Cardiff provide special night Welsh rugby needed

Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Cardiff have won 10 out of 11 home games this season Memorable Welsh rugby nights have been few and far between in recent years. But anybody lucky enough to be among the 10,000 crowd at the Arms Park to witness Cardiff's 22-16 victory against Stormers will not forget that Friday night spectacle in a while. A perfect ending was being able to say goodbye to Cardiff, Wales and British and Irish Lions legend Leigh Halfpenny, who made a three-minute cameo at the end as a replacement. The bonus-point win sealed Cardiff's first United Rugby Championship (URC) play-off place and a spot in the European Champions Cup next season. Perhaps as important, though, is it brought some hope and enjoyment back to a section of Welsh rugby. Two things which have been sorely lacking. Achievements will be there for historical reference, but people remember the joy they felt during particular games. This was one such occasion. Cardiff beat Stormers to clinch URC play-off spot Published15 hours agoOvercoming the oddsCardiff fans probably rocked up to the Arms Park on a sunny May evening more in hope than expectation. After all, this was an injury-hit home side missing Wales internationals Josh Adams, Taulupe Faletau, Alex Mann, Mason Grady, Teddy Williams and Callum Sheedy, while influential lock, sergeant Josh McNally, was called away for Royal Air Force rugby duty. Back-rower Alun Lawrence was covering second row on the bench, while Wales hooker Evan Lloyd was covering the back row. So everywhere you looked, you saw Cardiff's resources creaking after a nine-month season. They were facing a motivated Stormers side full of Springboks internationals and aiming to finish top of the table to guarantee home play-off advantage through to the final. So, the odds were heavily stacked against Corniel van Zyl's men, who knew only a win would guarantee a top-eight finish. They managed this in style. Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Cardiff wing Tom Bowen is a Wales Under-20s wing The game started to follow the expected script with Stormers dominating the Cardiff scrum. The visitors forced home captain Liam Belcher to be yellow-carded and Stormers took the lead through sheer force with an Adre Smith try. Cardiff rallied and ended up scoring four tries to one as they proved more clinical than their guests. There was some brilliant finishing with wings Jacob Beetham and Tom Bowen sharing three tries. Bowen's effort was spectacular after brilliant build-up work from Ben Thomas, while fly-half Ioan Lloyd defied gravity to score just before half-time. After a ropey start, Lloyd emerged to match Stormers' South African superstar Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Then there was the heroic defence as Cardiff defiantly kept Stormers out from breaching their line for 75 minutes. The likes of Dan Thomas, James Botham, Johan Mulder and Rory Jennings continually repelled the Stormers waves to the extent the South Africans ran out of ideas. Led by number eight and player-of-the-match Taine Basham, Cardiff crept up the field and over the gain line. Stormers might have been bigger in stature and star power, but Cardiff outclassed, out-fought and outwitted their opponents. Cardiff looked like they wanted it more and reaped the rewards. The crowd responded to its home heroes. Former Wales captain Gwyn Jones believes the Stormers were affected by the raucous atmosphere. "You could see it in the Stormers players' faces," said Jones. Stormers head coach John Dobson warned his players about the Arms Park cauldron, but they could not tame the vociferous home support. Dobson had also stated pre-match he was a lover of Welsh rugby and admired the entertainer Max Boyce. At one point, one of Boyce's most notable songs, Hymns and Arias, was belted out by the Cardiff crowd. Boyce also had a famous saying to commemorate special occasions. A simple term. "I was there". The Cardiff fans will be glad they were. Dobson and his Stormers? Not so much. Stormers could yet host Cardiff in the quarter-finals in Cape Town and the South Africans will be a different proposition at home. That is for another day at the end of May. Cardiff head coach Van Zyl admits this Arms Park epic experience against some of his fellow countrymen was one of the highlights of his career "Coaching-wise that will be up there," said van Zyl. "It was unbelievable for so many reasons. "If you look at performances of so many individuals, it was massive. "The boys defended well, fought for the jersey and fans responded to that." Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Leigh Halfpenny had two playing stints at Cardiff The perfect ending also unrvalled. The cameras had been on Halfpenny throughout the game as the crowd wondered whether they would be treated to one final glimpse of a modern day Welsh great on the field. The 37-year-old announced his retirement earlier this month, but not many pe

Cardiff provide special night Welsh rugby needed

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