Posted by When writing these pieces the greatest gift in my possession is hindsight. It’s very easy to judge decisions, made both on and off-the-field, with time and context that is otherwise not available to those in the heat of action or the hot seat.
That was true last season when assessing whether Matt Sherratt’s approach to balancing competing in the United Rugby Championship and European Challenge Cup was correct, and it will be true again this season as Corniel Van Zyl embarks on the same juggling act.
In the week prior to European competition getting underway for Cardiff at Stade Francais on Saturday, the general feeling was that while it would not be a full strength Blue & Blacks taking the field at the Stade Jean-Bouin, it would be a mix-and-match outfit that retained enough first choice quality and experience to make a good go of coming home with a win.
That was shattered at the pre-match press conference though when the South African Head Coach informed the media that none of the returning Wales internationals would be available for selection, even those with minimal or no minutes under their belt during the test window. Once the 23 for Paris was announced the likes of Aled Davies, Harri Millard, Tom Bowen and Cam Winnett were also rested.
With three full debutants, the return of Iwan Stephens after over a year out, four more making their first starts of the season, and an average age of just over 25 – that decreased further when Harri Wilde replaced Ioan Lloyd early on – it was far from a strongest XV currently, but nevertheless they put on an admirable showing.
The first half saw a physical defence, dynamic transitions and some of the best attacking rugby of the season so far to put Cardiff ahead 5-10 at the break, that could well have been more on another day. The highlight was Stephens’ score on his comeback after some fine play by Matty Young, but truthfully there was not a poor performance from anyone in pale pink.
Rather predictably, with the Blue & Blacks’ bench housing two further debutants plus a further two aged 20 and Stade Francais retaining 13 of their squad that pushed Clermont Auvergne away in the Top14 the previous week, the home side ran away with the tie in the second half.
Some of the tries the Paris side scored were far too soft, there’s no getting away from that, and they originated from a real lack of control over the game primarily from half-back as Ieuan Davies and Wilde teamed up for the first time at the professional level. What they were still able to do though was the move the ball with tempo and accuracy in attack.
It is that which is the headline from a Cardiff perspective, rather than the final 38-17 scoreline. The exposure of the young talent, the combinations they put together particularly across the backline, and the growth potential and excitement for the future should be something that leaves the Arms Park faithful feeling very content despite the full-time result.
That hindsight piece may well rear it’s head again in a few weeks, because Saturday’s game was eminently winnable and it now leaves some pressure on round two’s tie against Ulster. A statement bonus point victory is required there to recover winning momentum and kickstart the road to what will hopefully be a home round-of-16 fixture.
For now though it’s the individual stories; the continued steep upward curve of Rhys Barratt’s progression, James Botham returning from injury at test match animal level, Ellis Bevan looking seriously sharp after his Bristol loan spell, Wilde marshalling the attack brilliantly on his first proper senior appearance, Stephens grabbing a try after so long sidelined.
After the success for Llantwit Fardre RFC last week, this week it’s Penarth RFC to take centre stage. At the end of a devastating week for their club – which saw their clubhouse seriously damaged by a fire – hopefully the pride in seeing Evan Lloyd, Mason Grady and Matty Young start for Cardiff soothes the blow, with the latter in particular looking supreme on debut.
And finally a word for Alun Lawrence. It’s been a winding road for the number eight from academy graduate to released by the club, finding a new home at Jersey only for them to fold, a brief stint at Merthyr, a short-term deal back at the Arms Park, and then establishing himself as a first team regular. This season he has gone a step further to be a standout player across the URC, topping carrying and tackling stats, and on Saturday he led the Blue & Blacks out for the first time.
All-in-all an 80-minutes of two perspectives; a short-term view of whether it was right or not for this particular Challenge Cup campaign, and a long-term view that may well pinpoint this fixture as the time the next generation of Cardiff players made their mark.
We’ll have to wait and see how both of those perspectives will turn out, but from my point-of-view it was more positive than not. What would absolutely make it even more popular is beating Ulster next week and flying towards the Welsh derbies kicking off with the visit of the Scarlets. The big games keep on coming!
Cardiff Rugby Life 