YOUNG: I WON’T BLAME WORRIES
DAI Young refused to blame the offfield trauma for Cardiff seeing their United Rugby Championship playoff hopes virtually ended by their home loss to Ulster.
The visitors ran in six tries, replacement hooker Tom Stewart collecting two of them, as they claimed a 42-20 victory in the Welsh capital.
The result means Ulster remain on course for a home quarter-final with the bonus-point win, but Cardiff’s top-eight prospects look slim.
“I don’t think we can use what’s been going on off the field as an excuse,” said Cardiff director of rugby Young. “Maybe it was a factor but we saw what a top-three side looked like.
“They were better than us in every area.
“They were full of size, power and pace and we just couldn’t handle it.
“We’re nowhere near a top-three side at the moment.”
It has been an abnormally tough period for every professional player in Wales with the uncertainty over their futures, and the aggressive pay cuts which are set to be implemented next season not helping their cause.
As interim Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Nigel Walker said, the problem is more “acute” at the Arms Park given they have so many players out of contract at the end of the season, while they will also have to honour the expensive wages of the old National Squad 38 players despite their budget facing a significant cut.
Whether this contributed towards this insipid performance only the players can say, but they were never at the races against an Ulster side who were in a different class.
The Irish province held the upper hand physically with young scrumhalf Nathan Doak imperious.
Young’s side fired the odd shot, but they were never truly in the game.
Cardiff made the worst possible start with Ulster crossing for the first try within the first two minutes.
The visitors moved the ball from side to side to unlock the Cardiff defence and send Stewart Moore racing over for a try. Doak converted.
But Cardiff hit back with the inspirational Rey Lee-Lo, on his 150th appearance for the club, the architect.
The Samoa international brushed off an Ulster defender before his sensational offload put Owen Lane over in the corner.
Cardiff soon took the lead for the first time when Jarrod Evans kicked three points as a result of Ellis Jenkins winning a penalty at the breakdown.
But Ulster were always one step ahead and a nice attacking move drew in a couple of defenders to give Jacob Stockdale space on the outside. The Ireland wing chipped over the top of the defence before regathering the ball to score with Doak adding the extras from the touchline.
Cardiff weren’t at the races defensively and Ulster were soon celebrating their third try.
Former All Blacks prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen put the visitors on the front foot with an explosive carry before Doak strolled over for one of the easiest tries he’ll ever score.
Ulster held a 21-8 at the interval and soon secured their try bonus point when Billy Burns squeezed over from close range with Doak again converting.
The visitors were relentless and touched down for their fifth try when Tom Stewart crossed courtesy of a powerful driving line-out.
To their credit, Cardiff refused to throw in the towel and hit back with a fine try of their own with another offload from Lee-Lo sending Lane over for his second try of the evening.
But Ulster rubbed further salt into Cardiff’s wounds when replacement hooker Stewart touched down for his second try after another well-worked maul.