Danny Wilson was delighted with his side's professionalism and ruthlessness during tonight's bonus point victory over Zebre.
Cardiff Blues ran in five tries on the night, as they finished the first block of Guinness PRO14 and European fixtures in style, with attention now turning to two weeks of Anglo-Welsh Cup action.
Wilson was pleased to see his side performing in every aspect of the game, and insists it is a crucial victory considering the competitiveness of the PRO14’s Conference A.
“We got what we wanted to get out of it, tonight - it was a bonus point win, which is important for the league, against a side I was really concerned about,” said Wilson.
“I was pleased with our professionalism, our ruthlessness and I think we respected them as well with the gameplan.
“They’ve been playing some good rugby and had some good results.
“A few senior players who were coming back that we’ve been waiting for a long time made a massive difference in terms of leadership and ruthlessness.
“Attack, defence and set piece were all functioning tonight, which gave us the important bonus point win.
Hats off to Gethin Jenkins, considering he hasn’t played since April, he was outstanding. Olly Robinson is another one to mention.
“Overall, it was a pleasing performance but now it’s all eyes to the next one.”
Last season’s fixture between the two sides at Cardiff Arms Park saw the Blues rack up a comfortable 23-3 half time lead, but Zebre fought back to claim a losing bonus point, with a 30-23 final score.
Wilson insists his side learnt lessons from last season’s performance and he was delighted to see the Blues go out with intent to finish the game off in the second half, despite Zebre’s improved performances this season.
Wilson said: “We were two scores up when we played them at home last year, at the end of the season, and didn’t score a try in the second half and they took us down to the wire.
“At half time, we thought what we can do in the next 10 minutes. We wanted to get on the scoreboard and put the game to bed.
“I was pleased we did that with a driving line out early in the second half, which got us away from them a little bit, and then we scored a couple of good tries to finish.
“They’ve been playing some good rugby and had some good results.
“Slowly but surely what we’re seeing now is a side that can play, offload, take gambles and look to move the ball around a little bit.
“At times, their skill let them down a bit tonight, but it certainly wasn’t for a lack of intent.
“It’s a dangerous team to play against. You’ve seen Ulster go there and get unstuck, and they’ve taken a lot of teams to the wire.
“That’s probably the biggest scoreline they’ve had against them in the championship in a long time.
“By being better at slowing the ball down and being phyiscal, it meant we could get width and come with line speed. Their skills were tested because we were accelerating to them, rather than sitting and waiting for them to come to us.”