Cardiff Blues 35 Ospreys 17

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More than 60,000 packed into the Principality Stadium for the Guinness PRO12 double-header and they were treated to a feast of attacking rugby from the Blues in a dominant display.

Kristian Dacey, Lloyd Williams and Nick Williams all crossed in a one-sided first-half and they continued to run riot in the second-half.

With dominance at the breakdown and the likes of Alex Cuthbert, Rey Lee-Lo and Willis Halaholo a constant threat in attack, the Blues were always in control.

It took just four minutes of the second-half to secure the bonus-point with Taufa’ao Filise powering over.

Gareth Anscombe was the next to score, contributing a personal tally of 15-points.

The Ospreys claimed consolation tries through Dan Evans and Paul James but it could do little to take the gloss off a memorable performance.

Cardiff Blues dominated the opening minutes at the Principality Stadium, with their big ball carriers making the hard yards.

They opened the scoring on five minutes as Dacey claimed his sixth try of the season. The opportunity arose after the ball was stripped from Cuthbert in the corner, with three defenders on his back..

The Blues were awarded the lineout and after Macauley Cook won the lineout and a drive was set-up, Dacey peeled off the back to catch the Ospreys napping.

Anscombe converted from the touchline, with the help of the uprights, to open up an early seven-point lead but the Ospreys battled back.

They too were willing in attack and an audacious offload around the back from Josh Matavesi released Justin Tipuric, who put Bradley Davies away but a forward pass was called.

The Blues were next to threaten with an electric counter-attack launched by Lee-Lo, he surged into Ospreys territory and found Rhun Williams in support.

Williams combined with Morgan but the full-back was unable to finish as the Ospreys scrambled.

Wales’ Capital Region remained in the ascent but alarm bells sounded when Matavesi intercepted Anscombe’s pass on his own line.

With nobody back, a try appeared ominous but Willis Halaholo worked back superbly and refused to commit, with Matavesi passing into touch.

The Ospreys opened their account on 17-minutes with a Sam Davies penalty but the Blues were soon on the front foot again.

Through a succession of phases they hammered the Ospreys and released Lee-Lo on the right. He beat one man and came agonisingly short but scrum-half Williams was quick to task and pounce over the whitewash.

Anscombe was again on target to stretch the Blues lead and he was back at the tee on 27-minutes.

The Wales fly-half was held up over the line a minute earlier and from the ensuing scrum Cuthbert hit a short ball.

It took three defenders to halt the flying wing and from the next phase number eight Williams powered over.

Anscombe added the extras to bring the scores to 21-3 but from the restart the Blues were dealt a blow.

They exited well, but when chasing Anscombe’s kick, Cuthbert clattered Evans, who timed his late jump to perfection, and a penalty was conceded.

Cuthbert was shown a yellow card and the Ospreys sensed blood, they dominated the majority of the next 10-minutes but the Blues defended heroically with Halaholo, Lee-Lo and Ellis Jenkins particularly destructive.

They survived the period without conceding any points, despite the Ospreys kicking to the corner. The Swansea-based outfit had one last roll of the dice but again, the Blues held their driving lineout at bay, eventually forcing a turnover for half-time.

Wilson’s men began the second-half like they ended the first and claimed the bonus-point try on 44 minutes.

The veteran Tongan prop and Cuthbert made the initial inroads and it was the power-packed duo who rampaged again for the try.

Cuthbert was marginally short from a set move but two phases later, Filise drove through two defenders for his first try since 2011.

Anscombe converted and the Blues continued to dominate the encounter, claiming a fifth try on 47-minutes.

Dacey latched onto loose ball in midfield and put Halaholo into space. The Super Rugby winner then displayed superb awareness to thread a perfectly-weighted grubber through the Ospreys defence.

Cuthbert was taken out as the Ospreys scrambled but that made no odds to Anscombe, who beat Sam Davies in the footrace and claimed the bouncing ball acrobatically before touching down.

He kept the scoreboard ticking, with the difference now 32-points with more than half an hour remaining.

The Ospreys, to their credit, refused to give in and they claimed a try back through Dan Evans shortly before the hour-mark, with Anscombe shown yellow.

But with a lead of 25-points remaining, the victory was under little threat despite a further Ospreys try from replacement prop James.

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