Invest to challenge the elite, Cardiff are urged

OUTGOING Cardiff Blues head coach Danny Wilson has admitted the region will struggle to challenge for honours unless they invest in their playing squad.

Wilson has decided against extending his contract in the Welsh capital and will leave at the end of the season after becoming frustrated with a lack of financial backing.

The former Wales U20s boss believes the Blues board must back his successor to add new players or risk falling even further behind Europe’s elite.

“If I am being brutally honest we all want to see Cardiff Blues at the top end of competitions, challenging for silverware and being back in Europe,” Wilson said.

“To achieve that you need strength in depth. You’ll get it in the long term by the way we are approaching it, but in the short term you need to attract quality players.

“Part of my role here has been to facilitate the development of our younger players. The other part is to produce a squad that can go and challenge English, Irish and French squads.

“We play in a European competition and now we play some South African sides in the PRO14 as well, so we still need to be competitive week-in week-out to get results. It’s a balancing act and not easy.”

Wilson signed Ulster’s Franco van der Merwe in the summer, but saw the lock moved on without playing due to a financial crisis at the region.

It summed up the Blues’ plight and led to their boss deciding to quit. Wilson will stay in charge until the end of the season, but remains keen to work with the region’s young talent.

He insists one player the Blues want to keep hold of is lock Seb Davies. The 21year-old won his first senior Wales caps in the summer, but is a target for regional rivals the Scarlets.

“Seb’s performances are obviously going to attract interest,” admitted Wilson. “From a Cardiff Blues point of view we are keen to keep Seb at the region. I imagine he’s got some decisions to make and I’m sure he will make them in due course.”