IT has been a mixed bag for the Cardiff Blues at the start of the new Guinness Pro14 season with two wins and two defeats. Here James has a look at the story so far.
Attack
Without a shadow of a doubt, the capital region’s offence has been their biggest strength in their opening few games. In particular, their bonus point win over Connacht and 11-point defeat to Munster in Limerick.
One player that deserves a great deal of credit for this is fly-half Jarrod Evans. Evans has beaten 16 defenders, the most in the Pro14 after the first 4 rounds. He has been an integral part in the success of the backline by taking the ball to the defensive line at pace, as well as his jinking feet and kicking game. His cross-field kick created a vital Josh Adam’s try against Zebre, his two breaks against Munster meant tries for both Rey Lee-Lo and Aled Summerhill and his chip against Ulster at Rodney Parade gave the Samoan yet another try. It will be vital that both Evans and Lee-Lo stay fit throughout the season.
The likes of Josh Adams, Hallam Amos, Willis Halaholo, Matthew Morgan and Aled Summerhill have all been threatening in attack. With Owen Lane returning on the bench against Ulster on Monday, John Mulvihill is starting to have quite a few options. The Blues’ attacking game plan looks like it’s finally coming together!
Defence
You can have a very effective attack and it can be undone by your sloppy defence. However, you wouldn’t say this is the case for the Welsh side. Zebre, Connacht and Ulster combined have only managed to get 24 points, averaging eight points each.
In the opener in Italy, Josh Turnbull was red carded, meaning for the majority of the second half the Blues only had 14 men. Their fantastic defensive shift resulted in the hosts not even getting a losing bonus point. At the start of the second half against Connacht and at the end of the first half against Ulster, the two Irish sides were camped on the Blues’ try line and both managed to get over. However, the desire and effort should be applauded and will please any Blues fan.
38 points were conceded against Munster in round 3, but it was just a case of Cardiff not being able to live with the brutal driving maul. This is something they won’t face often this season.
The special mentions so far have to go to James Botham, Kristian Dacey, Seb Davies and Olly Robinson. Botham has made the most tackles in the competition so far with 63, with Dacey sitting second at 57. Not to forget Shane Lewis-Hughes, who made his debut for Wales against Scotland on Saturday. Lewis-Hughes had made the highest number of tackles and turnovers in the opening two rounds of the competition before his Wales commitments.
Discipline
Despite the heroic defence at times, unfortunately the pressure has been inevitable, and Cardiff have received yellow cards for repeated infringements. This is something the coaching staff will want to change for Edinburgh this Monday but will understand there’s not much you can do at times.
However, what can be changed is unnecessary foul play. In the opening match against Zebre, Josh Turnbull was sent off for a shoulder to the head. Against Munster, Willis Halaholo was sin binned for a trip after only five minutes. As a result, Munster kicked to the corner and scored, equalling the score at 7-7.
So, the focus must be on avoiding silly things like that because more often than not, it puts a huge swing in the momentum of the tie.
Overall, it has been a positive start for the side that only won one game in their opening five matches last season. They sit 2nd in conference B behind unbeaten Munster. They face Edinburgh on Monday, who sit 5th in the same conference. This is definitely an opportunity to get back to winning ways.
Photo credit: Huw Evans Agency
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