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'I was probably a little bit frustrated game-time wise in the World Cup' - Mason Grady
Mason Grady says he has his mojo back and he will be out to prove it as he goes in search of revenge in this weekend’s BKT URC Welsh derby.
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By his own admission, the 21-year-old Cardiff Rugby threequarter didn’t have the World Cup he had been hoping for.
He only started the one game for Wales out in France – against Portugal – watching most of the tournament from the sidelines.
But now he’s back playing regularly for his region and causing havoc with his pace and power on the wing, having switched from his regular centre berth for the time being.
He was just too hot to handle for the DHL Stormers last weekend, rampaging round the field and beating more defenders than any other player in Round 6 – no fewer than 11 – capping his display by bursting over for a crucial try from a set move off a lineout.
That was his fourth in as many games in the BKT URC this season following touchdowns against Dragons RFC, the Vodacom Bulls and Zebre Parma.
Now he will be looking for another impactful performance against the Scarlets at the Arms Park on Saturday afternoon as Cardiff look to make amends for their 31-25 defeat down in Llanelli earlier this month.
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“I feel like I’ve got my mojo back a bit at the moment,” he said.
“I was probably a little bit frustrated game-time wise in the World Cup and before the tournament, but that’s just the way things go.
“I was learning off the more senior boys and I watched quite a lot of rugby during the World Cup which has helped with my knowledge.
“I just bided my time and it motivated me to start well this season and it’s going well so far.”
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Normally a centre, Grady has been moved to the wing by Cardiff amid an injury crisis that has seen Josh Adams, Owen Lane, Theo Cabango and Aled Summerhill all out of action.
“To be honest, when I was younger I used to hate the fact they used to put me on the wing, but now I look at it as an opportunity to get a bit more freedom on the pitch and just do what I’m good at it,” he says.
“It’s probably a lot easier to get me involved in first phase attack as well, so I’m enjoying it at the moment.
“Matt Sherratt (head coach) has given me the licence to do what I want really and get my hands on the ball as much as possible. He’s given me a free run I suppose.
“I’ve always said I am a centre who can play wing, but as long as I’m playing rugby I’m happy to play wherever.”
His defence-splitting running out wide was invaluable in last Friday’s 31-24 victory over the Stormers, which ended a series of near misses for Cardiff.
“It’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it?” said Grady.
“The boys showed a lot of character there to stick in it.
“We were 14-0 down early on, so to come back at half-time 17-14 was massive for us. The crowd got behind us and we managed to win.
“It just shows the potential this team has got. We are playing some really good rugby.
“If you look at our results, yeah we have lost three, drawn one, but we could be six from six.
“I think we’ve been underestimated this season, but it’s always good to be the underdogs, isn’t it?”
Grady continued: “We are a real tight knit group of boys. It’s like a brotherhood.
“We all go for coffees after training. It’s a really good environment to be in and we are really enjoying it. We are all playing for each other.
“If you look at it, it’s a really young squad and the potential we’ve got in the next few years is very exciting.
“You put a bit of belief in some younger boys and they will just show you what they can do.
“We will build on that DHL Stormers win now and hopefully it will put us in good stead for the rest of the season.”
Next up is Saturday’s Arms Park re-match with the Scarlets.
“We have got a point to prove because they beat us a few weeks ago,” said Grady.
“We are looking forward to it and hopefully the crowd will get behind us again.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
141 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
141 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
141 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
141 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
141 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
141 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
141 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
141 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
141 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
141 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
141 Go to commentsHo hum.
141 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
141 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
141 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
141 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
141 Go to comments