By Tomos Smallwood
Both head coach Chris Davies and fly-half Harrison James spoke highly of the atmosphere generated by Cardiff Uni Rugby’s home supporters as the hosts ran out 31 – 24 winners in a crucial game against Leeds Beckett in Llanrumney.
Reacting to his side’s first win since the opening day Chris Davies was keen to focus on the work rate and morale of the players.
“We all believe in the boys, and they put massive effort into this game and they do every game, but I think the difference in this game was the intent and the belief,” Davies continued, “It’s so pleasing to see them come off the pitch smiling first and foremost and coming away with that win as well”.
Davies was also keen to sing the praises of those who have come out to support Cardiff this season.
“They (the fans) are unreal, aren’t they? They travel to away games as well and they’re a pretty special bunch.”
“It’s a great rugby club,” Davies added, “The noise levels, the togetherness, it’s a great feeling to be here at Cardiff University, and it’s a great feeling for the boys to have that support on the sidelines”.
Looking ahead to his side’s trip to league leaders Exeter in two weeks’ time, Davies spoke about how his team would prepare.
“We’re going to give them a week off and let them recover. We’ve got a big injury list at the moment so before we hit Exeter, we’re just going to take some time to reflect and try and hit the ball running when we get back in”.
Fly-Half Harrison James spoke about what he believed made the difference in Cardiff’s favour during the game.
“We started really well; there’s a few things that we could work on. Discipline has had a major impact on us lately, we let them into our half too easily, but the boys brought the physicality this week which we lacked last week so that’s the main difference”.
James also discussed the importance of the victory to the fans.
“The last few years we’ve struggled to get some wins to be honest, but when we get the wins here, we’ve got to give it to them really, they love it”. James continued, “They come every week, they’re loyal, so we’ve got to give them some support. When you can hear it on the sideline it does help us a lot”.
Looking ahead to the next challenge against Exeter, James spoke of the quality of the opposition: “They are top of the league at the moment, and we know they’re a strong outfit; they’ve got loads of quality boys”.
Finishing on a determined note, James concluded: “We’ve just got to take it to them really, like we did today. Bring physicality and catch them cold if we can”.
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