Posted by Many will say the Six Nations, some might argue it’s the Autumn Nations Series, but undoubtedly the best time of year to be a rugby fan is the December/January period as club rugby gets through the busiest part of the campaign.
Cardiff are about to embark on 10 games in 10 weeks encompassing the European Challenge Cup pool stage and the festive United Rugby Championship derbies. Huge fixtures stacked on top of each other that will hopefully see grounds across South Wales bouncing in anticipation.
While they are the games that supporters circle on the calendar no matter what, such is their significance, they are also set to form a fixture block that will make or break the season for Corniel Van Zyl’s side. By the time February rolls around we could be right in the URC’s play-off hunt or staring down the barrel of a tough fall from early season good form.
The Blue & Blacks could hardly have asked for a better opening to the campaign, with four wins and 20 points coming from the first five games to sit fourth in the table. It is the best points haul in the post-2003, and you have to go back to the Rebel Season of 1998/99 to find a year in which the 1st XV would have got a better points total after five games if they were competitive and used the modern points system.
What was most impressive about that run during the first block was the different ways Cardiff used to win games. Against the Lions there was more of the running rugby we have become accustomed to, then against Connacht it was a carefully managed kicking and territory game, before the Dragons and Edinburgh wins were based around proper forward-oriented set piece grit.
There remains a question mark over whether Cardiff have really been tested yet, having not faced any of the sides who finished in the URC’s top five last season. That final run of URC fixtures post-Six Nations remains a bit of a sickener with a trip to South Africa, back-to-back derbies against Scarlets and Ospreys and then playing Stormers and Glasgow to finish the regular campaign.
It’s what makes this run of games straddling the turn of the calendar year so critical. A trip to Zebre, the three festive derbies and then the visit of Benetton before the trip to Ulster remain the best opportunity to pick up points this season. Should we win four of those six games then the Blue & Blacks will be right in the hunt to make the play-offs.
However, if only two of those games should result in victories then it would be an uphill battle to secure a spot in post-season fixtures. Considering the absence of Wales internationals against Zebre and Ulster, and the lottery of Welsh derbies, securing the necessary wins will not be a walk in the park.
The added spanner in the works is the introduction of the European Challenge Cup pool stage to the calendar over the next month-and-a-half. Van Zyl’s side travel to Stade Francais Paris ahead of welcoming Ulster in December, before Racing come to the Arms Park and we visit Exeter in January. It simply will not be possible to pick a strongest XV every week for 10 weeks.
It will be up to the coaching staff to manage the squad, rotate wisely and expose a number of youngsters to senior rugby as and when is required, while still giving Cardiff the best opportunity to stay in the URC play-off race as the priority, while also aiming for a home round of 16 game in the Challenge Cup.
These next few weeks will test the squad, the new coaching ticket and the faith of supporters, but this squad is very quickly developing a seriously impressive strong and winning mentality. They are confident in their ability, they are confident in their fight, and they are confident in their game management.
Now is the time to put all that into practice against the next level up of opposition. In a period of great uncertainty and negativity across Welsh rugby, the Blue & Blacks have the opportunity to do something very special and secure a route to the knockout stages of both the league and Europe. If they manage to do so then it may just be one of the greatest achievements in the club’s history.
Cardiff Rugby Life 