by Tomos Smallwood
Cardiff were narrowly defeated by cross-city rivals Cardiff Met 29-31 after an enthralling contest at the Arms Park.
Cardiff, the ‘home’ side, got off to the worst possible start, as Met winger Toby Lock gathered up a kick from full back Isaac Marsh to dive over the tryline just two minutes into the match. Fly half Vikas Meijer converted the extra points to give the Archers a 0-7 lead.
Just seven minutes later, Met extended their lead. This time it was the turn of their other winger, Dylan Scott to bag himself a try, diving over the line in the opposite corner. Meijer would miss the following conversion to leave the score at 0-12.
All the early momentum was with Cardiff Met who continued to punish the home side’s poor start. Fourteen minutes in Met scrum half Maxime van Hilst scored the Archers’ third try of the evening, another missed conversion leaving the score at 0-17.
It wasn’t just the scoreline that was concerning for Cardiff after the first fifteen minutes. Both captain Finn Charles and full back Tomi Booth had to be substituted after suffering injuries.
In the 23rd minute however, Cardiff found themselves right back in the game following a try from winger Mason Archer and a conversion from fly half Harrison James. Three minutes later after a short period of sustained pressure, Cardiff had another try with hooker Isaac Buck forcing himself over the line, setting up another James conversion that would cut the lead to just three points, 17-14.
In the 33rd minute, Cardiff would complete their first half comeback thanks to a James penalty, and no further scores would mean that after a frantic first half the two sides went into the break level, 17-17.
Following a cagey opening to the second half, it was Met who would reestablish their lead in the 53rd minute. Number 8 Ed Bachelor breaking resilient Cardiff defence on the 5-meter line, followed by Meijer adding the extras to put the Archers 7 in front, 24-17.
Five minutes later Met had the opportunity to extend their lead to 10 via a penalty roughly 35 yards out. Meijer would miss the kick, prompting one of the biggest cheers of the evening from the Cardiff supporters, they were still in the game.
In the 67th minute Cardiff drew level once again. A smart finish in the corner by replacement Jack Thomas and an impressive conversion by Harrison James, set up a tense final 10 minutes in a game that could go either way.
71 minutes in however, Cardiff Met would take the lead again. Joe Lloyd scoring a try off the bench and a Meijer conversion meant that Cardiff had just nine minutes to score a converted try to draw, requiring two scores in order to win.
In the 75th minute Cardiff had their chance. Another Thomas try in the corner brought the hosts within two points of once again levelling the score. However, Harrison James’ converting kick drifting agonisingly wide meant that Cardiff would need one more score from the final five minutes.
The following Met kick off going dead gave Cardiff a huge chance, however, resolute Met defence and a huge turnover with the clock in the red secured a huge 29-31 victory for the Archers after a brilliant game of rugby.
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