Semisi Paea was delighted to do his new hometown proud in his first taste of Welsh derby action.

The Tongan back-rower arrived in the Welsh capital in September and made his debut against Leinster last month. 

It was a bruising introduction to northern hemisphere rugby for the 27-year-old, who faced the BKT United Rugby Championship holders, Gallagher Prem champions Northampton Saints and star-studded Hollywoodbets Sharks in consecutive weeks. 

All three ended in hard-fought defeat with Cardiff ruing indiscipline or inaccuracy in key moments but on Saturday night in Swansea, they were ruthless. 

Learning lessons from narrow defeats

The Blue & Blacks took away the Ospreys best attacking weapon – the driving maul – denied the hosts a single point and bagged four tries to make it a maximum points triumph, and Paea was thrilled with the outcome. 

He said: “I’m settling really well, really enjoying the people and the environment. It was a really easy transition coming from New Zealand. 

“I’ve felt the love from the boys and the management and the coaches. It’s real easy for me to just move in. 

“Winning today means a lot. I know what it means to the boys, especially the ones from Wales and from Cardiff. I know the people in Cardiff, this would mean a lot to them too. So I just had to put my best foot forward for them, for the team and for Cardiff as well. 

“We’ve just got to take opportunities. Those really good teams like Leinster, Sharks, they’ll turn those mistakes into points. That’s something we had to really learn going into this week. 

“Going away from those little mistakes and just ill-discipline as well so we can put points on the board.”

Disarming the Ospreys attacking weapon

The Ospreys enjoyed more than 20 visits to the Cardiff 22 and were held up over the line on three occasions but it was the way they neutralised the driving lineout, which was most impressive.

It had been an area of focus in the week for the Blue & Blacks and they put practice into action with a hugely impressive defensive effort.

Paea continued: “That’s something we’ve been talking about all week. We knew the Ospreys weren’t going to be an easy task for us but we had to front up and take them on up front. 

“(Maul defence) is something we worked on throughout the week. We noticed that they are real good driving team, so we had to stop that and get momentum on our side.”

While Cardiff now have five weeks without a fixture, a bust month lies ahead for Paea, who links up with Tonga today. 

The Ikale Tahi face Romania, Georgia and Hong Kong in November before Paea returns for a festive season packed with European showdowns and Welsh derbies.

He added: “I’m flying out Suday afternoon, going meet up with the Tonga boys over in Bucharest in Romania, playing on Friday. Georgia the following week and finish off in Hong Kong. 

“It’s a busy month but I’m looking forward to it though. But them I’m also looking forward to it again with Cardiff. I can’t wait to come back and just keep working hard and chipping away with the boys at it. Hopefully we can get a few more wins under our belts.”

Cardiff return to action against Ulster on December 5, tickets are available now!