Blues tame Tigers

Cardiff Blues edged a tight EDF Energy Anglo-Welsh Cup match with Leicester Tigers, winning 23-9 on Saturday.

Tries from Jamie Robinson and Jason Spice did the damage as the Blues put one foot into the semi-finals after their second Pool B victory in a row.

Nick Robinson put in a man of the match performance with some expert territorial kicking, while full-back Ben Blair also impressed, notching 13 points as the Welsh side eventually secured the win at Cardiff Arms Park.

The first half was a real anti-climax with both teams going into the game on the back of some good form.

Leicester edged the possession while Cardiff dominated the territory through some superb kicking by fly-half Robinson.

Both teams were guilty of some careless play and rattled up 20 errors between them, but it was the Blues who shaded the score.

Cardiff took the early initiative through two Ben Blair penalties as Leicester were victims of some sloppy possession.

Cardiff's muscle men came to life on 35 minutes when Andy Powell charged past the half way line, fighting off five Leicester challenges to release Jamie Roberts who found Spice, but the No 9 was in front of the pass on what would have been a certain try.

Leicester did get back into the match when Derick Hougaard converted a penalty kick on 40 minutes to half the deficit.

Second-half sizzler

Both teams would have received orders from the dressing room to up the tempo after a dire first-half and it was the home side that did as such in what was a decisive moment in the match.

Jamie Roberts and Jamie Robinson combined to score the first try five minutes after the re-start.

Roberts found a gap in the Tigers' defence and used his powerful physique to bustle through and lay a pass into the speedy Robinson's hands, who safely put the ball under the sticks for Blair to convert the kick.

Leicester's Hougaard converted a penalty kick on 49 minutes to keep the away team in contention after Blues' captain Paul Tito was penalised for dangerous play.

The Blues then enjoyed another spell in the Tigers' half and came close to scoring twice through a brilliant long-distance run from Leigh Halfpenny, then when No. 13 Robinson was dubiously adjudged to have been ahead of a Blair pass.

Near-misses

Leicester's best spell came on the hour mark when substitute Julien Dupuy found himself within five yards of the Blues' try-line after a Tigers' scrum, but a penalty conversion through Hougaard was the best they could manage.

Cardiff nearly sealed the victory when Taufa'ao Filise looked certain to bundle the ball onto the try-line before falling a yard short.

And the home side had another bite of the cherry immediately, but try-scorer Robinson knocked on in an advantageous position.

Cardiff gained a seven-point cushion when Blair converted a simple penalty kick, just after missing a more-difficult long distance effort.

But the match was finally sealed when Spice got his reward for an industrious performance, easily breaking through a tired Tigers defence two minutes shy of full-time.

The result puts Cardiff on the brink of reaching the last four, while Leicester must beat Sale Sharks to have any hope of progressing.