It will be a season of transition at Cardiff Blues, no longer able to call on Sam Warburton and no longer coached by Danny Wilson. Robin Davey suggests, however, that their upward trend may well continue after some notable recruits and an increasing strength in key positions.
Cardiff Blues finally delivered last season, when, after years in the wilderness, they ended the season in a blaze of glory by winning the European Challenge Cup final.
The challenge for the new season will be to build on that, particularly in the Guinness Pro 14. And new head coach John Mulvihill admits expectations will be high as a result of their European success.
The amiable Australian replaces Danny Wilson, now with Scotland, at the helm and he is well aware of the task facing him. But he’s undaunted and says: “Cardiff Blues is a massive region and if we look back over recent history, it’s probably under-achieved a little bit.
“Expectations will be quite high after that Challenge Cup win at the end of last year. But our ambition is to do much better in the league (the Blues finished fourth last season), that’s our bread and butter.”
The team could hardly have a tougher start to the campaign, though, as their opening fixture on Friday night just happens to be against European champions Leinster.
The Irish aces will be without a number of their star players, traditionally rested for the early fixtures, but they’ve shown time and again the quality of their squad.
After that the Blues head to Italy where they face successive fixtures against Benetton and Zebre, then head back home for games against Munster and Cheetahs to finish September.
Mulvihill stresses the importance of getting off on the right foot.
“It’s important we hit the ground running, get some home wins and try to build on the momentum we had at the end of last year,” he says.
“We lost five or six last year which put us out of contention and we finished fourth. Our guys have got a burning desire to finish better than that, we need to turn up and win.”
And just to whet the fans’ appetite, major new signing Samu Manoa rocked up at the Arms Park this week.
The powerhouse forward will complement another big man, Nick Williams, so the Blues shouldn’t be short of ball-carriers.
Manoa became a cult figure at Northampton where he won the player of the year, the players’ player of the year and the supporters’ player of the year awards in 2014.
Back row will be a highly congested area for the Blues this season despite the enforced retirement of former Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton.
Ellis Jenkins was named co-captain of the Wales team on their summer tour for the matches against South Africa and Argentina. He is a terrific prospect and is already being tipped as a future Wales skipper.
Josh Navidi emerged as an outstanding figure who made the breakthrough for Wales before he had to pull out of the tour because he dislocated a shoulder in the Challenge Cup final and Olly Robinson this week won the inaugural Guinness Pro 14 tackle machine title after completing a tackle rate of 94.6.
On top of that, there are those ball-carriers Williams and Manoa while Josh Turnbull has proved many times what a whole-hearted player he is.
Among the backs, outside-half Jarrod Evans will aim to build on an outstanding season when he looked a real prospect, Gareth Anscombe will seek to further his international credentials, while centres Rey Lee-Lo and Willie Halaholo could be a big threat.
Rory Thornton will also boost the lock department after joining the Blues on loan from the Ospreys, while perhaps best of all, prop Dillon Lewis is set for a big season after impressing on Wales’ summer tour.
So there is every prospect the Blues will challenge for top honours in the new season when they will enjoy the presence of an extra fan – Warburton.
He will walk out on to the Arms Park pitch at half-time on Friday night when he will surely be given a huge reception by the crowd.
“I want to thank the fans for the genuinely overwhelming support I’ve received since my retirement,” he said.
“I’ll be at Cardiff Arms Park all season and for the rest of my days as a fan.”
If the Blues can overcome Leinster on Friday night and start the season on a high, there is every chance of them fulfilling Mulvihill’s ambitions and meeting those expectations.
