'If you had asked me before, I would have definitely taken that'

Cardiff are determined to grab their “big opportunity” and make history by reaching the BKT URC Play-Offs for the first time. They have put themselves in a strong position with back-to-back Welsh derby victories over the Scarlets and the Ospreys taking them up to sixth in the table.

Now, with two games left to play, their destiny is in their own hands. Having missed out on the Play-Offs by just a point last season, the motivation is all the greater to complete the job this time around.

The mood in the camp was summed up by second row Rory Thornton, a try scorer in Friday’s 24-21 victory over the Ospreys at a packed Arms Park.

“We said after the game, it’s a big opportunity now,” he revealed. “We have got to be in the play-offs. I don’t want to jinx it, but we want to aim for that. It is our goal. We have got a tough game against Glasgow away in two weeks time and then the Stormers home here, so that’s a good thing for us because we have talked all year about it being a fortress.

“With the atmosphere that is created here, we are a hard team to beat at the Arms Park and it’s a good opportunity for us knowing we have got that last game at home. Our final game last season was Stormers away. We couldn’t quite get the result we needed and that was a tough one.

United Rugby Championship

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Stormers

16

12

4

0

56

2

Glasgow

16

11

5

0

55

3

Lions

16

10

5

1

53

4

Leinster

16

10

6

0

53

5

Munster

16

10

6

0

51

6

Cardiff Rugby

16

10

6

0

50

7

Bulls

16

10

6

0

49

8

Ulster

16

9

7

0

47

9

Connacht

16

8

8

0

44

10

Sharks

16

6

9

1

36

11

Ospreys

16

6

8

2

35

12

Edinburgh

16

6

10

0

33

13

Benetton

16

6

8

2

33

14

Dragons RFC

16

3

10

3

25

15

Scarlets

16

4

11

1

24

16

Zebre

16

2

14

0

15

“Hopefully, if it does come down to that last game, then we’ve got a really good opportunity. It’s in our hands really then to get into that play-off.”

Cardiff have now surpassed their points tally from last season (47) having won 10 of their 16 games to get up to 50 points. “Reaching the Play-Offs has been a big focus of ours,” said Thornton.

“We talked about it from the start of the season as being something we should probably achieve more. So getting to the Play-Offs is a big thing for us.”

He added: “We really targeted these two derby games and I’m just proud of the boys that we got nine points from them. We owed both of them one, having lost to the Scarlets here and then losing to the Ospreys at the Brewery Field.”

Reflecting on his close-range first-half try, the 31-year-old lock said: “I think it was about 20 meters, wasn’t it! We put a big emphasis on speed. You could see that in that try. Johan (Mulder) took the quick tap and we were straight in there and just going for it. We were all about speed this week. That was a big message of ours and hopefully you could see that on the field.”

Having built a 24-7 lead with just 12 minutes to go, Cardiff then had to see off a late Ospreys revival to secure the spoils. “I am just proud of the boys for fighting that out at the end,” said Thornton.

“The biggest thing we talk about is our fight and hopefully you can see that out on the pitch. We are quite tight as a group off the field as well. We try to stick together and have a good laugh.

“Whatever scenario we are, backs against the wall, with players missing, whatever it is we try to put it to the back of our minds and think about putting our game on the field. That’s the biggest focus.

“I am just glad the boys dug in at the end and were able to hold out.”

Giving his views, head coach Corniel van Zyl said: “We have played two derbies over the last two weeks and got nine points from them. If you had asked me before, I would have definitely taken that. I am just pleased we got over the line.”

On the Play-Off push, he said: “Last year, it almost felt like we were chasing from behind and trying to get in there. This season, we made a point of focusing more on week to week and trying to get points where we can. Being competitive in every game and getting a few more wins has put us in a better position.”

Cardiff went into the Ospreys match without 11 first teamers, including the likes of Josh Adams, Alex Mann, James Botham and Teddy Williams who could all return for the run-in.

“Hopefully we will have some players back over the next week or so and some of them will be available for selection,” said Van Zyl. “Glasgow are obviously a quality team, but we will go there and give it a good shot.”

For the Ospreys, who picked up two yellow cards and a 20 minute red for wing Dan Kasende, the defeat has ended their hopes of reaching the play-offs.

Their head coach Mark Jones said: “You can’t come to a team that has been going as well as Cardiff have been going and not keep 15 out there for the majority of the game.

“It definitely challenged us to manage those periods where we were down to 14 and 13. We burned a lot of energy in our own half. I have to say I thought Cardiff were just a little bit quicker to the punch everywhere, if I am honest. They just looked a little bit sharper and a little bit cleaner on things and executed a bit better.

“I think that’s probably why they have won so many tight games this year, because of their accuracy. You have got to give them credit for that.”