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Cardiff Blues managed to deal with Murrayfield's wet and windy conditions - Evans

1st April 2018


Jarrod Evans believes Cardiff Blues managed the wet and windy conditions well during Saturday's Challenge Cup quarter final win over Edinburgh.

Ellis Jenkins claimed the game’s opening try at BT Murrayfield, pouncing on a loose ball after Evans’ dink rebounded off the head of Edinburgh’s Nathan Fowles.

The outside half played a key role throughout, as Danny Wilson’s side looked to break past a stern home defence through clever tactical kicking. 

“It was a funny one because we needed to adapt slightly to the weather, and it was pretty greasy out there, but I was just glad to come away with the win,” said Evans.

“In attack and defence, we backed ourselves, not just through the territory game but we put in some little attacking kicks and had a lot of joy out of it.

“We knew it was greasy and it led to two mistakes in their back three and we got two tries out of it.

“To be honest I didn’t see it come off his head, but I just put the kick in that area and to be fair it’s not a very nice ball to take on a dry day, never mind in those conditions that we played in.

“We did mention in the build-up about the dead ball area being so wide that it gave us a little bit of room for error and fortunately it paid off for us.

“I got the nod to play at number 10 this week, and to be fair to the boys outside me, they help me a lot by talking with me throughout the game.”

The win extends the Blues’ winning streak to eight games in PRO14 and European competitions, and Evans insists a home semi final at Cardiff Arms Park will give the side an extra boost as they prepare to welcome Pau back to the Welsh capital.

Evans said: “That’s a massive win for us. Edinburgh have been going well recently, but so have we, so we knew it was going to be a big game.

“We’re pretty strong at home, Pau are going well and are a big physical side, but I feel, when we play at the Arms Park, there’s a real buzz about us.

“We’ve had a few big games there recently in the PRO14, against big teams, and managed to come out on top. We played Pau last year and that will give us confidence as well.”