Man-of-the-match Josh Navidi hailed his team-mates for 'rolling up their sleeves' as Cardiff Blues battled the conditions and a gritty Benetton Treviso team to record a crucial RaboDirect PRO12 victory.
Navidi was dubbed by Director of Rugby Phil Davies as ‘absolutely outstanding’ after his all-action display in torrential rain and high winds as the Wales ace repeatedly carried into contact to make the hard yards and secured ball in defence as he operated back at openside.
However, the flanker, named captain for the first time this season, was determined to heap the praise on his team-mates for the manner in which they performed in energy sapping wet weather.
“I enjoyed the captaincy but it was a massive team performance. All the boys rolled their sleeves up and it was good to have the win as captain,” said Navidi.
“This is the time when the younger boys can show themselves and we can show the Academy system is working.
“It was a good result for us to take into next week against Worcester and it just shows the strength in depth we have got now with the young boys coming through,” he added.
“The first half against the wind we knew we had to keep the ball, play the clock down and stay in their half.
“As soon as they turned the ball over we were back in our own half so we knew we had to come out firing second half, use the wind to our advantage and keep them pinned back.”