John Mulvihill urges Cardiff Blues to build on Lyon win

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Cardiff Blues boss John Mulvihill has challenged his side to build on their victory over Lyon in Sunday’s Champions Cup opener at Stade de Gerland, as they prepare to welcome Glasgow Warriors to the Welsh capital.

Tries from Tomos Williams, Olly Robinson and Gareth Anscombe helped Wales’ capital region to make it nine wins from the last 10 fixtures against French opposition.

The head coach was proud of his side’s effort at Stade de Gerland, but insists they must back it up at the Arms Park in order to continue their fight for a place in the knockout stages.

“It’s a great result for us and hopefully it means we can pack out Cardiff Arms Park next Sunday when Glasgow visit because that’s going to be another big game for us. Hopefully we can build on this win,” said Mulvihill.

“We talked about our return to the Champions Cup a lot in the build-up to the game and it was a big focus for us. We want to do this competition proud.

“It means a lot to us to play against the best teams in Europe and this is a fantastic tournament. The physicality of the games is huge and we stood up to that.

“The whole coaching group, everyone who came to Lyon as part of the team, and the supporters are so proud of this team. They produced a fantastic performance

“We knew if we opened the game up and moved the ball around then we would have some success and we wanted to keep the ball away from the Lyon forwards. They have a great scrum and line-out.”

Anscombe was named man of the match in the clash, after racking up 20-points including a stunning individual effort.

Meanwhile, Owen Lane was forced off the field in the final moments of the game, after pulling up during his attempts to stop Quentin Delord crossing.

Mulvihill was impressed with the individual performances in Lyon, and offered positive news on wing Lane.

The head coach said: “Owen’s injury was more cramp than anything else.

“He is moving quite freely and we’ve got a few bumps and bruises. We’re not training until Tuesday, but we’ll be assessing some boys on Monday.

“I thought Gareth and Tomos were outstanding and they both produced big displays, but every single player can be proud of their performance.

“Jarrod Evans had his moments too in unleashing the backs outside him.”

Photo credit: Cardiff Blues’ official website

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