WELL, THAT’S HOW TO END A LOSING RUN!
YOU have to go back to December 31, 2010, to find the last time Cardiff Blues beat the Ospreys in the PRO12.
Following that New Year’s Eve clash at the Cardiff City Stadium, the Liberty lads won 11 league games in a row against the capital city side.
They have been the ultimate hoodoo side for the Blues.
But that run came to an end in the most emphatic fashion at the Principality Stadium as Danny Wilson’s men ran in five tries to claim their 35-17 bonus point victory.
From the outset, they grabbed the initiative, carrying on from their excellent performance in drawing with Ulster out in Belfast last weekend.
Showing attacking ambition and a relish for the physical challenge, they swept their old nemesis aside.
Crucially, they won the gain-line. Their powerful carrying, with Nick Williams as the vanguard, and aggressive clearing out provided a wealth of quick ball for the halfbacks to dictate play.
And their defence, which has been such a problem at times this term, was far more resolute, with rapid line speed and commitment in the tackle.
On top of that, they won the battle of the breakdown, earning a succession of turnovers through Nick Williams, Gethin Jenkins and, in particular, man-of-the-match Ellis Jenkins.
And then they had the men to capitalise on this plentiful possession, with the likes of Alex Cuthbert and Matthew Morgan making ground in their differing styles, providing the platform for tries from Kristian Dacey, Lloyd Williams, Nick Williams and Gareth Anscombe, with even Tau Filise – 40 next month – getting in on the act, as he touched down for the first time in six years.
OSPREYS OUT OF SORTS
YES, the Ospreys had come into Judgement Day on the back of three straight defeats, but they could easily have won a couple of those games and had played some reasonable stuff on the way.
So, there was every reason to think they could get back on track, especially against a team over whom they have had the Indian sign for so many years.
But they just simply never got started and the game was over as a contest after some 46 minutes.
When they did finally come to the party in the final quarter through tries from Dan Evans and Paul James, it was too little.
Prior to that, they just didn’t have an answer to the pace and power their opponents brought to the game, being smashed in the contact area.
That left them on the back foot and their defence wasn’t up to coping with the waves of Blues attacks.
And when they did have the ball, they too often rushed things, with an anxiousness very apparent in their game, amid a lack of composure and clear thinking under pressure.
That’s partly a confidence thing and that’s what comes of being on a losing streak, with the 13 straight victories they strung together in mid-term a distant memory.
The absence of talismanic skipper Alun Wyn Jones is being sorely felt, in terms of his individual excellence and galvanising effect. How Ospreys fans must have wished he was wearing a white shirt rather than and orange water-boy bib.
This defeat leaves Steve Tandy’s team with a real fight on their bands to make the PRO12 play-offs, a status which they have seemed certain to achieve pretty much the whole season.
Their destiny is still in their own hands with games against play-off rivals Ulster and the Scarlets to come to complete their league campaign, with Ulster having lost to Munster having been one piece of welcome good news for them.
But they need to recapture their mojo for those crucial encounters, or else the season is going to fall away from them.
CLASSY CUTHBERT
WHEN you see Alex Cuthbert perform like he has in recent weeks, it reminds you of the player who made such a huge impact in his first couple years in senior rugby, culminating in him being a Lions Test winger.
Moreover, it’s hard to fathom out exactly why things went so awry for him with Wales, because he was such a potent force in this Judgement Day encounter.
Blues fans will tell you he has been playing like this for most of the season in terms of his work-rate and he has certainly caught the eye for a number of weeks.
But he was nigh on unstoppable in this Principality Stadium contest.
The way he ran onto the ball with pace, power and intent made him a heck of a handful and he played a crucial role in laying the groundwork for three of the Blues’ five tries.
He burst up to the line ahead of Lloyd Williams’ diving over, he carried strongly twice in the build-up to Filise stretching out for a rare score, but it was his contribution to Nick Williams’ touchdown that really summed up his performance.
Picking a trademark line off 10 in midfield he surged towards the whitewash and it took three defenders to bring him down. That left the Ospreys short of numbers and exposed, with Nick Williams able to charge over to deliver the finish.
Throw in Cuthbert’s constant chasing and his willing carrying up off restarts and it was a huge workaholic display. Even his yellow card was a product of his eagerness as he hit Dan Evans in the air after setting off on yet another chase.
That was a minor blemish, but overall it was an outstanding effort from a player who has responded to a difficult time in admirable fashion.
CONVERSION CALAMITY
JUST five minutes into the game, we had one of those incidents that simply leaves you scratching your head.
After Cardiff Blues hooker Kristian Dacey had gone over for his sixth try of the season by breaking off a lineout drive, Gareth Anscombe was presented with a testing conversion attempt from wide out on the right.
He made a good effort, but the ball struck the right-hand post and appeared to bounce across in front of the other upright.
But up went the flags of the touchjudges – or assistant referees as we have to call them.
Sean Gallagher, of Ireland, and Wales’ Gwyn Morris adjudged the kick to be good and the points were