POST-MATCH REACTION PIECE: CARDIFF BLUES PREMIERSHIP SELECT COACH JUSTIN BURNELL
By Daire Walsh
Cardiff Blues Premiership Select may have suffered their second straight defeat in Pool Two of the British & Irish Cup on Saturday evening, but head coach Justin Burnell felt there were signs of encouragement in their display against Leinster ‘A’ in Dublin.
The Blues fought back from a 17-point interval deficit with the help of a second-half try from captain Sion Bennett, and although he was disappointed to his side eventually falling to a 29-10 reversal, Burnell was happy with the endeavour shown by his outfit.
“When you think we were 17-0 down, got back to 17-10. It’s just the mistakes again [that cost us]. I thought the endeavour of our boys was fantastic. You can’t take anything away from Leinster. Obviously disappointed with the loss, but we’re happy with the endeavour from our boys,” Burnell remarked after the game.
Indeed, their teenage props – Rhys Carre and Will Davies King – were particularly impressive during their time on the pitch, and Burnell believes they have put themselves in contention for a place in the Welsh U20 squad for their forthcoming Six Nations campaign.
“You’ve got the Six Nations coming up for the U20s, and our tighthead [King] and our loosehead [Carre] put themselves in a fantastic position to be the two starting props for the U20s Six Nations campaign. I thought they were fantastic, actually.”
With Leinster running in a couple of late tries, the final scoreline didn’t give a true reflection on the way the second-half had materialised.
Burnell acknowledged it was a much-improved display from their opening round loss to Bristol, and if they can continue to grow as a team, he is adamant that they can make a big impact in their remaining pool games.
“We’ve got things to rectify, but we’ll look forward to going to Doncaster and it’s game on. We certainly don’t want to come out of this competition without a ‘W’.
“Leinster have got to come to us, and we’ll be in Sardis Road. All our home games are in Sardis Road in Pontypridd, the house of pain as they say! That’s another big thing,” Burnell added.