Xavier Rush feels Cardiff's losing bonus point against Castres could prove crucial in the battle to qualify from Pool One.
French side delighted to register their first win in this season's event
Cardiff Blues captain Xavier Rush feels his side's losing bonus point against Castres could prove crucial in the battle to qualify from Pool One.
The Magners League side went down 27-20 at Stade Pierre Antoine but secured something for their efforts thanks to Scott Andrews' late try.
The score, which was converted by Ceri Sweeney, means the Blues sit level with their opponents at the top of the group on five points. They had trailed 27-6 at the break before a Maama Molitika try sparked a recovery.
"This is a very tight pool where you have to take whatever you can get on the road and, as the competition develops, that bonus point could prove crucial," Rush said.
"We weren't surprised by the way Castres came at us. They have a very proud record at home in the French league and have not been beaten here for some time.
"We knew they would come at us but unfortunately it took us a long time to get into the game.
"They were better than us in most areas in the first half. We struggled at the scrum and what ball we did have we turned over. We made them look pretty good."
Good performance
Ben Blair had kicked Cardiff's only points in a first 40 minutes that saw Vincent Inigo and Marc Andreu touch down for Castres.
Rush added: "It wasn't a good performance in the first half but we just put that behind us at half-time and started from scratch in the second half.
"We went out to play the way we knew we could and I'm very proud of the way the boys stuck together, hung on and salvaged that bonus point. In difficult circumstances, it's not a bad result."
Castres had secured a losing bonus point themselves in the opening round of fixtures, going down to a narrow 18-16 defeat away to Northampton.
Castres coach Laurent Travers said: "We are very pleased to get the win.
"It was important for us to recover from the defeat to Northampton last week, especially in front of our home supporters, and we achieved that.
"We performed well in the first half, we controlled the ball and the pace of the game, but we knew Cardiff are a very good side and they came back well in the second half.
"It was good to get the victory but we were disappointed to let them score that late try for a bonus point. Every point is important in this pool."
