Cardiff Blues must to compete for the full 80 minutes if they are to challenge the Guinness PRO14’s top sides, insists Ben Thomas following Sunday’s defeat to Leinster.
The young playmaker, who wore the number 12 jersey in Dublin, made his first start of the season against the defending champions and impressed in both attack and defence.
Thomas admits it was a tough defeat to take but doesn’t believe the score reflected some of his side’s good work at RDS Arena.
“There’s no getting away from it, it was a tough game for us,” said Thomas.
“But we knew that it would be a tough fight, but other than the first minute of the game and the last minute of the first half, we really dug in and we were in the fight.
“But we have to stay clinical and in the last 15 minutes we let it get away from us.
“We were in the game until minute 60 or 65 but that’s when you have to stay in the battle and those top teams will really start to pull away.
“For myself, it was nice to get out there and play rugby, but it’s never nice to be on the receiving end of a 40-point loss.
“Despite only getting five points, we put together some good attack and managed to get through some good phases.
“But we need to keep hold of the ball and put pressure on these good teams. If we do that we can really put a squeeze on these teams. We’ll review this one and hopefully come back better next week.”
Next up for Cardiff Blues is the visit of Glasgow Warriors, who are coached by Danny Wilson.
Thomas expects to come up against another free-flowing side but hopes his side can gain a bit more possession and territory at Newport.
“I’m expecting a similar type of game. Glasgow like to play a lot and there will be a high ball-in-play time.
“It’s down to us to deal with their attack and impose ourselves on them.
“There’s no travel involved this week, so hopefully we can get a bit of a boost from some boys returning from injury and really go out there to put our stamp on the game."