Cardiff Blues 24 – 13 Aironi Rugby
Cardiff Blues beat Aironi Rugby on Friday night but they were made to work far harder than they would have liked for their 18-13 victory in the Magners League.
The Blues backed up their New Year’s Eve triumph over the Ospreys with another much-needed win but the performance failed to match the intensity of the first-half blitz against their bitter rivals.
The Italian newcomers arrived in the Welsh capital looking for their first-ever Magners League win and they came close to achieving it in memorable style.
Had it not been for some profligate goalkicking from full back Julien Laharrague and fly-half James Marshall, Aironi could have been celebrating one of the League’s biggest shocks.
The Blues will undoubtedly be disappointed with their overall performance but the win does see them jump up into third place in the Magners League standings, just two points behind second-placed Leinster and with a game in hand.
It’s a marked improvement on last season, when the Blues’ chances of a Play-Off place appeared all but over at this time of the year before a stunning late run took them to within a point of the top four.
But while the Blues did achieve the major objective of picking up the four points they needed to climb back into a Play-Off spot, the fact that they failed to bag a try-scoring bonus point could have repercussions later in the campaign.
It had all looked so promising for the Blues as far as that try-scoring bonus was concerned when Leigh Halfpenny crossed for the first try with the game just seven minutes old.
The Wales flyer latched on to a grubber kick after the bounce had evaded a whole host of players from both sides to give the Blues just the start they would have wanted.
With Ceri Sweeney having kicked a third-minute penalty, the Blues were 8 points to the good, with the Cardiff City Stadium hoping that the flood gates would then open.
But it didn’t happen. The Blues did score again in the closing stages of the first-half when Rhys Tomas emerged from the bottom of a driving lineout after Fabio Ongaro’s yellow card had reduced Aironi to 14 men 30 seconds earlier, but that was as good as it got.
A 25th-minute converted score from Gareth Krause had brought Aironi to within a single point at 8-7, and although Thomas’ try gave the Blues a 15-7 lead, it remained close throughout the 80 minutes.
Two successful penalties from replacement full back Paolo Buso closed the gap to two points at 15-13 early in the second half, before the boot of Ceri Sweeney took the game, and a losing bonus point, away from the visitors
