Danny Wilson has praised his side's attitude as they overcame a 10-21 deficit at the interval to clinch a momentous bonus point victory over the Dragons.
Cardiff Blues ran in a total of six tries as they claimed their first Guinness PRO14 bonus point victory of the campaign, with youngsters such as Seb Davies and Jarrod Evans impressing.
Wilson was pleased to see his side’s improvements in both attack and defence after the break, and insists the Blues must build on the victory as they head into two rounds of European fixtures, before an away trip to defending champions, Scarlets.
“We’ve got to credit Dragons first half. We didn’t come out in the physical with the physical intention and ferocity we normally do for a derby, but the Dragons certainly had that,” said Wilson.
“There were a couple of errors from us and they finished really well, taking their opportunities and deserved their lead at half time.
“We addressed a number of things at half time, but there was no point making game plan changes if we didn’t have the physical edge that we need for a derby.
“We saw that display in the second half, I think our attacking game was outstanding, we scored some great tries, played some really good rugby.
“First defensive set had far more intent. Josh Navidi intercept shows the line speed and intent we brought to the second half, that we didn’t in the first.
“We addressed the collisions and attitude and talked a bit about line speed and get up to put pressure on their backline with the way that they play.
“To get line speed you need to slow the breakdown down, which we managed to do.
“But it was more about our attacking game and credit to Matt Sherratt who gave us a clear and precise message about our attacking shape in the second half, to play a bit more off 10 and play a bit wider.
“If I’m honest, we probably missed the opportunity to score two or three tries in the first 15 minutes, but then the hard work and the difference of the bench coming on, I thought in the second half we were very dominant.”
Wilson, reflecting on the first block of Championship games, before welcoming Top 14 leaders Lyon to Cardiff Arms Park in the European Challenge Cup next week, insists there is plenty to look forward to over the next weeks, despite a tough start to the season.
“I think people forget the opposition we’ve played - we’ve gone to Leinster away, Munster away, Glasgow at home. Three huge oppositions with two on the road and one at home, where we should’ve beaten Glasgow.
“Winning at Connacht was something we couldn’t do in the last two years, since I’ve been here, so that was pleasing in itself.
“To get the bonus point win tonight was important, we’ve played some tough sides, and picked up two wins which we need to build on.”