A dominant second-half performance saw Cardiff RFC hand Llandovery RFC their heaviest defeat of the season in a 45-14 triumph at a chilly Church Bank.
Player of the Match Osian Darwin-Lewis brilliantly claimed a brace, whilst Dewi Cross, Tom Bowen, Joe Goodchild, Ben Fry, and Aled Ward all scored as Cardiff extended their Super Rygbi Cymru winning streak.
“That’s our seventh win in a row in the league,” said head coach Dan Fish, after his side claimed another six-point bonus-point on their travels.
“Like I spoke about before the game, we just want to keep building on performances. We’ve got a lot of young, talented players in there, with a lot of very good semi-pro players.
“Everyone’s on different journeys, but as soon as they put that Blue and Black jersey on, everyone plays for the same thing.
“As you can see tonight, 1-23 stick together, and obviously, the rest of the squad that wasn’t here, they’re obviously a bigger part of this win than anybody else.
“I’ve always said from day one, it’s going to take a squad performance. The more depth we build in the squad, the more difficult we’re going to be to play against.
“As you can see now, we’re starting to build that depth, and starting to get those results.”
Story of the Game:
With the occasional late sunshine breaking through on a cold spring afternoon in Carmarthenshire, it was Harri Wilde who got proceedings underway.
It wasn’t long before Cardiff broke the deadlock, and this came following Jack Maynard missing a penalty kick minutes into the contest.
From some distance, after winger Bowen gathered possession aerially, the ball was spread out wide with Matty Young continuing to put the Blue and Blacks on the front-foot.
The fullback offloaded to Cross, who drew the defender to allow Darwin-Lewis to race up the touchline to score his fifth try of the season.
Despite the outside-half not adding the extras, the contest soon worsened for the hosts. The Drovers on the 15-minute mark found themselves down to 14-men, following George Macdonald’s reckless tip tackle on inside-centre Steffan Emanuel.
With that said, somehow soon after the hosts took the lead at the end of the first quarter. Rhodri Jones found Harri Doel, who then found Tomi Lewis, who scored. Maynard added the extras as Llandovery went into a 7-5 lead.
Open-side Nathan Hudd, who in his short cameo at Church Bank was incredibly influential in the Blue and Blacks’ defence, was then replaced after 22 minutes by Ward.
The Drovers’ lead was then doubled minutes later. After some pressure with ball in hand, former Dragons player Adam Warren crossed over with Maynard adding the extras.
Cardiff then found themselves down to 14-men as well, with blind-side Ben Fry being sent off for ten minutes following an infringement inside the Blue and Blacks’ 22.
Soon after, Bowen broke in the wide channels and offloaded back on the inside for Darwin-Lewis to score his second of the contest from yet more impressive distance.
Wilde added the extras this time, which reduced the deficit to two points before the 30-minute mark. Then, after undeservedly trailing for large parts of the opening 40 minutes, the Blue and Blacks soon scored their third of the contest.
After Wilde put the visitors metres from Llandovery’s whitewash, the ball was brilliantly picked up by Cross, who stepped to his outside to claim his 12th try of the season.
Wilde added the extras, and despite scoring, Cross’s evening was cut short, being replaced by Joe Goodchild minutes before the interval.
HT: Llandovery 14-19 Cardiff
After making only the one substitution at half-time with Tom Howe replacing hooker Alun Rees, Cardiff soon extended their advantage.
Wilde once again put the visitors in a threatening attacking position, which came from breaking through the hosts’ defence. Then, after some brilliant handling from both Wilde and scrum-half Ethan Lloyd, it allowed Bowen to score and secure the Blue and Blacks a bonus-point.
Almost immediately after scoring, winger Bowen then found himself off for ten minutes after being yellow-carded for competing in the air. However, with the extra man advantage, Llandovery were unable to capitalise.
And frustratingly for the hosts, the ruthlessness of the Blue and Blacks’ attack was not holding back. This is because, as Wilde regathered possession following a kick over the top, the ball was spread to the outside as replacement Goodchild finished with a picturesque score in the corner.
Cardiff continued to dominate in the wide channels, and moments later, their lead grew greater. After replacement, Joe Williams broke deep into the hosts’ 22; once again, the ball was spread quickly out wide for blind-side Fry to score his sixth of the season.
In the closing exchanges, Wilde kept the ball alive after offloading to Ward, who stepped back on his inside and raced over for the Blue and Blacks’ seventh and his first try of the season.
Despite hunting for their eighth try and with the clock in the red, the hosts brought an end to proceedings as Cardiff claimed the spoils outstandingly at Church Bank.
For Fish’s side, it’s now a quick five-day turnaround as they host Newport RFC next Thursday at the Cardiff Arms Park in the Blue and Blacks’ final home match of the regular SRC season (KO: 19:30).
FT: Llandovery 14-45 Cardiff