What a glorious day it was on Wednesday, the perfect occasion for rugby. The crowd was packed, songs sung either side of the field by passionate support. And what a spectacle of rugby union were we treated to. The finale score of 32-15 seems like Cardiff were dominant throughout but is that the whole story?
Swansea led at half-time 15-10, Cardiff unable to convert any points off the tee. A brilliant steal and then try by Finn Charles in the 40th minute brought the home side within one score at the break.
But the real story of that half was Swansea’s defence. Cardiff pushed and pushed but were held up on multiple occasions, turned over, and out-mauled. It seemed to be clinical defence, desperate, but borderline perfect.
The old question of does running rugby beat a set piece game was presented with a seemingly clear answer after the first 40. Swansea were on top, and they were fired up. James Price, the Swansea captain was having a stormer of a match, and his halfback pairing of Kai Inker and Llew O’Brien performed excellently under pressure as well as played such a good tactical game.
The first half felt like a real battle between two old enemies
However, Cardiff’s Tomi Booth at 10, Finn Charles at 9, and Charlie Brook at fullback kept their side alive, including really clever tactical kicking to force Swansea back and presses the gainline. Booth’s 50-22 whilst turning showed where Cardiff were best - the open play boot. They found touch easier and made more distance, partially because of the wind in the first half.
Yet Swansea had an advantage at scrum time, winning a penalty and generating ground in that department. Surely the scrum could bring them back into the game? This ended up turning on its head, and all of a sudden the running team was set piece dominant. Cengarle, and Twigg were excellent in this facet, with Twigg even putting through a nifty kick gaining much territory. The first half felt like a real battle between two old enemies. Swansea had the advantage but the pressure was slowly enveloping them, their defence stretched over and over and at some point it had to break. But throughout the first half they held strong, pressuring Cardiff, taking sensible kicking options including 3 points (one of only two kicks to go through the posts the entire match).
In particular, Kai Inker’s ability around the ruck gave his side great encouragement, his early try with a quick chip and chase over Brook to regather and score and showed how red hot Swansea could be with momentum in their favour. Repeated efforts fell short but so did Cardiff’s. Swansea looked more solid throughout the first half and it could be said they seemed more confident, or fired up, maybe due to the energy and anger from being relegated out of BUCS Super Rugby for next season. Whatever it was, Cardiff seemed to be the lesser team heading in at the break, Swansea were dominant.
However, with 40 remaining, Cardiff ran back onto the field and went on the charge. Twenty-two unanswered points, four tries. Dylan line at hooker (and later in the back row) had a remarkable game, and could have deserved man of the match. Captain Billy Moxey went over in a powerful push, displaying that his place was not only his leadership but also his ability as an 8th man. But Mason Archer’s scores in the corner came from the back off pure brilliance all round. Cardiff’s lineout was also solid, making steals and keeping the pressure on Swansea.
It felt that the men in green had no chance to score, Cardiff’s defence had improved and their spirit was through the roof. Ruck after ruck, tackle after tackle, those wearing red could see clearly that they were on their way to another victory and there was nothing Swansea could do about it.
Those wearing red could see clearly that they were on their way to another victory
The tackle on Archer to stop a certain try and instead holding up was incredible by Swansea but it was too little in the long run. Gaps started appearing on the short side and Cardiff started running through it. Tom Unsworth made a great break to advance into the 22 from the 10 before being brought down by frantic defence. Despite leading at the start, Swansea always felt like they were chasing the game, and it most certainly escaped their clutches. Ellis Davies had a fantastic match when he came onto the field, acting as both the first and second receiver, doing well defensively but also on fire on the attack. His running lines were excellent and game management pinpoint. But praise, and quite a lot of it, should be directed to Finn Charles. His energy and his heads-up rugby brought Cardiff back into the game. His try gave his side half-time momentum, and his passing kept the going again and again, always looking for the wide channel and metres you couldn’t predict. Letting his forwards carry into contact gave him the space to launch the backs with dynamic shapes, as well as going himself at times.
Luke Rowley also did a great job at scrum half but to me Charles was the best player of the match, even more so than Dylan Line. Where Cardiff spotted gaps, miss-passes and attacking balls were thrown with total confidence, and they usually worked. Even if they only gained 5 metres it still added to the Swansea pressure, which eventually capitulated in dramatic fashion. Oliver Lewis’ yellow card summed up what went wrong - frustration led to mistakes, leading to foul play and penalties.
Cardiff are deserving winners, across all three rugby matches and the wider varsity. The men’s team did the university proud, pushing their opponent back when under pressure, and coming through to get on top and defeat Swansea despite initially trailing.
Cardiff are deserving winners, across all three rugby matches
The skill displayed from both sides was impressive, but Cardiff truly were at their best when they were flying.