Cardiff 30 Ulster 17:HAVING JUST watched his team crash to their eight away defeat of their Magners League campaign and 11th in all competitions this season, Ulster coach Matt Williams was surprisingly upbeat in the bowels of the Arms Park on Saturday night.
Ulster's place in next season's Heineken Cup may still not yet be safe given Connacht's surprise win at the Newport Gwent Dragons.
But Williams believes the experience gained by young players like Mark McCrea, who made his debut at fullback, and rookie halfbacks Paul Marshall and Niall O'Connor in the 30-17 defeat to a Blues side who still harbour faint hopes of catching league leaders Leinster will bear fruit next season.
"The boys showed a lot of character out there," said Williams. "The way they bounced back was a credit to them. We have seen them fall apart before when they had a sin-binning but when Ryan Caldwell got a yellow card in the second half - which was a wrong one - they were smart and courageous.
"I thought Paul Marshall and Niall O'Connor improved as the game went on, Mark McCrea had a tough night to make his debut as a fullback and did a great job. We will continue to use games like this to blood these guys because they are talented players."
Williams is also buoyed by the knowledge that Ulster's three remaining fixtures are all at Ravenhill, where they are currently on a winning streak of four. Ulster lead Connacht by four points with a game in hand.
"We are in charge of our own destiny," added the Australian. "They (Connacht) have two games, we have three games and that's 15 points. We have got to blood these young players, we have got to bring them through. I would not be coaching this province in the right manner if I didn't give these young guys an opportunity. We have just got to believe in ourselves and believe in the next three games we will get points.
"It is all about the next three games. We are coming home and I make no bones about it, we are coming home to win.
"We have two tough games coming up but we are at home, we will be in our own beds and we don't have to get in a bus or catch a plane again this season.
"We are in Belfast full stop and we want everyone to come out and support us. There are going to be some great players coming to town, lots of Irish and Welsh internationals. Cardiff are a wonderful side who play attractive rugby and we want to do the same."
Three first-half tries by Martyn Williams, Gareth Thomas and Jamie Roberts provided the foundation for a comfortable victory for the Blues. Ulster's defence was alarming porous at times, particularly from set pieces and the game was already well beyond their grasp at half-time as they trailed 27-3, with Ben Blair converting all three touchdowns and slotting two penalties.
Although the visitors managed something of a second-half revival with tries by Caldwell and Tommy Bowe, both converted by Niall O'Connor who had also landed a first-half penalty, gave the second half to Ulster, it was Cardiff who finished the stronger.
After Caldwell had been harshly sent to the sin bin for what appeared to be legal rucking just moments after scoring his try, Dai Flanagan slotted a penalty to take away a chance of a losing bonus point for Ulster. Cardiff pushed hard for a fourth try to claim a point bonus for themselves, but Ulster's defence this time was resolute.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 2mins: B Blair pen, 3-0; 12: M Williams try, Blair con, 10-0; 19: N O'Connor pen, 10-3; 31: Blair pen, 13-3; 32: G Thomas try, Blair con, 20-3; 39: J Roberts try, Blair con, 27-3; 55: R Caldwell try, O'Connor con, 27-10; 73: T Bowe try, O'Connor con, 27-17; 75: D Flanagan pen, 30-17.
CARDIFF BLUES: B Blair; J Roberts, T Shanklin, G Thomas, T James; N Robinson, R Rees; G Jenkins, G Williams, T Filise, D Jones, P Tito, M Molitika, M Williams, M Lewis (capt). Replacements: M Stcherbina for Blair (50 mins), R Thomas for G Williams (60 mins), G Powell for Filise (63 mins), J Spice for Rees (64 mins), B White for William, S Morgan for D Jones (both 71 mkns), D Flanagan for Stcherbina (72 mins).
ULSTER: M McCrea, T Bowe, A Trimble, R Dewey, M Bartholomeusz, N O'Connor, P Marshall; J Fitzpatrick, N Brady, T Court, C Del Fava, R Caldwell, M McCullough, K Dawson, R Wilson. Replacements: N Best for Dawson (55 mins), I Boss for Marshall, B Young for Fitzpatrick (both 58 mins), J Harrison for Caldwell (79 mins) Yellow cards: R Caldwell.
Referee: A MacPherson (SRU).
