Cardiff RFC, who ended the regular season magnificently, claiming top spot, battled through to claim a Super Rygbi Cymru semi-final spot against Carmarthen Quins at the Cardiff Arms Park.
Outside-half Harri Wilde scored twice and kicked 12 points from the tee, and was accompanied by Elijah Evans, who also claimed a brace. The pair were also joined by tries from Ethan Lloyd, Dewi Cross, and Lucas de la Rua as Cardiff topped off Nathan Hudd’s 100th appearance for the club with a 50-33 triumph.
Speaking after the game, head coach Dan Fish said: “Delighted to get the win.
“It was a patchy, sticky game. Some parts of the game we played very well, and other parts we lost that little bit of control.
“Overall, really pleased to come away with the win.
Player of the Match and centurion Hudd added: “Really honoured to get 100 appearances for the club.
“It means so much to me, really. It’s been a milestone on my list for a long time, and really proud to do it at home as well.
“The game was a bit end-to-end, really. We could have put it away in the first-half, but we let them back in.
“Credit to Carmarthen, they stuck at it, and made it a really good contest.”
Story of The Game
With the Cardiff Arms Park having a Mediterranean feel and the warmth of the sun drenching the Welsh capital, it was time for some SRC knockout action.
Steffan Jac Jones got proceedings underway and, within minutes, had an opportunity to open the scoring but had his attempt go wide following the hosts being penalised around the breakdown.
The Quins were then penalised around halfway, and Wilde put the Blue and Blacks on the front foot after a great kick. Then more ill discipline from the visitors followed, but winger Evans was unable to gather a cross-field kick by Wilde.
Returning Tom Williams broke through and offloaded to blind-side Ben Fry, which was followed by Wilde racing over to break the deadlock. The outside-half slotted the extras, which meant he has now passed 200 points for Cardiff RFC.
The Blue and Blacks then showcased brilliant defending to stop the Quins from scoring, a theme of the opening quarter. Minutes later, Wilde secured himself a brace after a brilliant break and offload by Osian Darwin-Lewis.
However, after three consecutive penalties, Rhodri Davies took one quickly and crossed from close range for the visitors’ opening score. Outside-half Jac Jones added the extras to reduce the deficit to seven points after 25 minutes.
Loose-head Ioan Emanuel made a timely and effective break through the Quins’ defence, as scrum-half Lloyd eventually gathered to score the hosts’ third and his fourth of the season.
Wilde added the extras, which reclaimed the Blue and Blacks’ 14-point lead. Then, after some brilliant attacking intent from the hosts, winger Evans crossed after the 30-minute mark.
This was followed by Darwin-Lewis pouncing on a loose ball following the Quins losing possession around their 22, as he offloaded to Cross to score his fifteenth try of the season.
Despite continuous pressure as the first opening 40 came to its conclusion, Lewys Millin scored from close range for the visitors as Cardiff led 33-14 at the interval.
HT: Cardiff 33-14 Carmarthen Quins
Wilde got the second-half underway, and within the third quarter, there were lengthy pauses in play as both Tom Howe and Jac Howells received treatment.
Then Scarlets’ Ioan Nicholas crossed after breaking up the touchline to score the Quins’ third from the breakdown. That was quickly followed by winger Evans brilliantly scoring his second of the contest in the corner, and from an acute angle Wilde added the extras.
Before the hour mark, Tomos Williams raced over to score the visitors’ fourth of the contest, and despite Jac Jones’ attempt hitting the left upright, the Quins began to reduce the deficit.
That deficit, however, grew larger, as back-row forward de la Rua powerfully crossed over the whitewash. Replacement Iestyn Wood in the closing exchanges crossed for the visitors’ fifth as Jac Jones added the extras to bring them to within 15-points.
However, Lloyd Lucas calmly added three points from the tee to bring the Blue and Blacks up to the half-century mark, which secured Cardiff a semi-final spot next weekend at the Cardiff Arms Park.
FT: Cardiff 50-33 Carmarthen Quins