Posted by It seems like a lifetime ago that this fixture block began with a trip to Zebre clashing with a Cymru clash against South Africa. 10 games in 10 weeks encompassing the European Challenge Cup pool stage and three festive Welsh derbies.
I’m sure the Cardiff players and coaches are glad of a week off!
It’s been a slightly mixed bag for the Blue & Blacks; that win against Zebre and the home victory over Benetton last week were big victories in the hunt for the United Rugby Championship play-offs, getting out of the Challenge Cup pool with two home wins and two away losses after some squad rotation was par for the course, while the derby defeats at the hands of Scarlets and Ospreys were a disappointment.
The block then culminated on Saturday night with a trip to Ravenhill in order to face Ulster, a ground that Cardiff haven’t emerged from with a victory since 2010. Once again without the international stars who have now headed into Six Nations camp, an unwanted bookend to this block, it was always going to be an uphill struggle for Corniel Van Zyl’s men.
Perhaps predictably the first 40 minutes were dominated by a lack of cohesion from a Cardiff perspective. Multiple changes and the introduction of some players who haven’t played a huge amount, with the knock on effect of combinations that haven’t played together much, resulted in a clunky first half. The errors mounted up, there was no momentum and a 14-0 scoreline was actually not as bad as it might have been.
This is something that the Blue & Blacks must continue to work on, and will hopefully improve over the coming years as this group continue to grow together. Operating without Cymru squad members and having to rotate the matchday 23 is a necessary part of the season owing to the still jumbled calendar that is northern hemisphere rugby.
The sides that are most successful over the course of a whole campaign are the ones who deal with these periods of disruption the best. They are a settled squad who can switch players in and out with minimal disruption and eek out victories when nobody is watching on weekends around or during test windows.
Cardiff are a lot closer to that now than we have been since probably that last season under Danny Wilson in 2017/18, but still not quite far enough into the rebuild instigated in the summer of 2023 to be in a position where the third and fourth choice options can come into the matchday 23, go away to a place like Ulster, and come away with the victory.
That progression was underlined by the second half though, where the Blue & Blacks did look a more improved outfit. There was more confidence in the attack, Alun Lawrence and Taine Basham dove-tailed beautifully in the carrying game, a bit more ambition was shown to get the ball into midfield and the scrum gave a good platform from which to attack.
Crucially for that road to be competitive in and around test windows, Van Zyl had largely backed the youngsters in the senior squad and a few senior academy members to bolster the matchday 23 rather than go for the safer route of more experienced squad players.
Joe Cowell got the nod to back up tighthead over Will Davies-King, Steff Emanuel started at inside centre rather than Rory Jennings, Elijah Evans was an outside back bench option in place of Cornel Smit. Lucas De La Rua was also given the nod to cover the back row when previously there may well have been a botch job of a hooker covering that area of the pitch.
Unfortunately De La Rua’s on-field time was cut short by a nasty looking head knock just moments after stepping off the bench and I’m sure all Cardiff supporters wish him well in looking after himself over the next few weeks. His performances for the Rags so far this season have been stand out and he deserves more opportunities with the first team.
Would the result have been different had the experienced players been the chosen route? Perhaps, but far from certainly. Instead the Blue & Blacks will benefit in the mid-to-long-term from exposing these youngsters to the URC so that when they step in over the next 18 months they are more than ready to perform with the aim of then pushing the first choice 23.
Ultimately a mix of frustration and positivity for Cardiff on Saturday night though. The game was there to be won, no doubt about it, and it’s good to focus on that line as evidence of where the club wants to go rather than just be happy to settle for a losing bonus point on the road.
That losing bonus point is better than nothing for now though, and the experience gained by the aforementioned future of the Blue & Blacks is something that we will hopefully be able to look back on in future years and say ‘that was an important milestone on the journey back towards the top of European rugby’.
It’s not all doom and gloom!
Cardiff Rugby Life 