Cardiff blues coach Danny Wilson has given a damning assessment of his players’ character after they collapsed from a winning position to crash out of the European Challenge Cup against Gloucester.
Wilson branded the performance “unacceptable” as the Blues conceded six tries to lose 46-26 in their quarter-final at Kingsholm after they had been 26-20 ahead.
It was another shambolic disintegration by the Blues, who have made Wilson suffer a few this season, but none as bad or as significant as the 26 unanswered points they shipped on Saturday night.
“For 50 minutes, we were really good and should have been further ahead as we led 26-20 and had most of the field positions,” he said.
“What unfolded in the next 15-20 minutes was unacceptable and I’m shell-shocked. To lose 46-26 was tough as we gave away three soft tries in quick succession. Gloucester finished well but I’m incredibly frustrated at the way we collapsed.
“You saw three soft tries in a 15 minute period. The first one comes when we are applying pressure down the other end and there’s an overthrow at the tail of the lineout.
“A poor kick then leads to Matthew Morgan trying to run out of his own 22 and losing the ball and they score.
“Ok, that happens in a game of rugby and we’ve conceded a try, but we should be able to quickly regain control.
“Then we conceded two really soft tries from nothing. A dummy off a line-out play where they walk through and then a short-side attack where they go through two players.
“They were two poor defensive errors. The only way to really describe that is a complete collapse for 15 minutes.
“Credit to Gloucester, they took their opportunities well, but it was far too soft as far as I’m concerned.
“It was a 15-20 minute period that was unacceptable.”
The Blues have now conceded more than 40 points five times this season, but this latest calamity was arguably the most painful.
With nothing left to play for in terms of qualification for either the Guinness Pro 12 play-offs, or European Champions Cup qualification, the Blues season is effectively over already.
Having started the season so brightly with four successive victories, the Blues have now lost 16 times in all competitions and their season has crumbled away in familiar fashion.
Gloucester boss David Humphreys was happy to get the job done as they now prepare to face La Rochelle in the final four.
“In Cup rugby it is all about getting the result. This season we have played well in most games but have not been picking up the wins,” said Humphreys.
“Tonight was a big step forward as we knew how important the game was. We were a bit loose in the first-half and were on the wrong end of the refereeing decisions but we took control and won the second-half comprehensively.
“Switching from 12 to 10 was a big ask so early in the game but Billy [Twelvetrees] was outstanding in implementing our game plan. We took our chances tonight but La Rochelle will be difficult as they have won 13 on the bounce but away from home, we can play with freedom.”