BKT URC Round 1 Review: Cardiff ride the rollercoaster to victory

Simon Thomas

Cardiff coach Corniel van Zyl paid tribute to the fight shown by his team following a rollercoaster ride against the Lions at the Arms Park.

Having raced into an early lead, the hosts then found themselves trailing midway through the second half following a 20-minute red card for Wales centre Ben Thomas.

But they rallied in the rain to claim a 33-20 bonus point victory, with two tries from replacement hooker Evan Lloyd off close-range lineouts sealing the spoils.

“There were a few rollercoasters in that game,” said former Italy second row Van Zyl.

“We started really well and had the momentum, but the red card was a big turning point. We struggled a little bit after that with managing the game.

“So, it was a real good rollercoaster, but ultimately what counts is the boys stuck to it and got it over the line. There was good leadership from the senior players on the field.

“We got back in front and then put the pressure on. There are a few things we can do better, but the fight was definitely there. It’s a win, let’s move on.”

Van Zyl was full of praise for No 8 Alun Lawrence, who topped the carrying (16) and tackling (12) stats to earn the Player of the Match award.

“He’s an unbelievable machine. He’s got an engine on him and he’s so consistent,” he said.

For the South African-born Van Zyl, it was a first game at the helm following the departure of Matt Sherratt, who has left to join the Wales coaching team.

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Nervous

“I was a little bit more nervous than usual,” he admitted. “When you need to make the calls, you think of all the things that can happen, and you have to be smart in your decisions instantly.

“So it was different, but very enjoyable. I loved it. Obviously, the win helps!”

Giving the players’ perspective, second row Josh McNally said: “With losing Matt at the start of the week, the other coaches have all stepped up and it’s been an excellent environment.

“We wanted to get onto the pitch and put a performance down, and I am just so proud of the boys. Everyone put a huge shift in. We stuck to our processes and got a decent five-point win.”

The other three Welsh teams were beaten, but there was a notable achievement from the Ospreys, who scored six tries against the Vodacom Bulls at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld.

They led 26-12 at one stage, while there were two tries apiece from centre Keiran Williams and wing Keelan Giles.

But, in the end, they went down 53-40 with hooker Johan Grobbelaar scoring a hat-trick for the powerful Bulls.

Ospreys coach Mark Jones said: “It smarts a little bit. With the way we played in the first half, we looked deserving of the lead. We put a decent marker on the ground in terms of how we want to play the game with the ball.

“But we had moments of self harm with how we encouraged the Bulls into our red zone and they really picked on a lot of our errors and scored.

“We spent too much time without the ball and when you do that against South African teams, it’s always difficult.”

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Positives

Skipper Dewi Lake added: “There were a massive amount of positives for us. To come to Loftus and score 40 points is an immense display of attack, but to also concede 53 is tough to take.

“Physically, we stepped up, we matched the physical battle around the park.

“But set-piece probably let us down. We didn’t really get a foothold in scrum and lineout, and it’s tough to get possession and territory and get yourself into the game then.”

While there was only the one Welsh win, there were encouraging signs from an attacking point of view, with the four regions scoring 17 tries between them.

Champions hurting after heavy defeat

Elsewhere, reigning champions Leinster suffered “a proper punch in the nose” as they went down to a 35-0 defeat at the hands of the DHL Stormers in Cape Town, provoking a straight-talking reaction from head coach Leo Cullen.

“We are hugely disappointed. We haven’t conceded a score like that in quite a while,” he said.

“The guys were hurting inside the dressing room afterwards.

“We just weren’t at the races. We were really, really poor. We were very much second best in pretty much every department.

“Credit to the Stormers, I thought they were pretty outstanding. They were far better than us and much sharper in all the contact points. They put us under a huge amount of pressure, and we just didn’t manage it particularly well.

“We have come off a very successful season last year, and we have had a proper punch in the nose. It’s how we respond now and get back on the horse.

“We have to turn the page quickly into Bulls in Pretoria, which will be another serious challenge. We have to put in a much better performance there.

“It’s round one of 18, there’s a long way to go in this competition. I think we will get better as we progress through the weeks.”

Outlining the secret to his team’s four-try triumph, DHL Stormers coach John Dobson said:

“We had a plan, but it had to be a different plan to our normal one.

“It had to be about hard work, intensity, physicality, sticking to a plan, and I’m super proud and grateful to them because that was a magic performance.”

The 2024 champions, Glasgow Warriors, made a strong start to their campaign, beating Hollywoodbets Sharks 35-19 at Scotstoun.

For coach Franco Smith, it was a happy family reunion with his 22-year-old son Jean coming on as a replacement scrum-half for the visitors.

“Talking as a parent, it’s fantastic to see your boy go out there. I know how much effort he puts in,” said Smith Snr.

Following a tight first half, Glasgow pulled away after the break, with Player of the Match Rory Darge scoring one of their five tries from the openside.

“It was the perfect challenge for us in the first game of the season, going up against a quality outfit like the Sharks,” said the flanker.

“They are a physical team with lots of attacking threats.”

Coach Smith added: “I thought there was some really good stuff. Hopefully it’s a good base and we can kick on from this.”

Aaron Wainwright

In Friday night’s other game, Ulster Rugby recovered from conceding a try to Dragons No 8 Aaron Wainwright after just 10 seconds as they ran in six tries to win 42-21 in Belfast.

Coach Richie Murphy said: “It wasn’t perfect, but it’s a good start. We have got five points at home and we move on. We put some good rugby together, and we are happy with the win.

“We go to Edinburgh next weekend, and we know we are going to have to be better over there.”

There were two further Irish wins on Saturday, with Munster Rugby securing a 34-21 bonus point victory away to the Scarlets and Connacht Rugby also claiming the maximum as they marked the start of the Stuart Lancaster era by defeating Benetton Rugby 26-15 in Galway.

The most dramatic finish of the weekend came out in Italy, where Zebre Parma beat Edinburgh Rugby 31-28 thanks to a 79th-minute penalty from replacement fly-half Martin Roger Farias.

Making his league debut after joining from Viadana, Farias kept his nerve to slot the kick from well out on the left with the ball going in off an upright.

Zebre’s victory was all the more notable given they were down to 14 men for 30 minutes with a red card for skipper Giovanni Licata, followed by a yellow for Argentine prop Juan Pittinari.

“It was very good stuff from the boys,” said No. 8 Licata.

“We scored two tries in the first ten minutes. We then had a red card from me and a yellow, but we never lost the battle. We always find the energy to get back on the train.

“We base the team on family. The first word we say in the changing room every day is family. We work for each other, we battle for each other. We know where we have come from in the past and we are building something special.”

What’s coming next?

It’s Round 2 next weekend, with three games on Friday, four on Saturday and one on Sunday.

There’s just the one match featuring two winners from the opening round, as Munster host Cardiff at Limerick’s Thomond Park.

Leinster will be looking to bounce back from their heavy defeat in Cape Town, but things don’t get any easier for them as they face another major challenge on South African soil with a trip to Pretoria to face a Vodacom Bulls team that racked up nine tries in Round 1.

Elsewhere, it’s DHL Stormers v Ospreys, Dragons v Hollywoodbets Sharks, Edinburgh v Ulster, Connacht v Scarlets, Benetton v Glasgow Warriors and Zebre Parma v Lions.