Cardiff Rugby might be reverting to their traditional blue and black colours and embracing the club’s history, but with the 2021/22 season fast-approaching it certainly feels like we’re embarking on an exciting new era at Cardiff Arms Park.
At the helm is fans favourite, Dai Young, who is ready for his first full season back in charge as the Blue and Blacks are set to compete in the Heineken Champions Cup and the new-look United Rugby Championship.
During his previous tenure at the club, Young saw homegrown stars such as Sam Warburton, Leigh Halfpenny, Josh Navidi and Jamie Roberts graduating into the first team at the Arms Park and eventually cementing their places as established Welsh internationals.
Speaking at Cardiff Castle, where the club held the Rugby in the Castle tag festival to celebrate the official switch back to Cardiff Rugby, Young was excited and optimistic about what the future holds, as he looks to embrace the club’s traditions of developing the very best local talents to take the Blue and Blacks forward.
“Firstly, I was very proud to put on the Cardiff jersey as a player, and we’re all aware of the history at the club,” said the former Cardiff, Wales and British & Irish Lions prop.
“People above my pay grade have looked into it and canvassed supporters and sponsors, so it's not a decision that's been taken lightly.
“It's a decision that supporters, sponsors and the like thought was the best way to move forward. They know better than me what people want.
“From my point of view, it doesn't change my job. Our focus is exactly the same.
“Although the name has changed and we embrace our history, it doesn't change our responsibilities within the regional pathways.
“If you look at our squad, a big percentage come from the valleys and we're proud of that and it's something we don't see changing.
“Our regional responsibilities are the same as before and we’re confident that they’re not going to be affected by a re-branding.
“Those decisions were made commercially, which is huge. If things don't work commercially, you can forget about everything else, so we get that.
“Even going back to when I played for Cardiff, there was a huge representation from the Valleys and right around Wales and I don’t see that changing.
“There’s a real strong tradition of rugby throughout the Valleys, which has always led to Cardiff. We’ll still have the regional pathways with our age grade sides and the steady stream of guys coming from Valleys will always be there and rightly so. That should always be the case.
“You look at the squad now and some of our best players have come from the Valleys and been proud to wear that jersey.”
In fact, 33 of the current senior squad have graduated from the Cardiff Rugby pathway, with an exciting blend of homegrown youth and experience at Young’s disposal. There was also a strong contingent of Cardiff players represented in this year's Wales under-20 squad, while last season saw Mason Grady and Jamie Hill being among nine players making their debuts for the club.
With the director of rugby heading into his first full season in his second stint at the helm at Cardiff Arms Park, he insists he’s focused on implementing a long-term strategy at the club by building a platform for the club to compete consistently in the future and giving the next generation of local stars an opportunity to shine and develop with their home side.
“The pre-season fixtures against Harlequins and Bath will be great tests. We’ve got something like 14 players away but there’s a lot of jostling for positions, like there always is when there’s a new coach coming in,” said the three-times British and Irish Lions tourist.
“Slates are wiped clean to a certain degree with where the squad has been, and I’ve made that pretty clear to the squad. Everyone’s fighting for positions and nobody has got that jersey by a right.
“Everyone has to earn that right, but I’ve been really thrilled by the way they’ve addressed pre-season.
“It’s been hard work, like everyone’s pre-season, but I’m really looking forward to the start of the season. We’ve got really good friendlies where we can assess where we are, and hopefully we can hit the ground running.
“We’ve got an exciting young squad with a lot of guys who need more rugby within that, and they will put pressure on some of the more established players and develop accordingly.
“The first thing in my job is to get the best out of this squad, and I don’t think we’ve got the best out of this squad yet.
“There’s really exciting talent across the board which we need to develop.
“If there are any other players out there and we have the financial budget, then we’ll have a look at it.
“But first and foremost it’s about getting the best out of this squad, developing our own and that’s something I’m really looking forward to and excited about.
“A big thing that I pride myself on is not making short term fixes. You can put yourself under a bit of pressure initially but the important thing is coming in and making the right decision for the medium and long-term benefit.
“Of course you have to make some progress in the short term otherwise you won’t be there long enough to exercise a medium and long term view.
“Part and parcel of my make up is laying a solid foundation to build on. It’s all well and good to reach a certain point but you want to stay there.
“It’s not a case of not valuing every fixture or going into games thinking that winning or losing doesn’t matter, because it always does. You want to win every game but you also need to have half an eye on building something sustainable.
“You only need to look at the centres. In my brief spell as an interim, I was pretty quick to expose Ben Thomas just to get him out to play. We played him at full back, we played him at 10 and we played him at 12, initially just to get him out on the field and get some game-time in him.
“He’s a quality player that can play in a number of positions, although I’m sure he’ll settle on one sooner rather than later. But for now it’s about getting them out there and playing at this level.
“Max Llewellyn is another who played two games and was man of the match in one. I’m excited about these guys and they’ve got to be given an opportunity.
“You have to be brave as a director of rugby, because they won’t play well in every game. That’s part and parcel of it with youngsters - it’s going to be a bit of a rollercoaster but you’ve got to stick with them.”
All roads in pre-season eventually lead to the start of the competitive season, and the Blue and Blacks are set to participate in the new-look United Rugby Championship.
With four South African outfits joining the URC for the new campaign, Young is excited to get underway and is relishing the challenges ahead.
The former Wales international added: “I think it’s exciting. The South Africans coming in will challenge the tried and tested top echelons of this league.
“We’re one team that’s chasing the boys who have been in the top four for a number of years.
“We know that the highest we’ve been in the last 10 years is seventh. That’s not good enough and we want to improve, as I’m sure does the other Welsh sides.
“Not only do we need to try and close the gap on the Irish teams, but with four South African teams coming in it only makes it harder.
“But it makes it more exciting, more challenging and certainly focuses the mind that for us sitting where we are won’t be good enough. We have to raise the bar in all of our standards right across the board to really challenge in this league.
“They’ve re-branded, trying to make it fresh and exciting. They’ve achieved that and hopefully the rugby will go to another level as well.”
One new face that can been seen around Cardiff Arms Park during pre-season is Wales international outside half, Rhys Priestland, who made the switch to the capital following six seasons with Bath Rugby.
The director of rugby is confident the 50-times capped playmaker will make crucial contributions both on and off the field for Cardiff.
Young explained: “Rhys is a really good guy off the field, which is important. One thing that did strike me when I came back here was that there are a lot of good people here and everyone wants the same thing.
“Everyone wants to get better and everyone wants to achieve things.
“Rhys comes into that and he’ll really add to the group. He’s a good guy who puts the team first and the experience he’s got is right up there.
“With the couple of sessions he’s done, he’s already added his experience and knowledge. That’s what the players need because you look at the squad and they’re predominantly come through the Cardiff set-up and haven’t really experienced other environments.
“When you bring players from other environments, they’ll add to that as well. We’re really pleased to have him on board and I think he’ll be a really big help to us moving forward as a side."