“Intent” the Focus as Cardiff Look Ahead to Nottingham

By Jacob Boothroyd

Cardiff may have fallen 21–43 to Durham in their third outing of the season, but the tone after the match was one of honesty, belief and a clear focus on what comes next. Players and staff were united in two things: the effort never drops, and intent must now match that work rate from the first whistle.

Head coach Chris Davies was quick to underline the commitment within the group: “As always, this Cardiff University team has bags of effort,” he said, reflecting the visible work rate across the squad. But against a sharp and determined Durham side, the early stages proved costly.

“We didn’t manage the game well and lost the ball too many times. We couldn’t gain any territory,” Davies admitted. He credited the visitors’ mindset, “Durham was a hurt beast — they came here with intent to play and intent to win. And that was the difference.”

What he wants to see now is Cardiff putting their own stamp on games. “We were happy managing that intent and not having any intent of our own,” he said. “The word intent and energy need to come to the forefront now.”

Even so, the performance grew as the match went on. Cardiff found better flow in attack, and the momentum shifted late in the first half when scrum-half Finn Charles crossed for a try that lifted the group.

Charles spoke with the same honesty as his coach but remained positive about the squad’s commitment.

“We’re always 100% effort,” he said, “but we’ve not been good enough in other aspects of the game today.” He acknowledged that it took time to settle. “It was difficult for any of us to get into the game today and it’s something we’ll have to work on in the week.”

Looking ahead, the squad now turn their attention to the week ahead.

“The games don’t get any easier and we’ve got Nottingham away next week,” he said. “We’ve got to build confidence and take the positives from today and also the learnings.”

Charles was grounded but optimistic.

“Notts are always a fast team, a physical team,” he said. “We’ll have to improve our discipline and work harder to get on the better side of the ball.”