Corniel van Zyl was delighted to take five points from a rollercoaster encounter as Cardiff edged past Lions in the opening round of the BKT United Rugby Championship.
The Blue & Blacks looked to be in control when Taine Basham looked to have added a third try, following scores from Ben Thomas and Cam Winnett, mid-way through the half.
But following lengthy reviews the try was ruled out for head contact by Thomas on Nico Steyn in the final clear out. The centre was perhaps harshly sin-binned for the collision but matters became worse when it was surprisingly upgraded to a red card upon review.
The decision left the 5,771 crowd that braved the awful conditions bemused and Cardiff were forced to weather their own storm, down to 14 men.
Lions battled back and briefly took the lead but once restored to full complement, Cardiff regathered their composure and again took control. Alex Mann spun over for a crucial try before Evan Lloyd powered over for a brace in the final quarter, first securing a bonus-point and then putting the win beyond doubt.
Red card a turning point
Van Zyl said: “There were a few rollercoasters in that game. We started really well and I thought we had the momentum. But then obviously with that situation going from three tries up to the yellow/red, that was a big turning point.
“They’ve (the officials) got all the views and depending on how many views is currently at the game, they have all the views, so even more than the coaches, which is actually good. I like it for the game.
“It’s a tough one to say, but I thought it was potentially just a yellow card. It could even have been a play on, but it is what it is. They’ve got more views, so they probably see better.
“We struggled a little bit then after that, obviously with managing the game and we had a discipline issue, slow on reaction to the breakdown a few times, which put us under pressure.
“A good defensive set led to a penalty which we have avoided and then all of a sudden they get points. It was a real good roller coaster but ultimately what’s counting is the boys stuck to it and got it over the line.
“We made it hard for ourselves but they stuck into it and good leadership on the field with the senior players just to stick to the task again.
“The first set when we back to 15, it just felt like, we can go now. We sensed it on the top (coaches box), actually, the boys can go now.
“There’s a few things we can do better and we will always try and improve as a team. But the fight was definitely there.”
Cardiff now travel to face Munster at Thomond Park, next Saturday at 7:45pm, before returning to host Connacht a week later at the Arms Park.
Tickets for Connacht and all fixtures in the opening block of the URC are available now and can be purchased here.