By Andrew Collins
November 9 2005

The Cardiff Blues acadamy picked up a hard fought victory against Leicester in a memorable win at Welfeild! The European giants were playing the match as part of their 1880's celebrations, and played the Blues as the clubs have a long-standing tradition of cross-boarder contests.

The young Blues won 35-19 infront of 7,000+ supporters at Leicesters nutorious Welfeild Road, as they gave the Board of Directors a bit of good news for the regions future.

Having taken the lead in the opening minute, through the boot of Dai Flannagan, the Blues never hardly looked back as they rocked one of Europes best young teams at home. 20 minutes later, Flannagan took his personal and the teams total to 10 with an excellnt try in the left corner, which he supurbly converted.

Alex shaw crossed almost staright after, neat handling from the Tigers pack was the key in a well worked try, however, Johnny Murphy, who started the move, missed the wide conversion.

The Blues struck again, with highly rated youngster Bradley Davies crossing for the away side, with Ponty's Flannagan unable to convert as the half hour past.

And Cardiff made another big push before the half, getting their 3rd try deservedly after dominating the opening period. Center Dafydd Lockyear's excellent break from midfeild ended with flanker Lee Evens scoring, and Flannagan converting.

The Youngsters were looking ruthless in attack, and unthreatened in defence. They can also take great pride in the fact they were unfased by the massive crowd, unlike anything they would be used to when playing Welsh opposition and also for their feeder clubs (IE Ponty, Glamorgan etc.)

Half Time
Leicester Tigers Acadamy 5 Cardiff Blues Acadamy 22

The visitors took just 4 minutes in effectively sealing the match following the second half kick off. Another player being touted to make the big time, Rhys Shellard, took advantage of some weak Tiger's defence and crashed over for the regions fourth try. Flannagen missed the chance at 2 extra points, but converted a penalty shortly after, putting Cardiff 32-5 ahead.

The Blues rung the changes and allowed the Tiger back into the match. Flanker Shaw got his second of the night, and late on center Matt Smith also crossed for a consolation try. Murphy soccesfuly converted both, but a Flannagan plenalty in-between tries meant the Blues were never in any doubt.

Final Score
Leicester Tigers Acadamy 19 Cardiff Blues Acadamy 35

The result was a massive victory for the Acadamy side, who were not supposed to ruin the 1880's party. It's also a massive victory for Welsh rugby officials, with the new structure of Welsh rugby, looking like we're just beginning to reap the rewards. The Blues senior officals will also be extactic about the win, with these players being the next batch of Nicky and Jamie Robinsons. Fans can take pride in a great acadamy, and hopefully, a great future.