Josh Turnbull has paid tribute to Cardiff’s character and resilience as they fought back to claim a last-gasp bonus-point victory over the Dragons.
The victory saw Cardiff climb to fifth in the BKT United Rugby Championship table and they stretched their lead in the Welsh shield to 10 points. Setting up a crunch game against the Ospreys in the new year, who currently sit 13th in the URC, and second in the Welsh Shield.
The Ospreys triumphed over 14-man Scarlets on Boxing Day, and while Turnbull was delighted with the win and Cardiff’s continued good form, he is acutely aware of the importance of back-to-back derbies at the Arms Park.
He added: “It probably started from the last derby against the Scarlets, we had a good win and we’ve carried the momentum from there. We’ve only lost once since then and we’re in a rich vein of form but we have to keep working hard and challenging ourselves to get better each week.
It still hasn't properly registered that Taulupe Faletau is playing for Cardiff, a world class talent.
Not many players are stopping Ashton Hewitt this close to the line. pic.twitter.com/PkQgOfl6xg
— Cardiff Rugby Life (@CardiffRugbyWeb) December 27, 2022
“The Ospreys have had a couple of good wins of late. But for us it’s about building on what we’ve done against the Dragons, that’s what we do every week. Every time we get a W, it’s what can we do better? How can we do it better and then implementing it in the following week.
“We always enjoy a full Arms Park so if you haven’t got a ticket get a ticket. Come and enjoy it. New Year’s Day. We’re all looking forward to another big derby against the Ospreys.”
The Blue and Blacks were on track for a deserved Boxing Day victory over their nearest rivals at a sold out Rodney Parade thanks to a Tomos Williams brace either side of a Josh Adams try.
But the Dragons turned the tables and led going into the final minutes before Ellis Jenkins pounced for a turnover penalty, Jarrod Evans kicked long to the corner and Corey Domachowski bulldozed over for a match-winning try with the final play.
Turnbull revealed there was no panic in the ranks and pointed to the building maturity and winning mentality of the squad.
📸 What a Night! Here are a few pics from last night's win over the Scarlets in the #WestWalesDerby. Llongyfarchiadau! 🖤#OurJourneyTogether | #BKTURC | @URCOfficial pic.twitter.com/KWlVMpsnP9
— Ospreys (@ospreys) December 27, 2022
He said: “We always knew that if we stuck with what we were doing and what what we knew we could do, then we would come away with points and we did that. Every time we executed what we set out to down came away with something.
“It was really pleasing that we stuck in there right until the end, it was a full 80 minutes from all the boys, the whole bench made an impact and it was just a matter of us doing the right things, in the right areas of the field to come away with the W.
“It’s always difficult but as a group of players, we have shown we can dig deep this year, what it means to play for the badge and there’s a real group of boys who want to prove that we an come away with something especially when we’re under the pump as we were.
“We’re all in a good spot, we have boys stepping up and putting their voices across. We have good game drivers in Tomos Williams, Jarrod, Rhys Priestland, Lloyd Williams, who understand the game really well, keep putting us in the right areas and ultimately as forwards it’s down to us to deliver the ball for them to play.”