Cardiff Blues - Mid Season Review

After eleven league matches into the season and early into a new year, thought I would take the opportunity to give my thoughts on the season to date. Both the positives and areas where improvement are still very much necessary. I hope you enjoy.  

Positives

To start off with have to go with the head coach Danny Wilson, his interviews are refreshingly honest when talking to the media and he comes across as a coach that players can interact with and want to play for, which has shown up in a lot of the performances to date.  Wilson you can see from his team selections, player recruitment and changes in the backroom staff, has a clear vision of what he wants from the team.  

I have been very much impressed by Danny Wilson and look forward to seeing how the group evolve over this season and next season and hopefully many more to come.

Another positive for me is player recruitment which I have mentioned briefly above.  Already we have seen the sigings of Salesi Maafu, Nick Williams and most recently Matthew Morgan with very strong rumours that Rhys Gill and George Earle signings will be announced sooner rather than later.  Cardiff Blues have recognised the problematic areas and are working hard behind the scenes to improve the playing squad.  The signings that have been made are strong signings who will improve the playing staff.  Salesi Maafu has had some issues off the field that are well documented, and if those issues were not there then Cardiff Blues would not have been an option for a player, who is an Australian international, who performed well enough for the Northampton Saints for Toulon to want his services, so enough said.  Maafu is by far the best tight head at the club.  Nick Willliams has been a star at Ulster Rugby for a few seasons now, and is a renowned ball carrier, again an excellent signing.  Matthew Morgan is an exciting back, who if given space can be an elusive strike runner and is hungry to succeed, as is keen to extend his chances of playing for Wales.  The loss of Rhys Patchell next season is a shame, but I am very much looking forward to seeing Matthew Morgan play for the Cardiff Blues next season.

Set pieces have improved a lot from where we were last season as well.  The scrum has improved considerably, where Gethin Jenkins and Tao Filise can take a lot of credit amongst others.  Kick off receptions have also greatly improved.  The line out generally has also seen improvements, but still have a break down in communication at times, no greater example than the game on New Years Day with Ken Owens try for Scarlets, from a breakdown in the lineout from Cardiff Blues.  Danny Wilson is recognised as his strength being with the forwards and this is clear in the improvement in the set pieces.

Areas to Develop

The team has struggled to put together performances over 80 minutes, with lapses of concentration brought on by physical tiredness or mental tiredness or both.  There has been some poor decisions made out on the field with kicking ball away or taking the wrong option, but in recent weeks some of the areas are being rectified.

First up tackling is still an area Cardiff Blues need to work on.  We miss far too many first up tackles and this need to be rectified.  The defensive alignment has improved, last season teams seemed to have more players on the pitch as had mismatches all over the place.  Alignment though only goes so far if you then miss the tackle.

Has been times in the initial months of the season where we did not have the combinations or skills to free up the more elusive strike runners, this however has improved considerably recently with players such as Reynold Leelo finding some form, he looks far more comfortable in his surroundings at inside centre, and also with players such as Cory Allen and Gareth Anscombe shortly back to full fitness then this can only improve.

Some of the poor decision making such as kicking the ball away, or poor passing in the backline, has also not been aided by a lack of ball carriers in the forwards and in the centres getting consistenly over the gainline.  Last season, Josh Navidi used pace and power time and time again to get through the first line of opposition defences, in the first few months of the season, Cardiff Blues went from phase to phase without going anywhere, eventually patience gave in, and something was attempted that was not on.  In the last few months, Manoa Vosawai and Josh Turnbull in particular are breaking the first line of defence and getting the team on the front foot, which is making a big difference.

League position clearly is another area that needs to improve, currently Cardiff Blues sit in ninth place, a number of games left will be at The Arms Park, so with home advantage, a vociferous crowd behind them and players wanting to perform, we are all hoping they can move up the league, is a play off place beyond them? 

In closing, thought I would give you my thoughts on best performance both team and  individual, and also my player of the year to date.

Team Performance

There is a few candidates, but for me, for an overall 80 minute team performance, I will go for the match against Montpellier in France, I certainly did not have high expectations when I saw the French team's line up that day, compared to the Cardiff Blues, but the boys were outstanding on the night, and gave all they had, losing by one point in injury time, heart breaking stuff.  An outstanding performance.

Individual Performance

Again been some strong individual performances through the season to date, but the one that stands out for me was Rhys Patchell playing at fly half away to Munster in the Pro 12 league.  His passing from first receiver for some of the tries was exceptional, as was his general game management, his play in the Tavis Knoyle try, was right out of the top drawer.  It was an outstanding individual performance. 

Player Of The Season

In my view the standout player who has put in the most consistent high level performances to date has been Tom James.  The Welsh international has come back to the team from Exeter Chiefs and has looked eager to impress in all facets of his game.  His kick chase has been fantastic, and is popping up all over the pitch.  His kicking from hand is underrated, and in the first few months of the season he is one of few players looking to support the ball carrier for the opportunity of an offload.  He must be very close to a call up to the 6 nations Welsh squad for the upcoming tournament.