Reporter: Tomos Smallwood
Cardiff University secured a sensational 38-14 over cross-city rivals Cardiff Met in the much-anticipated Cardiff Clash at the Arms Park. The win was Cardiff’s first triumph over Met since the 24/25 season. This victory, Cardiff’s first of the season, has seen Chris Davies’ side rise to 6th position in the table.
Given the entertaining nature of this intercity rivalry, it should come as no surprise that it only took until the 7 minute mark before the game sparked into life. Fly-half Llew O’Brien intercepted a looping pass from Met inside his own 22, before sprinting the length of the field to secure Cardiff’s first score of the contest, adding the extras himself to give Cardiff a 7-0 lead.
After a small lull in the action, as both sides looked to stamp their authority on the contest, it was Cardiff who would deal the next blow. On the 23 minute mark, both flankers would combine as a brilliant Max Truby offload allowed Felix Godet to dive over the line, affording the ‘home’ side a two score lead, O’Brien with another simple conversion to leave Met 14 points adrift.
Met bounced back as you’d expect, and just 3 minutes later it was the Archers’ turn to get on the scoreboard. A Matt Bonds grubber deep into Cardiff’s 22 followed by a strong chase led to a turnover in Met’s favour just 5 meters from the line. Hooker Jamie Longyear would be the one to get the ball down over the line, Bonds, the man who started the move, converting to cut Cardiff’s lead in half. The score would remain at 14-7 until the break.
Almost immediately after the whistle went to signal the start of the second 40, Met were back on level terms. Captain Arthur Moore forced his way over the line after several phases on Cardiff’s 5 metre line. Another conversion from Potts left the score at 14 all with 42 minutes gone.
Not to be deterred, Cardiff soon found themselves back in front. Following a penalty that the hosts opted to kick to the corner, the maul from the resulting lineout saw the Cardiff pack crash over the line, with no.8 Owen Popple being the man to get the ball down. Another O’Brien conversion reinstated Cardiff’s 7 point lead with 49 minutes on the clock, 21-14.
10 minutes later, Cardiff were afforded a golden opportunity to extend their lead, winning a penalty in a kickable position. The home side would opt to scrum, a surprising decision as Met had recently won a scrum against the head. However, it would prove to be a masterstroke as Cardiff would score their 4th try of the game soon after. A brilliant pass from scrum-half Finn Charles was collected by winger Jack Jones who powered through two desperate attempts to force him into of touch to bag himself a sensational finish in the corner. The first missed kick of the contest left the score at 26-14.
In the 64th minute Met thought they had found their way back into the game once more as a brutal maul powered over the line. However, valiant defence from Cardiff saw the ball held up, and Met denied a lifeline.
As the clock ticked into the final 10 minutes, Cardiff once again won a penalty that could easily be converted into 3 points. However, once again Cardiff would not opt to go for the posts, this time choosing to kick for the corner. Less than a minute later, Jack Thomas collected a Dan Buffrey cross-field kick to extend Cardiff’s lead to 31-14.
Replacement prop Ethan Jones would round off a stellar performance, powering over the line with the clock in the red to secure a 6th try on the night and a special victory for Cardiff.
