Three Ben Whitehouse yellow cards hamper Cardiff Blues as Ospreys secure victory
Cardiff Blues had to play with 14 men for 30 minutes as referee Ben Whitehouse hit them with three yellow cards in a 17-3 defeat to regional rivals the Ospreys.
The visitors also picked up one yellow card but had a second-half penalty try to thank for seeing them over the line in the second round of three weekends of Welsh derbies in the Guinness PRO14.
Having been pipped 16-14 against the Scarlets, they dominated up front to win comfortably.
The Blues were seeking to make it three wins in a row for the first time against the Ospreys since the regions were formed in 2003 and drew first blood at the end of a cagey first quarter which saw both sides kicking for position and mistakes.
The breakthrough came in the 21st minute when Hallam Amos bucked the kicking trend and led a breakout from his own half that saw Aled Summerhill and Tomas Williams carry into the Ospreys 22.
The forwards piled in and the visitors had to concede a penalty at a ruck to hold their line. Up stepped Jason Tovey and over went the first points of the game.
In the build-up to the move the Ospreys Welsh international centre Scott Williams picked up a left shoulder injury when he was cleaned out by Josh Adams and he had to leave the field. Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler came on to replace him.
Back to back penalties by the home side then allowed Stephen Myler to kick the Ospreys into the right corner and a well-set driving line-out maul ended up with hooker Ifan Phillips bagging the first try of the night. Myler added the extras to give his side the lead in the 32nd minute.
Dan Lydiate then had a terrible few minutes as he first conceded a penalty for taking out a player without the ball from the re-start. Tovey kicked to the corner and the Blues had two close-range line-outs to try to reply in similar style.
A crooked throw ruined their plans and then a scrum penalty conceded by former Osprey tight head Dmitri Arhip allowed the visitors to clear their lines. The Blues had one last attack before the break after Lydiate had been given a yellow card for leading with his forearm in a ball-carrying charge into Tovey.
Once again the Ospreys defence held out and they were good value for their slender interval lead. Myler was just wide with a kick from 45 metres five minutes into the second half and then it was the turn of the Blues to play with 14 men.
As Lydiate came back onto the field after his 10 minutes in the sin-bin, home lock Seb Davies trudged off after pulling down a line-out. Myler extended the lead with a simple penalty in the 56th minute and the Ospreys were dictating the pace of the game.
The extra man paid off at a line-out 10 metres from the Blues line and when the driving maul was pulled down illegally, Arhip got another yellow card and Whitehouse awarded a penalty try.
Arhip’s replacement, Scott Andrews, then saw yellow in the 68th minute at a buckled scrum to briefly reduce the home side to 13 men.
Comments on RugbyPass
Always reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
1 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
4 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
4 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
4 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
4 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
7 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
4 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
7 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to comments