Heineken Cup Pool 6 round-up:Cardiff Blues got over the shock of going behind to Calvisano to record a nine-try 62-20 victory that guaranteed their position as number one seeds going into the quarter-finals.
Full-back Ben Blair, back after a wrist injury, contributed 22 points and claimed the man-of-the-match award.
The Welsh side went behind after eight minutes when Kiwi outhalf Gerard Fraser charged down opposite number Nicky Robinson’s kick and centre Gonzalo Garcia won the race to touchdown. Fraser converted.
The Blues responded with wing Gareth Thomas breaking through two tackles to score a try awarded after consultation with the video referee.
Blair missed the conversion and then conceded an easy penalty which Fraser slotted over, but the New Zealander was soon a hero again.
He fed winger Leigh Halfpenny and took a return pass to race clear to the posts, providing himself with a simple conversion, and then added a penalty to further settle the Arms Park nerves.
Continued home pressure led to a move which spread quickly to the right, where the flying Halfpenny raced over close to the flag, Blair’s conversion giving the scoreboard the sort of appearance most had expected.
Xavier Rush replaced Andy Powell at half-time and within three minutes of his arrival he broke from a scrum and strolled over without a hand laid on him to secure the bonus point.
Fraser kicked a penalty for Calvisano, but it was only a brief interruption before a neat cross-kick from Robinson was taken by Gareth Thomas, who handed replacement kicker Rhys Thomas the try.
As both sides rang the changes, the Italians grabbed another breakaway try, from Matteo Pratichetti, but Rhys Thomas stretched over to cancel it over with his second score.
A yellow card for Calvisano prop Gabriel Bocca, who had only just entered the fray, shattered the visitors’ spirit and the floodgates opened.
Flankers Martyn Williams and Maama Molitika, with a 50-yard gallop, and wing Gareth Thomas all crossed, sending the Blues past the 56 points they recorded in Italy in October and establishing a new best for the region in this competition.
Gloucester failed to qualify for the quarter-finals thanks to tonight’s 24-10 defeat away to Biarritz.
James Simpson-Daniel’s first-half try was upstaged in the south by Biarritz’s Dimitri Yachvili, who scored 14 points — including a brilliant 13th-minute touchdown.
The hosts galloped into a 17-10 interval lead in atrocious conditions thanks to tries from Yachvili and Imanol Harinordoquy — before Julien Peyrelongue sealed the victory.
Both sides needed maximum points and other results to go their way in the final round of pool matches to secure qualification for the last eight.
