Proud Danny Wilson Says He Saved The Best For Last

Danny Wilson hailed his side’s European Challenge Cup win over Pau as the best of his three year tenure in charge at Cardiff Blues.

The 16-10 win set-up a possible perfect leaving present for the Blues head coach, and his assistant Matt Sherratt, before they move on this summer to Wasps and the Ospreys respectively.

“For your last game in charge at home to be a European semi-final win is something really special and something I will certainly treasure,” said an emotional Wilson.

“It was a great occasion played in front of a fantastic crowd that really helped us get over the line.

“It has to be my proudest moment at the Arms Park. To win a semi-final in Europe against a star-studded French side in front of a packed house – it doesn’t get much bigger than that.

“Beating the Scarlets here was a big moment, and we’ve had a good run of form and wins at home this season, but that’s got to be the pinnacle – even though it wasn’t the prettiest of victories. It is a fantastic moment and a fantastic achievement.

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“We knew we were going to be up against it with their massive pack and we struggled to deal with that at scrum time. We did a huge amount of work on our maul defence and when they kicked to touch we turned over their driving line-outs.

“That played a major part in allowing us to stay in the game. The other key thing for us was our contact area work in defence.

“Ellis Jenkins was fantastic, Nick Williams, Josh Navidi and then Olly Robinson got a couple of crucial late turn-overs when he came on. We found a different way to win the game today, just as we had done in the quarter-final in Edinburgh.

“That’s a real credit to this group, who showed a much more dogged edge. It was very satisfying, although not very pretty.

“We are becoming difficult to beat, which is important for the Blues in the future. It was real cup rugby, where sometimes you just have to grit it out – this squad is growing and growing.”

Gloucester beat Newcastle Falcons at Kingsholm on Friday night to set-up a repeat of their quarter-final clash against the Welsh region. On that occasion the Blues fell apart in the final 30 minutes to lose 46-26.

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“We were very much in that game for the first hour and got a lot right. But the last 30 minutes stick in my mind when we got overpowered,” said Wilson.

“But this win is a huge mark of how far we have come since then – and how much progress we have made since I walked in the door three years go. To get to this point, with all our well documented difficulties of last summer, means these players deserve a lot of credit.

“Gloucester are a well coached, well drilled and pretty well rounded team. We have got a big challenge ahead of us.

“They are on a roll, just as we are, and we are both going into the final full of confidence.”

 

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