A quarter-final spot in the Heineken Cup and flying high in the Magners League, things are pretty good at Cardiff Blues right now. As lock Scott Morgan told www.rucked.com
Must be happy with things at the moment?
Yeah, it’s going well, we’re having a pretty good season, but at the same time we’ve not won anything yet.
What’s made the difference this year?
There’s a certain familiarity within the squad now, it’s been building and it’s taken three years for Dai to get this team together. A new side is never going to click straight away, but now it’s all coming together and we’re starting to gel – that’s the biggest thing I think.
Any other specifics?
The belief is there now. The foreigners that have come in are quietly arrogant – not a rude arrogance – they’ve got this good arrogance that kind of rubs off on us. They go into any game believing that, as long as they perform, they’ll win. We’ve been lacking that kind of belief and we now think we can go anywhere and play anybody and get the result we need.
So Cardiff aren’t renowned ‘bottlers’ anymore?
I think that’s just a media tag – and rightly so up until now. The group of players we’ve got here at the moment aren’t aware of that tag because the squad is quite fresh. The old tag thrown on Cardiff was that we’d always play well and then slip at the last hurdle. Maybe last year in the Heineken Cup there were games we should’ve won but didn’t but we’ve shaken that tag off now – we’ve shown in big games that we can win and also win away.
How important is the Magners League to you?
Some clubs don’t take the competition equally serious to others but at Cardiff the Magners League is massive. We’ve never won it and we’d love to win. We don’t go into games with weakened teams we go in with a team that’s going to get a result. This weekend’s game [against Leinster] is massive in context of the Magners League – we’ve five points behind them, so this really is a double-pointer for us.
You’re both missing a few players though…
We are, but they had their players missing when they came down and took our home record – that left a bitter taste in the mouth. We’d not lost for 16 or 17 games at the Arms Park and they came down and dominated us, so we’ve got to go out there and put the record straight.
Would it be enough of an achievement just to reach the quarter-finals?
Definitely not, I think anything other than winning the Heineken Cup is a failure – we’re in a great position to go and win it. But really, I know it’s an old cliché and I’m going to use it too, but we’re just going to take each game as it comes. Leinster this week is massive, so is Munster the week after – because they’ve got a game in hand on us – and then we’ve got Toulouse. Each game is a cup final, so we have to perform over the next month.
Can you win more than one?
One thing we’re sure we can’t win is the EDF Energy Cup! The other two we can go on and do well in, we had a good run of form prior to the Six Nations so now we’ve got to make sure we carry on where we left off. It’s not easy with boys missing from training, but we’re doing everything we possibly can…
Do you think the Magners League should be playing during the Six Nations?
That’s not for me to comment on, it’s the powers-that-be that make those decisions. I guess it’s good for the boys who don’t make the Wales’ squad, but does not having the internationals take anything away from the league? I don’t know. In my opinion you’ve got to have rugby or else you’ve got a six-week block with none. I’m happy there’s rugby on…
How’s the season from a personal point of view?
I was extremely pleased with last season but I had a hand injury at the start of this year so it was a slow start and then the boys have been playing so it’s been difficult to force my way in. I’ve also changed position from blindside to second row – people thought it was temporary but it’s not long term. I’m trying to extend my contract at Cardiff now and it’s going to be as a second row.
What’s your target for the rest of the season?
To stamp down a spot in the team – Tito and Deinol have been playing well, so it’s not going to be easy. I believe I can do that though. And in doing that it gives me a good opportunity to possibly get included in the summer tour for Wales. But that’s going to depend on form, game time and how well I manage the positional change…
The Six Nations must be adding a bit of ‘feelgood factor’ to the place…
I can’t comment for the boys in Welsh squad – you hear a lot about people trying to keep their feet on floor, which is hard to do. I’m really pleased for the boys but it does give you a burning desire to be involved. It’s had a very positive effect on the nation though. We’re very inward looking and everybody loves their rugby, it’s a massive part of the culture. If Wales are winning you can walk into Tescos and everyone is smiling but if we’re losing, then it’s raining outside. There’s a buzz at the moment though, I think they could do something special again…