Olly’s on the lolly in 50th Blues appearance
CARDIFF BLUES lost three players to the sin-bin, but hit back with four second half tries to ensure their season opened with a win in Port Elizabeth.
The much improved Southern Kings led 13-5 at the break, and troubled their Welsh visitors all the way to the end to show they are not going to be the pushovers of old this season.
A penalty from new outside half Demetri Catrakilis gave the Kings the lead, but the Blues were soon ahead after Olly Robinson marked his 50th appearance for the region
with a try from a driving line-out.
A second Catrakilis penalty edged the Kings back in front and midway through the half Matthew Morgan was forced to move sharply to deny the Kings a score as their fleet-footed back division chased a kick ahead.
The initial danger may have been averted, but once the Kings had kicked to the corner a try was in the offing. Blues outside half Evans picked-up a yellow card trying to repel the first thrust, and the Kings forwards then got over from the next driving line-out.
Flanker Tienie Burger claimed the try and Catrakilis added the conversion to make it 13-5.
Things went from bad to worse for the Blues when skipper Nick Williams went down with an injury after a big tackle. Just as he was about to be replaced, the referee looked at a replay and gave him a yellow card to reduce the Blues to 13 men.
They were back up to a full complement for the start of the second half and came out firing.
Evans kicked a penalty into the corner and hooker Liam Belcher was driven over from a line-out for a
try that the Welsh international outside half converted to cut the gap to a single point
The Kings were in no mood to fold and when a Blues line-out mis-fired they broke from inside their own half and worked scrum-half Stefan Ungerer over for a try with some slick handling. Catrakilis converted.
The Blues were in a battle for survival, but a hat-trick of unanswered tries from Morgan, Kristian Dacey and Harri Millard, the first two of which Evans converted, took them into the lead. The Millard try came when the Kings were down to 14 men with lock Jerry Sexton in the bin for collapsing a maul, while the home side picked up a last-gasp try from full back Andell Loubser when the Blues were without Will Boyde.
REFEREE: Christie du Preez (SARU) Star man Olly Robinson - Cardiff Blues