fly-half and Cummings marshalling things at full-back have all dealt with the adversity of those first few weeks and are now demonstrating their progression, particularly Cottle and Lucas, with their performances in the winning streak.
Cottle’s engine and appetite to get stuck in around the park has been noticeable, particularly since Moore came back in to the side next as his lock partner, while Lucas’ decision making and confidence have visibly grown as he gets to grips with senior rugby and has built up a sharp half-back combination with Ethan Lloyd, himself now an important senior semi-pro player despite still only being 24.
Moore and Lloyd have key roles to play in helping develop their younger colleagues, and also in winning games for the Rags as, along with Alun Rees, Nathan Hudd and Aled Ward they have been instrumental in the three wins secured prior to the SRC halting for the international period.
With new signings Ben Fry and Tom Williams making an impact, while the likes of Tom Harper, Joe Goodchild and Dewi Cross continue to be week-in, week-out stalwarts in whatever role they’re asked to play, it’s a squad that is in a good place ahead of a lengthy run that sees Fishy’s men play seven games in as many weeks through to the early part of the new calendar year.
The big derby against Newport at Rodney Parade starts it off on Friday 21st November, and if that can get the ball rolling then opportunity awaits for the Blue & Blacks to be sitting pretty by the time the festive period comes round, including what will hopefully be some revenge over Carmarthen on Thursday 11th December in front of the S4C cameras.
As the SRC gets more competitive by the week the action only gets hotter, but the Rags certainly look up for the challenge.
Cardiff Rugby Life 