Wilson hails ‘outstanding’ effort after Cardiff add to Welsh regions’ resurgence
After their sixth win in succession, Danny Wilson lauded his Cardiff players for an outstanding performance in the Challenge Cup quarter-final. The Blues’ emphatic win over an Edinburgh side who had previously won six matches in succession and had been unbeaten at Murrayfield was arguably their most impressive win of the season
“This is an in-form Edinburgh team, and to come to their place and get a win is outstanding,” said Wilson. “I’m really pleased with the boys. It was a dogged display and not the prettiest of games, but I thought our defence was outstanding. It’s a massive result for the Blues and it’s great to have two Welsh regions [along with Scarlets in the Champions Cup] in the semifinals of Europe.”
There was a touch of good forgloucester to both of Cardiff ’s tries, with the first coming when a cross-kick bounced back off Edinburgh scrum-half Nathan Fowles’s head and into Ellis Jenkins’s hands. The second came when Edinburgh fullback Blair Kinghorn should have claimed the ball in his own 22, but instead scooped it into Rey Lee-lo’s hands, the centre feeding wing Blaine Scully for a decisive try.
Yet overall, Edinburgh had no answer to Cardiff ’s mixture of aggressive defence and probing kicks which penned the Scots back in their own half.
The home side also made mistake after mistake, constantly ceding the ball to Cardiff. Richard Cockerill, Edinburgh’s coach, said: “They were better than us. It’s disappointmatch ing that we didn’t turn up, but we got exactly what we deserved because if you give cheap points away in big games it will come back to bite you. Cardiff played well and deserved to win.”
Cardiff now enter into a crucial stage of their season as they seek to finish third in their conference and secure a Pro14 play-off place. After a sketchy start to the season they now have the same number of wins as the third-placed Cheetahs but trail the South Africans by five bonus points.
Cardiff now travel to Bloemfontein for a crucial match on Saturday, followed by a match at the Southern Kings and then the regular-season finale at Arms Park against Ospreys.
In the Challenge Cup semi-final, the Blues entertain French side Pau, who have won seven of their eight Top 14 matches since the turn of the year.
The French side sit sixth in the Top 14 and beat Stade Francais in the quarter-final, but Steffon Armitage’s side have a powerful incentive in their semi-final, given that the final is in Bilbao, just across the border.