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Patchell: Use Toulon scalp as springboard

19th October 2013


Rhys Patchell insisted Cardiff Blues must use the epic 19-15 victory over champions Toulon as a springboard for success as the home side claimed the biggest scalp in European rugby.

Fly half Patchell landed a monster early penalty from inside his own half as inspired Blues claimed the most memorable of victories on home soil in dramatic fashion.

Blues responded to the painful defeat in Exeter last weekend by shocking the French giants with a late try from Gareth Davies that will go down in folklore with home fans.

And a delighted Patchell insisted Blues must now continue to look forward and build on the display.

“That’s a big old result,” smiled Patchell. “Regardless of where you play them, it’s a heck of a team to beat.

“This isn’t the end of the road, we have to use this as a springboard to go to the nasty places you don’t want to go to and pick up results.

“You fight tooth and nail and I think that’s the big thing, we know we can compete and it’s about putting that out on the field on a weekly basis.

“Many people wrote us off as no hopers today. Low and behold we stuck at it and 75 minutes into the game the dam breaks. It was a credit to the boys that they stuck at it for that long.

“We were hurting from last week and we knew we were a better side than what we showed for the first 15 minutes. We showed a lot of dog and determination.

“People might have written us off when Toulon went six points ahead, but fair play to the boys, they dug deep and Gareth Davies, like a leaping salmon, gets himself over and knocks over a conversion.

“Then it’s all hands to the pump and we held on for probably the best win I have ever been involved in, in terms of age grade, sevens, everything.”

Patchell was also delighted with his long range penalty that set the tone for Blues in the opening minutes adding: “We have a big mantra of sweeter not harder; I know that I can hit the ball half decent and fortunately enough it carried today.

“There are certain days where it drops short and the crowd must all be thinking: Who is this clown, thinking he has a sixty yard penalty? Today, fortunately enough, it dropped the right side of the bar for us.”