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T. Williams (8', 9'), J. Sebastian (17', 18'), T. Basham (26', 27'), A. Mann (35', 36'), T. Bowen (43', 54')
Tries
F. Minervino (20', 21'), G. Ferrari (59'), G. Bertaccini (64'), G. Re (69')
C. Sheedy (18', 19', 26', 27', 36', 37', 44'), J. Evans (54')
Conversions
G. Re (59', 70')
Penalties
T. Allan (5', 6')
This didn’t so much reveal anything new about Cardiff Rugby as confirm what last spring and Round 1 hinted at: when they front-load heft and athletes in the loose, they can grind teams down. The visitors arrived sore from last week and carried plenty of ambition, but Zebre Parma couldn’t live with the collision count for long enough. The home side’s back-row carried, chopped and recycled at a tempo Zebre matched only in bursts. By the time Cardiff emptied part of their bench and loosened the grip, the game’s hard work was done.
The shape of it was simple. Pick Mann-Botham-Basham and you’re announcing how you plan to win. Taine Basham gave Cardiff constant front-foot ball with 16 hard carries and a try; Alex Mann added a score of his own and 20 tackles; and James Botham made a monstrous 25 tackles. That trio bent the gain line and harried the ruck. With momentum secured, Callum Sheedy and Ben Thomas ran a tidy left-right game, forcing Zebre to turn and defend multiple entries. Cardiff didn’t need to overcomplicate it. They repeatedly won the middle third, played in the right areas and asked Zebre to make far too many tackles for a second straight week.
The turning point came long before the late flurry of visiting scores made the margin respectable. Midway through the first half the home tight five started to squeeze. Teddy Williams powered over to underline Cardiff’s power near the posts and then Javan Sebastian followed from close range. Zebre briefly struck back through their hooker but lost too many of the subsequent exchanges around set piece and tackle contest. On paper the Italian tight five was green for a road assignment; on grass Cardiff’s experience told.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAKS
TACKLE
TACKLES MISSED
TURNOVERS WON
PENALTIES CONCEDED
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The numbers back the feel of it. Zebre had more of the ball, but they missed 32 tackles and their scrum was under 75% while Cardiff’s lineout was flawless. That clean platform is why the home side banked a 26-8 cushion and then extended to 40-8 after the break. You could see the plan in micro: secure launch ball, send Basham and Mann down the channels, play off fast rucks and keep Zebre defending their goal line. When it spilled wide, Cardiff had threats too. Tom Bowen took both his chances smartly, while Harri Millard punched holes for 62 metres and four clean breaks. It wasn’t flash; it was repeatable.
To Zebre’s credit they came with intent and didn’t fold. Tommaso Allan took early points to settle them, and in phase play Damiano Mazza and Davide Ruggeri both found seams — Mazza’s 13 carries for 65 metres told you he was trying to keep their attack connected, while Ruggeri’s 20 carries bent plenty of shoulders. They just couldn’t convert red-zone pressure often enough while the game was live. Cardiff’s scramble — Williams again, Mann, Botham — turned promising Italian sets into retreats or errors. Then, at 40-8 with the result in the bank, Zebre’s bench injected energy; Giacomo Da Re sparked things, Giacomo Ferrari and Giulio Bertaccini crossed, and suddenly the scoreboard looked kinder.
That closing period says as much about Cardiff’s work-ons as it does about Zebre’s pride. Once Sheedy and Basham sat down and the tempo dipped, the hosts’ exits grew loose and their discipline frayed just enough to invite counter-punches. It wasn’t costly here, but 13 unanswered points in the final quarter is ammunition for coaches before Leinster away. The talent is there — Jarrod Evans came on to steer things and add a conversion, Rhys Barratt covered an early loss of Scott Sio without the scrum wobbling — but the 80-minute control still needs tightening.
Individual mentions matter because they explain the pattern. Josh McNally captained with clarity and anchored the lineout; Williams led the tackle count among the locks with 22 and bagged a try; Jacob Beetham and Millard routinely won the kick-return battle to hand their forwards a running start. For Zebre, Mazza’s touches kept them organised, Giovanni Montemauri threatened in backfield, and Da Re’s finish changed the mood. But the defensive load and the missed tackles column told the deeper story: too many first contacts lost against heavier traffic.
Does the margin flatter anyone? Yes — Zebre. At 40-8 the gulf was exactly what pre-match logic suggested after their bruising opener. Those late scores owed plenty to game state and Cardiff substitutions. The worthwhile takeaway for the Italians is that there’s enough attacking shape and bench impact to trouble teams when the game loosens; the urgent task is to carry that threat into minutes 1-60 and cut the errors under pressure. Edinburgh at home next will test whether they can stick in the arm-wrestle longer.
For Cardiff, this was a proof of concept rather than a peak. A heavyweight pack plus a balanced 10-12 axis gave them control, and the back three finished efficiently when invited. Keep the exits tidy and the throttle on for the full 80, and they’ll be hard work for anyone. They’ll need all of that in Dublin next week. But on a wet Friday at the Arms Park, depth and a ball-carrying back row did exactly what they were picked to do.
