A strong second half performance from Cardiff blows Swansea away.
By Dewi Williams
Cardiff return for another season of BUCS Super Rugby and find themselves at the top of the league table after game week one, following a crucial win when considering the broader context of the league.
With both Cardiff and Swansea placed in the bottom two positions of the table last season, and the announcement of an automatic relegation this season, this opening fixture carried a lot more weight than it may have initially seemed.
After a cagey opening 20 minutes where both sides gave possession away far too easily, tempers finally flared after 25 minutes, with Cardiff number eight Oliver Stirling sent to the sin bin for his involvement in a 30-man scuffle.
This seemed to spur both teams on, with Swansea launching some threatening attacks with some nicely worked cross field kicks, but Cardiff’s scramble defence kept them out. Cardiff Winger Oli Das finally opened the scoring in the 30th minute. A kick down field by scrum half Finn Charles saw Cardiff counter ruck on the Swansea try-line, with Das picking up the scraps and dotting the ball down to make it Cardiff 5 – 0 Swansea.
As Swansea got the game underway again, openside Bill Moxey plucked the ball from the air, carried, and two passes later, the ball worked itself to the other side of the pitch, with winger Oli Das getting the ball near the Cardiff 10 meter line, before tip toeing his way down the touchline, beating a handful of Swansea defenders and running it in for his second try. Substitute Tomi Booth added the extras. At half time the score Cardiff 12 – 0 Swansea.
The opening minutes of the second half was again somewhat scrappy, with both sides ill-disciplined and inaccurate, but a penalty in the middle of the pitch 40 meters out saw Tomi Booth extend the lead by another 3 points in the 50th minute. Cardiff 15 – 0 Swansea.
Three minutes later, after some promising play from Cardiff, a chip over the top of the scrambling Swansea defence saw winger Das ground the ball in the corner once again for his hat-trick. Replacement Tomi Booth once again accurate from the tee with his conversion. Cardiff 22 – 0 Swansea.
As Cardiff’s lead increased, so did their confidence, with Finn Charles dancing his way round the fringe of a ruck and getting the offload off to fly half Ellis Davies who dived over into the Swansea goal area to extend the Cardiff lead once again. Cardiff 27 – 0 Swansea.
Swansea kept fighting however, with the visitors crashing over for a try of their own following some heavy carrying from the pack. Outside half Tal Rees impressively added the extras with a drop kick after seemingly losing his tee. The score with 15 minutes to play Cardiff 27 – 7 Swansea.
As the game came to a close, Swansea seemingly lost their grip on the game, with Cardiff setting up camp in the Swansea twenty two. On his debut, replacement hooker Dylan Line crossed twice to bolster the Cardiff lead, with Tomi Booth adding the extras for both tries. The final score Cardiff 41 – 7 Swansea.
A victorious return to Llanrumney for Cardiff, securing a crucial and emphatic win in the first of four Welsh derbies this season. Next, Cardiff Met in the Cardiff Clash, where Cardiff aim to defend their title as the ‘Kings of Cardiff’ in a packed out Arms Park.
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