Don’t be Blue after Sale Bargain!

by Rosemary ThreadgoldT

Friday afternoon after work.  Too late to reach Stockport now, so we turned right at Sixways and headed south west to “the land of my fathers”: the Angel; the Gwyn Nicholls memorial gates; a club house stuffed with memorabilia; a stand, joined at its spine to a giant twin; Cardiff Arms Park hosting the Blues versus Connacht.

On the pitch, Bruiser the Bear was dancing with the cheerleaders while the minis gave a demonstration of tag rugby.  The Pieman was sidelined with a calf injury, but Richard Smith was on the bench.  The Blues were on the back foot after losing last week to the Ospreys: 39 – 3.  Could they put the defeat behind them?

Indeed they could.  Final score: 31 – 6 and 5 points to the home side.  Not a classic game, with most of the excitement coming in the last 10 minutes when superior fitness allowed the talented Cardiff backs to break loose. 

But what of the Celtic League standard?  Definitely a step up from English National One, but Rob Howley was right when he talked of a comfort zone which is not there in the English ZP.  Watching Friday’s game in Cardiff, we missed the sustained pace and the bruising physicality that we have seen the Warriors display this season.  It emphasised the distance our team has already come since August.

And the moral of all this?  When we got home and heard of the disappointment in Stockport, it occurred to us that a “Sale” is a temporary phenomenon.  It may provide a one-off bargain for the purchaser, but the following week, everything will be back to its usual price.

So come on Warriors!  Cardiff conjured victory from defeat.  Let’s do the same when we meet ‘Quins’ on Saturday!

RT