Blues kick off Euro weekend with victory and a bonus
CARDIFF Blues enjoyed a bonuspoint victory as they kicked off their European adventure with success over Lyon in the Challenge Cup last night.
There were flashes of brilliance amid the chaos of a game that saw the error count reach for the stars under the lights at the Arms Park.
The hosts dominated the opening exchanges, all that was missing was an end product and the scores were deadlocked until the 24th minute.
Both teams looked to use their big wingers to expose the diminutive set of half-backs on the opposition side and it was Wales international Alex Cuthbert who had some joy early on.
Twice he ploughed over Lyon pivot Piero Dominguez, son of Italy legend Diego, in the visitors’ 22, but the first move got snuffed out and the second ended in a knock on. Nonetheless, the signs were relatively promising.
Young fly-half Jarrod Evans missed a kickable penalty and shortly after a powerful Cardiff Blues maul came down metres short of the line. You feared the hosts could live to regret not taking advantage of their dominance.
Lyon threatened briefly midway through the first half but the move was self-sabotaged by a poor pass from Dominguez in the hosts’ 22.
More frustration followed for the home fans, but they eventually got what they wanted when second row George Earle rumbled over from close range following good carries from Olly Robinson and Cuthbert in midfield. The conversion made it 7-0.
As the error count continued to rise on both sides, a moment of sheer brilliance shone through just after the 30-minute mark.
Evans came into the line after a turnover to put Garyn Smith on the outside. His well-timed pass released Blaine Scully and the American flicked it inside to Tomos Williams, who raced 35 metres unopposed to score the second. After the devastating counterattack, the score was 14-0 at the break.
Early in the second half, Blues boss Danny Wilson will have been tearing his hair out as a casual Rey Lee-Lo failed to ground the ball under pressure from Jone Tuva, having brilliantly picked off a ball from Dominguez.
The third try eventually came 10 minutes into the second period. Smith’s searing break provided the field position and Macauley Cook was the spare man out wide to power his way over in the corner.
Then came a sticky patch for the hosts as replacement Kristian Dacey was rightly yellow-carded for an early tackle before Lyon No.8 Virgile Bruni forced his way over from close range.
But Lee-Lo made amends for his earlier clanger by picking a lovely line off Tomos Williams and surging over for the bonus-point try, restoring the 19-point lead in the 65th minute.
Shortly after, there was a 10-minute delay as prop Anton Peikrishvili received treatment for a neck injury and the Blues were caught cold when play resumed.
A lethargic defensive set saw centre Pierre-Louis Barassi dot down, threatening a grandstand finish.
But it was not to be. Two Lyon yellow cards – to Timilai Rokoduru and Etienne Oosthuizen for cynical infringements at the breakdown – allowed Steven Shingler to knock over a penalty.
There was one final try for the visitors, who somehow racked up three scores, as winger Tuva found space to beat Morgan to the corner for nothing more than a consolation score. Cardiff Blues: M Morgan; B Scully, R Lee-Lo, G Smith, A Cuthbert; J Evans, T Williams; C Domachowski, M Rees, D Lewis; G Earle, S Davies; M Cook, O Robinson, J Turnbull. Reps: K Dacey, B Thyer, A Peikrishvili, J Down, J Navidi, L Jones, S Shingler, A Summerhill. Lyon: D Armitage; T Rokoduru, P Barassi, A Seguret, J Tuva; P Dominguez, B Couilloud; T Mataradze, D Fourie, R Choirat; E Ousthuizen, F van der Merwe; T Halaifonua, T Cotte, V Bruni. Reps: V Lacombe, H Kaabeche, G Papidze, J Bekhuis, F Lambey, T Belan, J Butin, J Pelissie.