After a period of upheaval at the BT Sport Arms Park, Cardiff Blues couldn’t have hoped for an easier season opener than today’s game against Zebre. Although, following the recent appointment of Danny Wilson as Head Coach, there was certainly pressure for a strong performance.
This was an impressive Cardiff Blues display, resulting in a 61-13 win. Even more impressive were the improvements to areas of the game that have caused such concern in recent years. Before continuing, I would stress that Zebre, after some early pressure, didn’t mount much of a sustained threat. Their tackling was sometimes non-existent, and they were pretty one-dimensional in a lot of their work.
That could have been a distraction to Cardiff Blues in itself, though. But any good performance must have firm foundations, and this one did. With the exception of an early lineout failure, that area of the game was pretty solid. Indeed, two lineouts produced tries: one with a training ground move that saw Josh Navidi dive over in the corner, and another with a catch and drive. That hasn’t happened too often recently.
The scrum was solid enough too, even with two of the starting front row being substituted during the game. Indeed, the forwards as a group were hungry throughout. Italian sides are often pretty strong up front. Cardiff are no European giant in this area, but they are a physical unit, who weren’t easily bullied.
What Cardiff did well was mix up the game a little. Early in the first half they were happy to truck the ball up, kick for the corners and use those fundamentals of the game to exert pressure. As the game went on though, it was noticeable how quickly the ball was swept away from the traffic and how eager backs and forwards were to look for the spaces.
Ball retention was good at times and so was the quick passing and the ability to do that thing players were often asked to do as youngsters – to “let the ball do the work”.
It was a joy to see some of the skills employed with the ball in hand, but just as pleasing to see the desire again to fill in the defensive gaps. The try scoring return of old favourite Tom James was a popular moment, but it was a concern to see him limp off just before half time.
It was equally encouraging to see players desperate to not be the one to miss a tackle or be caught out of position. Players were hitting rucks had and were willing to chase back in numbers – twice Cardiff Blues players made try saving tackles on the line after dangerous breaks.
Overall, it wasn’t a perfect performance. The kicking of Rhys Patchell was a disappointment, and 19 points through missed kicks were left out on the field. There was naturally some disruption around the times the substitutions were made. And, on a couple of occasions, Cardiff committed the cardinal sin of conceding penalties, or points, straight after scoring – something they really can’t afford to do against the better sides.
In the end the performance was one that fans and players can take tremendous encouragement from, especially with a difficult run of away fixtures to come. Fans can only ask for an improvement on recent form, and there were signs that the new coaches have had a positive effect on the team, even in the short time they have had with them.
When you are down, you have to employ the “building blocks” mentality. It’s a sad indictment on the state of rugby recently at the Arms Park, but it’s a case almost of starting again. There was plenty of “it’s only Zebre” floating around Social Media, and that is true enough. No corners have been turned yet, but there are signs that foundations are being laid – an objective of Danny Wilson’s when he arrived at the club.
Trips to Ireland await now, and they will be far tougher. There may be some individuals who aren’t of a high enough standard to play at this level, and there’s still a necessity to make some signings in the coming months, to strengthen certain areas. But this was a highly pleasing start, and there’s hope that the improvement will continue.
Cardiff Blues: D Fish A Summerhill T Isaacs G Evans (T Davies 74) T James (G Smith 39) R Patchell (G Davies 56) T Knoyle (L Jones 56) S Hobbs E Lewis (R Williams 52) T Filise (C Mitchell h-t) J Hoeata (M Cook 53) J Down J Turnbull M Vosawai (E Jenkins 60) J Navidi (capt).
Tries – J Navidi (2) T James A Summerhill (2) R Patchell (3) J Turnbull (3) Conversions – R Patchell G Davies D Fish
Zebre: K Van Zyl G Di Giulio T Castello (M Pratichetti 59) M Bellini M Visentin (G Toniolatti 49) M Azzolini (U Beyers 54) L Burgess B Postiglioni (A de Marchi 58) T D’Apice (O Fabiani 62) P Ceccarelli (E Coria 49) M Sutto (M Bortolami 54) G Biagi (capt) P Derbyshire (J Meyer 54) A Van Schalkwyk M Mbandà
Yellow cards – A Van Schalkwyk 39 G Toniolatti 79
Try – U Beyer Conversion – U Beyer Penalties – M Azzolini (2)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Attendance: 3,658
MoM – Dan Fish
Main Photo
z
