Dai Young admits Kristian Dacey’s second half yellow card was the turning point as Cardiff fell to defeat by Emirates Lions despite a comeback effort in Johannesburg.
The hosts raced into an early lead at Emirates Airlines Park but tries from Aled Summerhill and James Botham gave the Blue and Blacks hopes of fighting their way back into the encounter.
However, having just passed the hour mark, replacement hooker Dacey was unfortunate to be sent to the sin bin after accidentally making contact with the head of an opposing player.
And while his side came away empty handed at a hot and humid Ellis Park, Young believes there were positives to their performance against a physical Lions outfit.
The director of rugby said: “The yellow card was a bit of a turning point but the first 20 minutes wasn’t good enough from us. We gave away far too many penalties and our kick chase wasn’t joined up so we gave them far too much momentum and front-foot ball.
“That resulted in them having a lot of possession in our half and they’re a tough team to stop.
“We spoke about it at half time, and we were much better in the first 15 to 20 minutes of the second half. We started to get field position, going through phases and getting penetration.
“We were showing what we could do. I was pleased with the scrum, the line-out was efficient and we were going in the right direction.
“We didn’t feel like we needed to chase the game, despite being behind, and got back to one score.
“But the yellow card dented our momentum and we were chasing after that.
“We didn’t speak about the altitude too much this week because it was something we knew we couldn’t change.
“I thought the players did really well in the conditions but they did feel it. We’d be lying to say they didn’t.
“The boys have worked hard on their conditioning and I was pleased with how we stuck in the game. So the altitude wasn’t a real factor or reason why we lost the game.
“Our set-piece was good, we were pleased with it. We worked hard at it and the boys deserve some credit.
“We’d watched the Lions’ scrum and it’s a fearsome one which very rarely comes second best.
“We won’t shout about it from the rooftops, but the scrum did give us a platform to play the game we wanted to play.”
While Young was pleased with how his side fronted up to their hosts’ physicality, he warned Cardiff that they can’t afford to be anywhere below their best as they now head to Cape Town to take on DHL Stormers in a week’s time.
“Everyone, from man to man, was excited to play here. It’s an iconic stadium and it gave everyone a buzz to run out there,” added the former Wales prop.
“It’s a pity the crowd was restricted because it would’ve been a fantastic atmosphere with a full crowd.
“But the biggest thing we were always concerned with trying to cope with was the physicality. I was pleased with how we handled that on both sides of the ball.
“But that’s something that will always be a question mark when you face South African sides.
“When we faced Bulls at home, it was a game of two halves. We ran them ragged in the first half but then it turned into an arm-wrestle and we couldn’t cope with it.
“That was a turning point in our season as we put more time into the set piece and physical side of the game.
“Lions didn’t disappoint tonight. They were physical and had players who could cause damage with footwork as well.
“The biggest thing for us is that we know if we’re anything below our best at the minute then we won’t win.
“We’re a team that’s progressing and we’re developing as a team but we need to play our best rugby to beat anyone in South Africa.
“Today, we pushed them close but ultimately came away with nothing.”