Head coach Matt Sherratt praised his side’s resilience and fight against Glasgow Warriors but the hosts were edged out in an ‘eventful game’ at the Arms Park on Friday night.
13 tried were scored in the match with the Blue and Blacks having to deal with a slew of injuries which caused them to go down to 14 men following injuries to hookers Liam Belcher and Evan Lloyd.
At half-time the visitors were firmly on top, but Cardiff fought back bravely in the second-half and showed plenty of character, however will rue a number of missed tackles which led to tries for the opposition.
“The review is probably going to start tomorrow, but it was certainly an eventful game,” said Sherratt. “It’s been a pretty difficult game to manage from a coaching point of view.
“Going down to 14 for 30 minutes, obviously lots of players on and off the field with HIAs and injuries, so it was a pretty eventful game, and then throw in a game that was end-to-end, with 80 plus points in the game.”
Sherratt was quick to credit Glasgow’s star-studded lineup, but also highlighted the impact of a few missed tackles that led to tries.
“Structurally we were fine, but Glasgow have quality players with the likes of Dempsey, Hugh Jones, and Tuipulotu,” he noted. “If you miss a tackle against them, they’re a team that can go 70 meters and score because they’ve got a good combination of power in their pack and some speed in their backs.”
“We missed a couple of tackles, and it was almost one of those games where every tackle you missed ended in seven points today.”
Despite the challenges, Sherratt found positives in his team’s performance, especially in the second half and acknowledged the Arms Park crowd were treated to a thrilling, roller coaster of a match.
“I said to the players after the game, they were going to score tries-they’re a good team, they’re a champion team from last season for a reason.
“It’s about eliminating the ones that we didn’t really make them work for. But we’ll look back on that on Monday.
“It was a roller coaster game and must have been, for the neutral, a pretty good game to watch.
“At one stage, when we got to within a score, Tinus added some real energy to the game, and Ellis Bevan added some energy, and the crowd started getting behind the boys.
“I’ve got credit with the players for that as well. I said to them at halftime, don’t try and chase 21 points too early if we score first.
“Glasgow like the emotional side of the game, and momentum might swing, so to get within four points was a hell of a fight back for the players, especially with 14 men.
“We’ll obviously look at the defensive lapses and some missed opportunities, but against a Glasgow team, you’ve got to cut those out because you know they’re going to score points. They’re a good team.”
Reflecting on the unique challenges that Glasgow presented, Sherratt discussed the contrast between the Scottish sides and playing Leinster.
“Ultimately, it was always going to be a tough ask against a good team because what you do know with Glasgow, they’ve got individuals on the field who can score very, very quickly.
“You play a Leinster, and it almost can be a little bit of a slow poison; they just take it out of your legs over the 80 minutes. Against the Scottish teams, especially Glasgow, they can score 14 points with two people going the length of the field.”