Richard Hodges is relishing the opportunity to select from a near full-strength squad as the Guinness PRO14 returns this weekend.
A silver-lining of the enforced break in rugby, due to Covid-19, has been giving players the chance to overcome injuries, niggles and the usual bumps and bruises from the rigours of professional rugby.
Only Ellis Jenkins and Willis Halaholo remain on the long-term injury list and both are nearing targeted returns to training.
And with Cardiff Blues first match since the end of February taking place against the Scarlets on Saturday, defence coach Richard Hodges is looking forward to building through the Welsh derbies and into the 2020-21 season.
He said: “The opportunity for us is to get our strongest group of players together for a consistent amount of time, which can be pretty rare, especially on the back of a World Cup.
“We want to look at combinations that we haven’t previously had an opportunity to look at for an extended period and we also have some young boys who have trained the house down post Covid.
“The opportunity to pick your strongest XV is usually hampered by Six Nations, World Cup, autumn internationals and while we do have a couple of injuries, it’s only Ellis and Willis who won’t be available for any of these games with long-term injuries.”
There is certainly an unusual feeling around these games, with nothing on the line for Cardiff Blues and a sense of new beginnings. However, they are Welsh derbies and there has been the usual added needle in camp.
That has been palpable and while there is a hint of pre-season, Hodges expects typical Welsh derbies and believes the fixtures can act as a springboard to the 2020-21 season.
Hodges continued: “You can see there’s a bit of a different vibe and feeling in camp this week. We’ve obviously had a long, extended period without rugby, got back into our pre-season in small groups of seven, then 10 and then our units and team. It’s just nice to have a bit of normality to the week and we’re thoroughly looking forward to kicking off with a derby.
“There’s a bit more energy in the building. We had a hit out on Friday, 15 versus 15 for 40 minutes and that brought a huge amount of intensity . We had been building up our contact prep for that and the boys certainly didn’t disappoint.
“We’ve obviously got a bit of solidity and familiarity around our coaching and playing group, we’ve had a fair bit of time together and we need to turn that in results. Getting away from 50-50 in terms of wins and losses and becoming more consistent.
“The process to do that is probably our game management and we have spent a lot of time working on that so far and we’re looking forward to seeing where we are.
“But we know the challenge we will face down there, they have recruited well, they have a new coaching group and will be keen to progress.”
One area of keen focus will be the breakdown with new World Rugby directives around the existing laws. The slightly altered refereeing led to an substantial increase in penalties in other competitions and Hodges expects similar in the PRO14, however he also believes it will suit Cardiff Blues’ style and identity.
Prior to Covid-19, the Blues had won more turnovers than any other team in the competition and the boast a wealth of jacklers.
He added: “We are quite well versed with our identity in that area. We went into the break having won the most turnovers in the competition.
“I had a big smile on my face when the way the laws were going to refereed came out and I spent a lot of time deciphering that information with World Rugby and then presenting it back to the boys here.
“In effect nothing really changes, it hopefully just means we can get rewarded more than previous. We have to be seen to be making an effort to lift the ball rather than just clamping on it, so that’s a little tweak.
“Hopefully we can really benefit from it. We need to understand that with Nigel refereeing on the weekend that we will get rewarded but we don’t need to go chasing rainbows. We just need to stick to our structures, not chase lost causes and keep doing what we’re doing.”