By Dewi Williams
After trailing by 15 points to 10 at halftime, Cardiff would go on to score four unanswered tries in the second half, securing their 12th win in the Welsh Varsity match since its inception in 1997.
With Cardiff winning both league games between the two sides this season as well as Swansea’s relegation from BUCS Super Rugby, Cardiff entered the game quietly confident.
Swansea came to play however. The first 20 minutes was poor from a Cardiff perspective, with errors and a high penalty count costing the home side. Swansea capitalised off the back of this, with loosehead Morgan James crossing the line two phases after a well worked driving maul early on. Fly half Llew O’Brien converted the try and four minutes later he would bolster Swansea’s lead by another three points, kicking a penalty in front of the sticks. By the tenth minute the score Cardiff 0 – 10 Swansea.
Five minutes later Cardiff hit back, with hooker Dylan Line crashing over off the back of a dominant rolling maul, closing Swansea’s lead to only 5 points. Despite the fightback, Swansea quickly regained that advantage on the scoreboard thanks to a superb solo effort from scrum half Kai Inker. His opposite man would also get on the scoreboard just before the break, with perhaps an even more impressive try. Cardiff scrumhalf Finn Charles smashed into Swansea centre Ieuan Bissell, a man double his size, stopped him in his tracks, ripped the ball, and dived over the whitewash to make the score Cardiff 10 – 15 Swansea at half time.
Cardiff seemed revitalised as the second half got underway, with number 8 Alex Salah crossing the line in the 44th minute after some slick attacking phases. Despite another missed conversion, Cardiff found themselves back in the game at 15 – 15. Momentum swung back and forth in the following ten minutes, but as Cardiff piled on the pressure, Swansea’s defence began to break down. Following a yellow card to Swansea flanker Oliver Lewis for slowing the ball down, Cardiff found themselves five meters out from the tryline. After a few heavy phases up front, the ball made its way out wide to winger Mason Archer who touched down in the corner. The score at the hour mark stood at Cardiff 20 – 15 Swansea.
The game opened up in the last 20 minutes, with Cardiff taking advantage of the tiring Swansea defence. From their own twenty-two Cardiff quickly made their way up the field with a perfectly measured chip and chase from replacement Ellis Davies getting the home side up to the Swansea 10-meter line. Once again, the ball found itself out wide in Mason Archer’s hands and he ran it in down the touchline for another score in the 68th minute. Cardiff 25 – 15 Swansea.
The last try of the game came from the Cardiff twenty-two once again, with the Cardiff backs getting the ball out to winger Elis Bird who kicked the ball downfield. Ellis Davies gave chase and managed to gather the ball, diving ceremoniously over the Swansea tryline. Cardiff finally managed to convert one of their tries thanks to the efforts of Charlie Brook, and as the full-time whistle blew the score stood at Cardiff 32 – 15 Swansea.
After a scintillating match in which Cardiff scored six tries, they lifted the cup once again this year in front of a packed-out Arms Park. Credit to Swansea who were full of grit and effort, but the fitter Cardiff side managed to gain the ascendancy in the latter stages. A positive end to the season for Cardiff, with a hard-fought performance securing the win for the capital’s men at this years Welsh Varsity match.
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY RUGBY 