Morgan the magician and Cuthbert getting his confidence back as the Blues earn a tough trip to Gloucester
CARDIFF BLUES ............ 37 TRIES: M MORGAN (2), K DACEY, G ANSCOMBE, S WARBURTON CONS: S SHINGLER (3); PENS: SHINGLER (2) BRISTOL ........................... 21 TRIES: J WILLIAMS (2), J TOVEY CONS: A JARVIS (3) ATTENDANCE: 7,223 REFEREE: MIKE ADAMSON (SCOTLAND)
CARDIFF Blues defeated Bristol 37-21 at the Arms Park as they moved into the quarterfinals of the European Challenge Cup. Rugby correspondent Simon Thomas was on hand to pick out the key men and the key issues.
MAGIC MORGAN
It was left to fellow Blues try-scorer Kristian Dacey to deliver the perfect post-match comment on Matthew Morgan.
“He could side-step you in a phone box!” declared the Wales squad hooker.
Given the threat Morgan poses in such confined areas, you can imagine how dangerous he can be in the wide-open spaces of the artificially turfed Arms Park when he’s on song.
And this was just such an occasion. In fact, he was pretty much note perfect.
The fleet-footed full-back had been threatening throughout, but he really came into his own in the second-half as he guided the Blues to a bonuspoint victory.
He cut inside to the line shortly after the break and, then 11 minutes from time, produced the moment of the match as he set off on a trademark arcing run some 40 metres out, leaving defenders trailing in his wake as he claimed a superb solo second.
That secured the four-try bonus point and he capped his day’s work as he weaved through again to send Sam Warburton storming over.
It made the choice of Man of the Match something of a formality and it was a day to remember against his former team-mates, who just couldn’t cope with him. As head coach Danny Wilson acknowledged, it was a display which showed the strides the gifted 24-year-old has made of late. “What we have seen from Matthew in recent weeks is he’s picking his options far better,” said Wilson. “There was a time when he was running everything back regardless of the type of ball that was coming towards him.
“Matt Sherratt has done a lot of work with him in terms of making the right choices when counter-attacking and when it’s just time to return with a kick.
“Matthew’s instinct is to run. It’s the irst thing he’s always going to do. We’ve got to make sure he’s got a balance to his game and I think we have seen that from him in recent weeks.
“You saw his strengths out there today. He had an outstanding second-half and it shows again how deadly he can be if we can force teams to kick a little bit to him and give him the ability to use his instinct, his decision making and his pace. “We saw the reasons we wanted to bring him here to play on this pitch and play at full-back.”
So it’s hats off to Nipper.
CUTHBERT COMES GOOD
Alex Cuthbert has taken more stick than just about any other player in Welsh rugby over the past year or so.
He’s come in for some fearful flak on social media, with his mistakes highlighted more than anyone else’s.
The chorus of disapproval was very vocal once again following his inclusion in Wales’ Six Nations squad, with people questioning why he had been retained by Rob Howley.
But, in fairness to Cuthbert, he provided the perfect response with an excellent display against Bristol.
Things didn’t begin well for him, as he failed to hold on to an early pass from Matthew Morgan and you wondered if it was going to be another one of those days for him.
But he gradually grew into the game and you could see his confidence growing as a result.
He’s very much a confidence player and once it’s restored he can still prove a valuable weapon with his power and pace.
While some Wales fans have really turned on him, the Arms Park faithful have remained supportive and they were right behind him as he made an increasing impact on the game.
One of the biggest roars of the day was reserved for when he set off on a rampaging run early in the second half, bouncing would-be tacklers out of the way.
He played his part in the build-up to Morgan’s first try and generally was a real forceful presence, earning warm praise from coach Wilson.
“I thought Alex had a superb game, one of the best I’ve seen him have for a while, especially with the ball,” he said.
“We saw a barnstorming carry down the far side of the pitch on the touchline and it was great to see him performing after he’s worked hard the last couple of weeks.”
JINKING JORDAN
It’s easy to forget just how close Jordan Williams came to winning a Wales cap in the summer of 2014.
With George North laid low by illness, the talented young Scarlet was all set to make his debut in the opening Test against the Springboks in Durban.
But North recovered sufficiently to take his place on the wing and Williams was to head home uncapped, which is how he remains today.
His career stalled after that trip, amid limited regional opportunities and he made just two appearances for the Scarlets last season, so he headed to Bristol in the summer in a bid to get back on track.
He’s had more rugby in the west country, with this being his ninth outing, and he took this opportunity to remind Welsh watchers that he remains an attacking talent.
From the outset, he was Bristol’s main threat and he played a big part in keeping them in the hunt until the closing stages, scoring two of their three tries and setting up the other.
It was a real opportunist display from him, as he pounced on a couple of errors from the Blues and showed his predatory instinct, running in for 60 metres for his second try off an interception.
Like Morgan, he’s a bit of a maverick magician, but at 23 he still has time on his side and, on this showing, the promise that was so abundant with Wales U20s could yet be fulfilled.
KNOCK-OUT NEWS
As it turned out, the Blues didn’t have to beat Bristol to make the quarterfinals of the Challenge Cup after all. When the news came through at half-time that the Dragons had lost 36-19 out in Brive, it meant things were already done and dusted.
That result ensured the Blues were through to the last eight regardless of what happened at the Arms Park.
In the end, they went through on a positive note, running in five tries as they recorded a bonus point 37-21 victory over Bristol.
A win was never likely to be enough to take the group and so it proved with Bath walloping Pau 69-10 to finish on top of Pool 4.
So the Blues go through as one of three best runners-up.
That means they will be away in the quarter-finals on the weekend of March 31-April, with a trip to Gloucester lying in store.
But the main thing is they are through and they can look back with some satisfaction from a group campaign which has brought them five wins out of six matches.