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Consistency will be key to get season back on track - Williams

First Team News | 14th January 2020


Lloyd Williams insists consistency will be key as Cardiff Blues look to get their season back on track.

John Mulvihill’s side remain in the hunt for a quarter final spot in Europe, but their destiny is out of their own hands after a defeat to Leicester Tigers on Sunday.

The Blues will need to secure maximum points when they welcome Calvisano to the Arms Park on Saturday, while relying on results going their way in other fixtures on the final weekend of pool stage action.

Williams says his side can’t afford to dwell on the defeat to the Tigers, as they look to gain momentum and climb the table in the Guinness PRO14’s Conference B.

“Even if we manage to make it through, this isn’t the way we wanted to qualify,” said the scrum half.

“But we have to move on. We have a home game against Calvisano coming up and, being positive, we did show a lot of good signs against Leicester.

“If we can finish the pool stage with a good performance, it would be great before going back into the PRO14.

“There is still a lot of rugby to be played but unfortunately it’s going to be tough if we are to go through in Europe.

“There is still an opportunity to reach the play-offs in the PRO14 so it’s important that we look ahead to that when this pool stage is over.

“We’ve been playing some good rugby over the last few months and it’s important that we continue to perform well every week.

“It’s unfortunate that we lost a few important players to injury against Leicester and hopefully they’ll be back soon because they’re going to be important over the next months.”

Wales’ Capital Region went into half time with a 14-10 lead at Welford Road, courtesy of tries from Josh Adams and Ben Thomas.

However, the hosts dominated the second half, as man-of-the-match George Ford inspired his side to victory.

The Welsh international says errors cost his side after the break, despite a promising opening 40.

“We just couldn’t get possession in that second half. In the first half we enjoyed a lot of ball and managed to run them around the field quite a bit.

“That worked for us because that’s the type of rugby that we want to be playing.

“But in the second half we lost a few line-outs and missed a few restarts. Those errors in the wrong area of the pitch against a team like Leicester, who like to slow the play down, is going to have an effect on the scoreboard.

"We created a lot in the first half, when we had quite a bit of the ball, but without it Leicester were possibly too physical for us.

“We didn’t want to be defending for 40 minutes, but that’s what happened for us in the second half.”