‘We will bounce back’ – Wilson

Editor

Cardiff Blues head coach Danny Wilson has vowed tha his team will bounce back after they “disintegrated” in Friday’s loss at the Ospreys.

Wales’ Capital Region made a promising start in the first Welsh derby of the season at the Liberty Stadium thanks to a Kristian Dacey try.

But 19-points during a ten-minute period while Dan Fish was in the sin-bin provided a catastrophic blow and the Blues never recovered.

In all the hosts ran in seven tries in their 46-24 triumph on a bitterly disappointing evening for the Blues in Swansea, which saw Tom James and Rey Lee-Lo claim consolation tries.

Wilson admitted he was surprised by the manner of his side’s performance but insists there will be a response as attention turns to the European Challenge Cup.

“Credit to the Ospreys, they were physically more competitive than we were, which surprised me,” he told Cardiff Blues’ official website.

“I didn’t think physicality would be an issue, but we were physically dominated in their carries versus ours.

“There were a lot of missed tackles and a yellow card period where we just absolutely disintegrated. There’s no way three tries should come out of that period.

“We missed I don’t know how many one-on-one tackles during some of those phases, which is not like us, and there were a lot of easy yards for them.

“It certainly doesn’t resemble the way we have defended the last five weeks. So I am puzzled.

“That’s not like this group of players. This group of players is better than that and we’ve all seen that.

“The proof has been in the last five weeks but in a derby it’s not the performance we expect. I don’t need to pull any punches because, they are saying similar.

“It’s not a performance we can be proud of and it doesn’t resemble a derby.

“It’s a one off and we will prove it’s a one off with the performances in the next few weeks that you have seen in the first five weeks.”

Missed tackles were a particular theme and while Wilson was left perplexed, he does not believe it is time to panic.

He reckons the Blues have shown enough in the opening weeks of the season to prove they are a better side and will now be brutally honest as they get themselves back on track.

“I wish I could put my finger on it,” added Wilson.

“If it was something that was happening week in week out with us you could start to look at a number of reasons why. I am as shell-shocked as anybody that’s the performance we have dished out.”