First half was all about the attack, second half was all about the defence. Yesterday was strange, normally I'm slightly nervous before a game but I felt absolutely no nerves before that. I was a bit worried that complacency might set in purely because everyone expected us to win. But from the moment Nacewa scored the first try there was no doubt in my mind we'd win, and the game was effectively over after 25 minutes.
I'm delighted one of the forwards (Healy) got MOTM, as even though we took our foot off the gas a bit, Cardiff never gave up and threw everything at us in the second half, and we repelled everything. We kept our line unbreached and that's a fantastic effort. Martin Williams probably should have scored but it was the correct call, he spilled the ball before grounding.
Sexton was immense yet again, and was one of the many contenders for MOTM, one penalty miss aside. He's the heartbeat of the team. His lovely dummy for the first try and his offload to Fitzgerald in the build-up to BOD's try were sublime.
The only shaky aspect of the game was the line-out. Not sure if the throws were bad or if the timing was off, but any time we threw to Thorn we seemed to lose it. When Cullen was receiving, we seemed to retain possession. Something to work on anyway.
As for the other game yesterday, credit to Edinburgh. Nobody expected them to win and it was a gritty performance. Their heads could've dropped when Toulouse cancelled out their fantastic start to go 14-7 in front but they stuck at it and scored a memorable win. Michael Bradley deserves great credit for the job he's doing there.
On to today, I'm going for wins for Ulster and Clermont. Even though from a Leinster perspective I think Saracens would be more beatable in the semi in London, I think Clermont will be too good for them. Following Harlequins hammering at the hands of Toulon the other night, the form guide suggests that there can only be one outcome. But it's knock-out rugby and anything can happen.
As for the all Irish clash I think Ulster will spring a surprise. Munster have injury concerns over Murray, Ryan and O'Connell and they've had no match practice. Ferris is carrying a knock for Ulster but at least he hasn't been out for a few weeks, he's been playing games and will be match fit. It should be a cracker. I've a hurling match at the same time so going to record it and watch it later.
