Danny Wilson’s men had recorded a victory when the two sides met on the opening day of the league season in the Welsh capital. But this was always likely to be a more difficult affair with Zebre welcoming back a host of internationals after the Rugby World Cup. And so it proved.
Adam Thomas grabbed an early try for Cardiff Blues, but a vibrant and fast paced attacking display from the home side saw them race into a commanding 19-5 lead by the break.
Cardiff Blues dug deep in the second half and dominated at the set piece for long periods and were back in the game when Tom James marked his comeback with a try inspired by Lloyd Williams.
But Zebre were not to be denied and a score three minutes from full-time from home Number Eight Andries Van Schalkwyk secured the bonus point and left Wilson with much to contemplate.
It has been a difficult spell for Cardiff Blues with five successive games on the road before a return home next Saturday when champions Glasgow Warriors come to town. And the Head Coach will demand a response from his team after this display in Italy.
Optimism was high before kick-off with USA international Blaine Scully called up for his debut on the wing while fit-again speedster Tom James took his place on the opposite flank.
Flanker Ellis Jenkins was recalled in the back row, where he played alongside Josh Navidi who celebrated his 100
th game for the region, while big Tongan prop Taufa’ao Filise packed down up front.
A difficult opening half for Cardiff Blues, though, went wrong from as early as the fourth minute when Zebre scored with their very first attack of note.
Keen to run from all angles and from deep, the home side went through the phases before fly half Canna brilliantly freed his arms in the tackle and popped out a pass that opened up space for Dion Berryman to score.
The response from Blues was immediate. Full back Dan Fish weaved his way past tackles in a congested midfield before wide boys Scully and James rattled into contact.
The visiting forwards did the hard yards to work around the fringes and suck in tacklers before Patchell exploited space wide left with a floated pass to Thomas who shrugged off the final man to score and level the scores after a breathless opening.
Zebre continued to look a threat when they ran from deep and a well worked overlap down the left sent Leonardo Sarto racing down the touchline, but the cover defence snuffed out the danger.
Josh Turnbull worked hard at the breakdown to win ball for the visitors, who were being starved of possession, but just as soon as Blues had reclaimed it a spilled pass in midfield proved costly.
A break out from deep saw Italian centre Matteo Pratichetti threaten to score from inside his own half. He was eventually dragged down by the retreating Fish, but quick ball was neatly finished off by Van Schalkwyk.
Canna missed the chance to put Zebre further ahead, after a hooked penalty attempt, while hearts were in the mouth again for Blues when home hooker Andrea Manici rolled out of tackles.
It was a moment of individual skill that created the third home try as, with little on in front of him, playmaker Canna spotted space, chipped in behind and lock Johan Meyer gathered the ball as it bounced up to score.
Patchell’s penalty stemmed the flow of points, but it was Zebre who finished the half the stronger and threatened again with only last ditch defence keeping them out as they bulldozed up close to the whitewash.
Wilson made half-time changes with Lloyd Williams and Craig Mitchell introduced to the fray.
And scrum half Williams was immediately called into action after slick handling sent Canna over in the corner. After a lengthy consultation with the TMO the try was chalked off after a superb tackle from the Welsh international.
Williams next led a breakout after his tap and go penalty forced Zebre back as the visitors looked to keep pace in the game at all times and force a way back into the fixture.
More alert play on the hour from the scrum half saw him tear straight down the middle and when he drew the full back he neatly flicked a pass inside right to James to run over and cut the lead to 19-15.
Momentum was now firmly with Blues as replacement Manoa Vosawai and Navidi combined to blast up the middle. A penalty was secured and Patchell went for the posts only to hook his kick left.
A series of set piece penalties saw the visitors look to assert more dominance and when home prop Andrea De Marchi was yellow carded the pressure only mounted further.
However, Zebre were not to be denied and in a thrilling final ten minutes they held their own before forcing one last attack that saw Van Schalkwyk driven over.
Timeline:
04m Berryman t 5-0
08m Thomas t 5-5
17m Van Schalkwyk t Canna c 12-5
33m Meyer t Canna c 19-5
36m Patchell p 19-8
60m James t Patchell c 19-15
77m Van Schalkwyk t Canna c 26-15
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Blaine Scully (G Smith 57), 13 Tom Isaacs, 12 Adam Thomas (G Davies 74), 11 Tom James, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Tavis Knoyle (Williams 40); 1 Sam Hobbs (T Davies 76), 2 Matthew Rees (E Lewis 55), 3 Taufa’ao Filise (Mitchell 40), 4 Lou Reed, 5 James Down (Cook 57), 6 Josh Turnbull, 7 Ellis Jenkins (Vosawai 46), 8 Josh Navidi
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Garyn Smith