Blues Win Sees them Top
Blues Win Sees them Top
By Andrew Collins
January 13 2008
Cardiff Blues 23-12 win over Harlequins on Friday night means for the first time in their short history, their Heineken Cup Quarter final route is in their own hands come the final round of matches next weekend.
An improved performance from recent Magner's League matches was enough to see the capitol home, while a lot was owed to the tremendous kicking display of Ben Blair. The Quins put up a tough fight on a wet night at the Arms Park, matching the two tries scored by the eventual winners, Hewitt and Shanklin's tries being scratched by Hal Luscombe and Mike Brown.
But in truth, Cardiff always looked the better side, and were kept from running away with the game by some poor passes and in all fairness, some pretty bad conditions.
While Blair's input was a massive factor in the win, there can be no doubt that Xavier Rush claimed man of the match. The number 8 will have added an extra few 0's to his salary following that performance, the captain set to put pen to paper on a new deal this week. His commitment to the cause was fantastic and he was at the heart of every break made.
There were notable performances from Gareth Williams and Jamie Roberts, both of whom continuing their fantastic form. The two players are likely to be named in Warren Gatland's first Welsh squad on Monday, and would fully deserve their places.
Hewitt's try after 35 minutes was a welcome relief, the Blues were stuttering in the first half, and were crowd were feeling anxious. It was a nice break by Hewitt, who showed that running fast and hitting the angles will break the first line of defence every time, from there he was unopposed to the line.
Shanklin's try was of stark contrast, unusually, a back benefiting from picking up and driving around the fringes whilst camped on the try line.
Blair added both conversions and three penalties for a personal total of 13.
After the match, Dai Young made a very fitting evaluation;
"It wasn't a perfect performance by us, but it was never going to be. What pleased me was that we didn't panic and we managed to close the game down. I was pleased with our control and our mind-set. We are happy where we are in the group. We have now got to make sure we can get over one more big hurdle."
Looking ahead to next weeks final round, and here's how it stands -
1.Cardiff - 16 Points
2. Stade Francais - 13 Points
3. Bristol - 12 Points
4. Harlequins - 2 Points
So, how can we qualify?
- A win or draw at Bristol will see us through no matter what happens elsewhere.
- 2 bonus points (Lose within 7 points and score 4 tries) would also be fine, but is very unlikely
- A single bonus point will be enough, as long as Stade lose, draw or win without scoring 4 tries
- Lose the match against Bristol, with Stade losing or drawing at Quins, and Bristol not scoring 4 tries.
These are the only scenarios that will see the Blues through to the Quarter Finals.
What makes our match against Bristol so interesting, will be he aims of the opposing sides. Bristol must win with a bonus point to have an outside chance of going through, whereas Cardiff would take a 3-0 win, 0-0 draw, or even 0-3 loss (assuming Stade won't get the 4 tries against Quins in London). The mentality of the two sides couldn't be more different, and whether that goes in or against our favour is anyone's guess.
What it effectively means is that every penalty Bristol have, they're likely to go for the corners from the start. On the one hand, it's good for the Blues, as Bristol are spurning the chance of 3 points, however it means we're going to have to defend very well from line-outs and rolling mauls in our own 22. It also means we're going to have to be very well behaved.
As for the Blues camp, Dai Young will be having Ben Blair on goal kicking practice 24 hours a day, while Nick Macleod must be practicing his drop goals. Cardiff will need to get at least 3 points on every visit to the Bristol 22. Expansive rugby would prove very risky, with interception try's common against teams looking to get the ball wide.
So a good win for Cardiff against Quins sets up a massive match against Bristol on Sunday, let's hope the Blues can win there, and keep winning their way to the Heineken Cup 2008 Final, lifting the cup in our own fair city.
Not too optimistic but think they are a team that could pull it off - look at Bath game. We write them off, they perform. It's the games we should have easily won that have been disappointing.
Quote:sam123
In an odd way I think it's positive that we didn't get a bonus on Fri as then we'd just be hoping Stade didn't get one next week. Now the boys know to secure a place they need to play to win, not just stop Bristol getting 4 tries.
Not too optimistic but think they are a team that could pull it off - look at Bath game. We write them off, they perform. It's the games we should have easily won that have been disappointing.
We were hiding the fact we had no outside half, a tactic which may well have run its course. Having only one outside half is going to ruin it for us.
now we've got the pressure on our boys and the last few years have seen us beat ourselves under pressure
They should be up for it but we all know that French sides do not travel well.
We need to win and that keeps the maths easy. It will not be easy but thats the bottom line
Nothing else can be in the minds of players or coaches.
What Stade manage or what the Quins want to do can be neither here nor there.
It's a tough ask but a win and we are through. aiming lower invites at trip to disasterville.
Cardiff have been there too often in the past!