Cardiff too strong for Connacht

A first half brace from Welsh wing Tom James set up the Cardiff Blues to secure their 'must-win' victory over Magners League strugglers Connacht at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Sitting in 11th and 12th spots respectively heading into the weekend, neither the Blues or Connacht could afford to a defeat this weekend.

The opening half an hour of the clash, perhaps expectedly, was a tight affair before, in the final 10 minutes of the first period, James struck twice - giving the home side a 18-3 lead at the break.

Connacht No.10 Ian Keatley scored all of his teams points in the match - three successful penalties - but the Irish Province will be disappointed with their inability to score tries against an unpredictable Blues defence.

Cardiff's Kiwi fullback Ben Blair scored the rest of his teams' 11 points on the night while his countryman, Casey Laulala, enjoyed a winning start to his time in Wales.

The Scorers

For Cardiff

Tries: James 2
Pen: Blair 9 
Cons: Blair

For Connacht

Pens: Keatley 3

The teams:

Cardiff Blues: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Richard Mustoe, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tom Shanklin, 11 Tom James, 10 Sam Norton-Knight, 9 Gareth Cooper, 8 Xavier Rush, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Sam Warburton, 5 Paul Tito (captain), 4 Deiniol Jones, 3 Faao Filise, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Gareth Williams, 17 Gary Powell, 18 Scott Morgan, 19 Andries Pretorius, 20 Richie Rees, 21 Ceri Sweeney, 22 Gareth Thomas.

Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Liam Bibo, 13 Nava Ta'auso, 12 Aidan Wynne, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 Mike McComish, 7 Johnny O'Connor, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Bernie Upton, 4 Michael McCarthy, 3 Robbie Morris, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Michael Swift, 19 Ray Ofisa, 20 Conor O'Loughlin, 21 Miah Nikroa, 22 Brian Tuohy.