By Andrew Collins
October 30 2005

The Blues became number #31 in Perpignanas long list of home wins on Friday. The French outfit boast a proud record of no home loss in any competition since Wasps in the Heineken Cup 2 years ago, so this weekends loss was little more than expected.

R Williams 4; Czekaj 5, J Robinson 6, Stcherbina 7, Morgan 6; N Robinson 6, Phillips 7; Yapp 7, G Williams 7, M Jones 6; Quinnell 6, Sidoli 7; Sowden-Taylor 7, Molitika 7, A Powell 8.

R Thomas 7(G Williams 59), Evans 6(M. Jones 53), D. Jones 5(Quinnell 73).

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Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) i only saw the extended highlights on Sky, but the impression from the 30 minutes shown was incredibly worrying.

A 1st half in which the Blues were starved of possession saw a spirited Cardiff defence for nearly 20 minutes with just a penlty against them, until an error of gastronomical proportians from Jamie Robinson allowed Perpignan in. Outside Half Laharrange put an excellent cross-feild kick up, which Robinson was never going to get to, into space on the right touchline, the centre ran full sprint to get to the ball but missed the bounce which went right over his head and fell into the lap of the waiting Manas, leaving Jamie lying in a heap on the floor. Laharrange missed the conversion, but showing they would pounce on any mistake.

One the line had been crossed, it seemed to signal a green light for traffic to keep going over.

Firstly, scrum half Durand went over from a close range maul just 8 minutes after, with Laharrang converting and slotting over his second penalty to give a kind scoreline of 18-0 at the break.

Considdering how little possession the Blues had, 18-0 was a good result, and after last weeks 2nd half performance, a few supporters had high hopes for the 2nd period.

But they were dashed within 1 minute of the restart. Center Hume scored a try all to easily after a series of errors including an awful mistake from the dreadful Rhys Williams. Touching down under the posts, Laharrangs conversion put the Blues to bed with 37 minutes to play for that 4th bonus point try, and Cardiff hadn't registered a single point.

And it got no better. David Marty was allowed too much time and space in the 22, he offloaded to Naulu who had the simple task of carrying over, as Perpignan got all 5 points with time and energy to spare.

To add salt to the wound, Tongan winger Tonita bundled over to give a ridiculas scoreline of 37-0.

The Blues did wake up with 20 minutes to go, and got a foothold in the game. After a series of efforts were fumbles and turned over on the line, Jamie Robinson scored a great try. Craig Morgan showed some enthusiamasm and will by taking a risky quick line-out, and following a series of swift hands, Jamie Robinson found himself between two Perpignan defenders, with 30 meters to go, he fained and stepped his way clear of any tackle to record a fantastic consolation try.

And following the try, the Blues seemed to find their way into 2nd and then 3rd gear. The Blues set up shop 5 metres out with 3 lineouts in a row, and despite 3 clear infringements from the Frenchman, the ref produced no card. They can count themselves unlucky that they didn't score after a strong 5 minute period, but its also an indication of how they will need to make the most of their chances for the return leg in Cardiff.

With 92 minutes on the clock, substatute hooker Rhys Thomas was key in a strong rolling maul, and found his way over the line to make the scoreline slightly less depressing. Robinson converted both of his two efforts though it had no real bearing on the match.

Dai Young's comments:
"We made life far too easy for Perpignan. We didn't get the ball for the first 15 minutes of the game and when we did we started to panic.The loss of the Lions boys and Rush obviously didn't help things, but perhaps the most frustrating thing is that we had the chances late on to grab a bonus point. We scored twice but had two more clear-cut opportunities that we failed to make the most of."

So What can we take from the match?

Firstly, that Rhys Williams should not be in the Welsh squad on current form. The fullback will feel himself hard-doneby as he was a part of the Grand Slammers, but on this form he wouldn't get into the Scotland squad! Under the high ball he was appauling tonight, while his general handling and decisions left alot to the imagination. I do feel for him as he's been messed around playing wing, fullback and centre this year, plus he has teh added responsbility of the capincy, but he needs to start doing the business again if he's going to earn his spot back.

Also, the forwards are at current our best weapon in attack, with the outstanding back rowers we have, we've got to find a way to utalise them to their fullest potential. Andy Powell has shown the kind of viggerous aggression we've lacked since Dan Baugh, and I think he holds the key to our success, I would like to see him used in the same way Finau was at Llanelli or the Tuilangi boys are at Leicster, give hime the ball and get behind him.

Finally, don't be scared of them, yesterday we lacked 3 lions and Xavier Rush, not to mention a certain Jonah Lomu who will have settled in by the time Perp make the return match. They looked a polished outfit, but they definately had chincks in that amour, and we know that they don't travell well. At the Arms Park we can take them, maybe even get 4 tries. As for this result, theres no shame or even dissapointment, just a sence of relief that with this fixture gone, the worst is over.