The capital club made it a hat-trick of “ugly wins” to complete a “fantastic” first block of BKT URC matches.
Cardiff followed up hard-fought victories over Connacht and the Dragons with another grafting triumph as they beat Edinburgh 20-19 at a wet and windy Arms Park.
The down side was the fact that Taulupe Faletau limped off with an injury that put a doubt against his fitness not just for Cardiff this weekend, but also for Wales’ autumn series.
The No.8 suffered a knee injury and on Monday he was withdrawn from the Wales squad for their autumn Tests, with Leicester forward Olly Cracknell being called in as a replacement.
Fly-half Ioan Lloyd was the match-winning hero as he landed a decisive late penalty from just inside the opposition half on his first start of the season.
Van Zyl said: “I am just so chuffed for the boys.
“They put in a great shift to end up on top. It’s very pleasing to see. The resilience of the squad is at a next level. That’s something from within. You can’t coach the fighting spirit of the boys.
“It was a big game and we knew it was going to be a tough battle. We have talked a lot about going into dark places and just enjoying it.
“I know it was tough. You could see the boys were really tired. They stuck in there, and they are just grinding it out. It’s probably our third ugly win in a row. You obviously take it.”
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Second row Josh McNally added: “We’ve talked all year about turning this place into our fortress. It’s a tough place to come and play against us here at the Arms Park.
“I’m just extremely proud of everyone’s efforts. We’ve had a great, fantastic block, and I am just so proud of the way we finished that and got the win there. It was excellent.
“We are sticking to the process and sticking to the things we are doing well, and we fight to the end.”
The Player of the Match award went to flanker Taine Basham, a summer signing from the Dragons.
“I’m loving every single second of it here,” said the openside.
“The boys have welcomed me with open arms, even though I’ve come from a rival club.
“Coming down here and playing at a packed-out Arms Park, there’s nothing better.”
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The game finished three tries apiece, with a sweeping Cardiff counter-attack finished off by wing Josh Adams being the pick of the bunch.
The Welsh derby between the Dragons and the Ospreys at Rodney Parade ended in a 19-19 draw, leaving both camps disappointed.
The hosts narrowly missed out on an elusive league victory for the second time in the opening block of matches, having also drawn with the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Round 2.
Having come from behind to level the scores, they had two late chances to claim a first URC win since they beat the same opponents on the opening day of last season, but fly-half Tinus de Beer was off target with a conversion and a penalty.
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Their Wales back row star, Aaron Wainwright, who was named Player of the Match, said: “It’s very frustrating. It was pretty similar to the Sharks game a few weeks ago.
“We didn’t manage field position too well in the first half. We gave them a couple of easy ins into our 22 and a couple of breakaway tries.
“We came out in the second half and played a little bit more. We got a bit of momentum and a bit more territory and came away with a couple of maul tries.
“The frustrating thing is that we are almost there. I am just very disappointed. We needed a win, we didn’t quite get it, so there’s lots to work on.”
With head coach Filo Tiatia having gone back home to New Zealand for personal reasons, fellow Kiwi Dale MacLeod took the helm on the coaching front for the derby.
He said: “We should have won, but we didn’t quite get it done. We waited too long to get into our work. We had our opportunities, and on any other given day, we probably would have got that, so that’s the tough thing.
“It’s a little bit disappointing. It's fine margins, and if you don’t nail it, it will punish you.
“But I was really proud of the performance in the second half. We showed what we can do when we play footy, so we have just got to do that for 80 minutes.”
“We have just got to keep working hard. It doesn’t come easy. We have probably been on the wrong end for a wee while. It’s just getting that belief. We have just got to keep fighting, and I have no doubt it will come.”
Ospreys head coach Mark Jones - whose team led 19-7 early in the second half - said: “I think it was a really good performance up until about the 55-minute mark.
“We know how difficult a place this is to come, but we had complete control.
“Then there was a ten-minute period where we gave away five penalties, and the momentum shifted. We have to be a little bit better around how we manage ourselves emotionally.
“We are really disappointed. We pulled defeat from the jaws of victory there, for sure.
“Fair play to the Dragons, they stuck to the task and we always know they are a very difficult team when they have momentum.”
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