Posted by There’s a school of thought around Premier League football that the teams who avoid relegation are the teams who do best in Saturday 3pm kick-offs. Getting the odd statement result in a primetime Super Sunday slot is memorable, but it’s the points gained when nobody is really paying attention that matter.
In the United Rugby Championship there’s a similar scenario when it comes to qualifying for the end-of-season play-offs. Winning flashy festive derbies or getting wins early in the campaign when excitement is high is all well and good, but it’s the points earned around test windows in the height of the northern hemisphere winter that make or break a play-off push.
For a long time Cardiff have fallen foul of that. There’s been some good runs in October and some statement derby wins in December, but too often the performances and results go awry in games nobody is watching during November, February and March.
Saturday was a prime candidate for that as the Blue & Blacks headed for Parma to face Zebre with kick-off just two hours before Cymru hosted South Africa in an out-of-window test to round off the Autumn Nations Series. Shorn of nine players either part of that squad or injured/suspended on international duty in the weeks prior, away in Italy, only on Premier Sports – ripe conditions for dropped points.
This squad has something a bit different about it though. There’s a culture that runs through it that allows personnel to change but the attitude and fight to stay the same. There’s an understanding of the style of play that allows combinations to change but the core shape and game plan to remain in place. There’s a mindset that doesn’t worry about outside distractions and allows the selected 23 to focus on the task-at-hand.
It wasn’t always easy going; the attack looked a bit clunky at times after a few weeks off and some new and young combinations in key positions, there were a few mistakes or moments of ill-discipline as Zebre largely dominated possession in the second half, and some physicality was lacking around the offensive breakdown as the hosts turned us over on the floor a few too many times for liking.
However, nobody is expecting perfection during a first game in a month when the squad depth is stretched to the brink, and Corniel Van Zyl’s side were able to fall back on a number of key basics to propel them to victory.
Everything was underpinned by hard work, particularly during long passages of defence in the second half which restricted Zebre to just seven points after the break. Patience during that period, and when attacking in the first half but not really going anywhere, paid off in the end. Keeping the lineout and maul work simple led to a dominant throw and a hat-trick of tries, while aerially it was one-way traffic as Aled Davies managed things off the boot, and Mason Grady and Cam Winnett ruled the skies.
Other than Taine Basham’s fancy footwork to get over the line in the last play of the game for the bonus point score, there was nothing particularly fancy about this Cardiff performance. It was just a professional job done, five points secured and back on the plane to start thinking about the European Challenge Cup campaign getting underway at Stade Francais this weekend.
Particularly pleasing was the number of young and wider members of the squad who stepped up, with a particular focus on Llantwit Fardre RFC as Rhys Barratt (23), Steff Emanuel (19), Ioan Emanuel (20) and Harri Wilde (20) all took the field for Cardiff having come through the mini & juniors section in the village.
A proud day for the players, their families and the club, and an important day for the Blue & Blacks who now sit 2nd in the URC heading into the European fixtures.
More tests for the young players and the squad depth awaits as the fixtures begin to pile-up through to the end of January, but this group is developing something special, and long may it continue.
Cardiff Rugby Life 