Monday night bonus for the Blues... now they have to wait
CARDIFF BLUES ................ 34 EDINBURGH ......................... 15
CARDIFF Blues have done their bit with a bonus victory that secures a fourth place finish in PRO14 Conference B.
Now they must wait to see whether that’s enough to earn them Champions Cup rugby for next season.
It’s still to be announced how many teams will take part in Europe’s top event and how many sides the PRO14 will have on board.
If the competition stays at 24 teams, then the PRO14 will have eight spots and Cardiff will be there.
If it’s a streamlined event, with only the top three from each conference qualifying, then they will miss out.
But all they could do was win to put the pressure on the third-placed Scarlets and knock fifth-placed Edinburgh out of the equation.
This they did, turning around a 10-3 half-time deficit and securing the four-try bonus point in the final play of the game.
At one stage, with the Scarlets well adrift at home to Connacht, a third place finish seemed possible, but it wasn’t to be.
The Blues got their own job done though, really taking charge up front in the second half through their lineout drive and scrum, with their backs adding the gloss finish.
Tries from hooker Liam Belcher, centre Rey Lee Lo and fly-half Jarrod Evans took them clear, with forward sub James Ratti dotting down for the bonus and Evans finishing with a 19-point match haul.
Edinburgh had much the better of the first half in terms of territory and possession and deservedly built a seven point interval lead.
After an exchange of penalties between debutant fly-half Charlie Savala and his opposite number Evans, the visitors claimed the opening try of the game on 31 minutes.
It was a case of ambition rewarded as they turned down a kick at goal to go for the corner and came up with the goods.
Following a lineout maul rumble, dynamic carries from forwards Mike Willemse and Luke Crosbie laid the platform, with the finish being provided by centre George Taylor who threw half a dummy and cut back at angle to touch down, with Savala converting.
The Blues started the second period positively and cut the deficit to four points after a strong lineout drive.
Then, on 53 minutes, they went in front for the first time in the game with a converted
Belcher.
It all stemmed from a scrum penalty which set up an attacking lineout deep in the Edinburgh 22.
An Olly Robinson leap paved the way for another powerful driving maul and then following a series of close range forward carries, it was Belcher who got the ball down, with Evans converting.
Just a couple of minutes later, the Blues extended their lead wlth a superb counter-attacking try.
It all began with a turnover well inside their own half.
Two long passes then saw the ball reach Matthew Morgan, with the ever try from hooker dangerous full-back slicing through.
Morgan then fed Aled Summerhill who burst away and, despite being brought to ground, popped the scoring pass up for Lee Lo to cross, with Evans converting from wide out.
Back came Edinburgh with a second try of the night from centre Taylor to cut the gap to five points with 20 minutes to go.
But the Blues earned some breathing space with another fine converted try, as Jarrod Evans ran on to a perfectly placed chip over the top from Lloyd Williams and scuttled over.
Then, in the final seconds, came the bonus point score from Ratti.