Richard Hodges was proud of how his side over-came their first half ill-discipline to bounce back and claim a Boxing Day win over east Wales rivals, Dragons.
After the hosts had led for most of the game at Rodney Parade, Josh Turnbull’s late try proved decisive as Cardiff Blues kicked off the festive period with a single-point victory.
However, the defensive coach was pleased with the visitors’ overall performance as they soaked up a lot of pressure in the earlier stages to continue their winning streak over Dragons.
“It’s more of a relief, having been behind on the scoreboard until the 68th minute but we managed to get in front,” said Hodges.
“Conditions during the first half were terrible and Dragons had the benefit of those, but we hung tough especially with the penalty count going against us early on.
“But we problem-solved really well and dealt with the areas of the game where we were getting penalised - around the line-out and around the offsides.
“I think the penalty count after 30 minutes was around 15-4 against them, so we were happy with the problem solving and then it was down to an attritional battle up front.
“Our pack got going, our maul got going and we got a couple of scrum penalties.
“We had five internationals on the bench who had the impact that we required because we took the lead in the 68th minute and, if I’m honest, we didn’t look like losing it from then.
“I thought, as long as they didn’t go two scores ahead, that we’d be able to to crawl it back in if we had the elements in the second half.
“Obviously, in true Cardiff Blues form, we came back out for the second half and the wind and rain were gone and it’s almost like an autumnal game.
“Tomos came on and did well and Lloyd Williams was excellent in the first half with his kicking game off both feet.
“Defensively we managed to swallow them up quite well but we just didn’t manage to get any territory or possession in the first half in those conditions.
“In the second half managed to do that and it was a good win in the end.”
Next up for Cardiff Blues is a New Year’s Day clash against Ospreys, who suffered a narrow defeat against Scarlets in Llanelli this evening.
However, Hodges expects another close and tough encounter against an ever-improving Ospreys side under Toby Booth.
“I think the scoreline last year was 16-12 at a packed out Arms Park, and it was similar tonight. That’s the way it goes in a derby game and there’s an awfully lot on the line,” added the former Wales under-20 coach.
“You don’t tend to see an awful lot of expansive rugby when these two sides come together unfortunately but we got across the line away from home and have the Ospreys and Scarlets to come in the New Year.
“But we’ll enjoy tonight and then focus on the Ospreys from tomorrow.
“Ospreys are massively improving under Toby Booth. When we played them at Rodney Parade post lockdown, he’d only been there for a couple of weeks.
“But they have key players back like Kieran Williams, George North and Justin Tipuric so we’ll have a good look at them over the next couple of days.
“We’ll be ready on New Year’s Day and ready to go.”