By David Williams
“He must have taken a knock to the head, mate,” was the blunt assessment made by John Mulvihill of the experienced rugby writer who suggested Cardiff Blues were now the weakest of Wales’ four regions.
That was 48 hours before the re-start of the Guinness Pro 14, but having conceded five tries in a one-sided, 32-12 defeat to a Scarlets team that rarely needed to get out of third gear, the Sunday morning headache probably belongs to the Blues’ head coach.
The Scarlets are the strongest of Wales’ four teams and have been for some time, but if the Blues have not slipped behind the Dragons and the Ospreys they did little to disprove that theory in their first game back.
For those who take pleasure in the Blues’ struggles – and there are many whose irrational dislike begins and ends with the fact they are the capital region – there was a reassuring sight after just four minutes of their players lining up under their own posts.
They conceded four more tries and although Mulvihill’s team scored two themselves, the Scarlets were easing up from the moment they confirmed their bonus point with half an hour to go.
The Australian was as succinct in his assessment of his own players as he had been on Thursday.
“They won the first-half 15-7 and the second 17-5. We were second best all game,” admitted Mulvihill.
“Five tries to two was a fair reflection of the game, although I felt the game lacked the real intensity of a Welsh derby. It had the feel of a pre-season friendly and we made too many errors.
“We came down here expecting to put up a better performance and win. Three of their tries were very soft and we have got a lot of work to do in a number of areas.”
For the Scarlets, this was as comfortable and as gentle as it gets if they wanted a decent work-out for themselves a month away from their European Challenge Cup quarter-final clash in Toulon.
They carried more power up front, more of a cutting edge behind, had far stronger resources to bring off the bench, and made many fewer mistakes.
Their head coach, Glenn Delaney was satisfied with their re-entry to planet rugby and in particular with the level of sharpness shown by wing Steff Evans, who scored two tries.
The heavens have opened, and so have the floodgates 🍾@scarlets_rugby go from one try line to the other in lightning speed with Johnny McNicholl finishing it off 🍾
🇬🇧 Watch Live Now on @PremierSportsTV
🇮🇪 Watch Live Now on @eirSport#GuinnessPRO14 #SCAvCBL pic.twitter.com/dMjXfUtoqj— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) August 22, 2020
“We can go to Toulon and win, especially with someone like Steff Evans scoring tries like that. It is not an easy place to go and win, but we only need half a chance,” said Delaney.
“We have got a massive game against the Dragons next week. It’s a hard place to play and they have rebuilt very well. We have to get that right first and then we can focus on Toulon.”
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac was back on home turf watching his former side demolish the Blues, but he didn’t have much to smile about by the end.
In the space of three minutes around the interval he saw his top two scrum halves both leave the field with injuries. First to depart was Gareth Davies at the end of the first half and then, looking far more serious, was the Blues’ No.9 Tomos Williams.
Davies limped out of the game with a bruised backside after going down in a heavy tackle, while Williams left the fray with his left arm rolled in his shirt after injuring his shoulder after a brilliant break.
Big call.. tough decision 👀@steffevs09 shows great persistence to chase his chip and somehow manages to get his hand on it 🤯
Would you have given that to him?
🇬🇧 Watch Live Now on @PremierSportsTV
🇮🇪 Watch Live Now on @eirSport#GuinnessPRO14 #SCAvCBL pic.twitter.com/h9Vy946lIc— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) August 22, 2020
Mulvihill claimed Williams didn’t suffer any structural damage, while Delaney explained the sensitive nature of Davies’ complaint.
“Gareth is a power player and for those who understand where the power comes from he got an injury in the posterior area. He got a knock there and effectively his leg shut down because of bruising in a sensitive area,” said Delaney.
The Blues now head to Rodney Parade next weekend for a ‘home’ clash with the Ospreys, while the Scarlets will also be going to Newport to meet the Dragons.
One player who won’t be making that trip to play will be the Wales and British & Irish Lions centre Jonathan Davies. The recently married star was back in training last week after recovering from knee reconstruction and is ready to build from there.
“When he is ready he will come back, but not before. We’ll take it step by step with him, but we were very pleased to see him back in training last week,” added Delaney.
