Bristol boss Richard Hill has praised Cardiff Blues after they reached the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup.
Home record ends - but Hill hails "fantastic experience"
Bristol boss Richard Hill has praised Cardiff Blues after they both ended his team's unbeaten home record and reached the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup.
The Blues' 17-0 victory ensured they finished top of Pool Three ahead of Stade Francais, the Magners League side now heading to Toulouse for a last-eight showdown in early April.
First-half tries by flanker Maama Molitika and centre Gareth Thomas put Cardiff on their way, with Hill left reflecting on a first defeat at the Memorial Stadium since Guinness Premiership champions Leicester beat them four months ago.
He said: "Cardiff were the better side.
"Teams normally crumble when they are under a bit of pressure here, but Cardiff were very clinical. Their big players stepped up to Heineken Cup standard today.
"Most teams would have wilted under the pressure we put on them, but Cardiff didn't lose their heads."
Learning process
Bristol went into the match needing a bonus point victory to have any realistic chance of progressing.
But, aside from a couple of threatening runs by wing prospect Tom Arscott, they were never really in contention.
Nevertheless, despite their failure to progress, Hill added that his side will learn from the experience.
"The effort was there and the physicality was immense, but scoring four tries was in the back of the players' minds," he said.
"Because we were thinking about scoring four tries, maybe we lacked a bit of composure.
"But this Heineken Cup campaign has been a fantastic experience for us, and we will get better."
Big performance
Blues head coach David Young said: "We pulled a big performance out when it really mattered.
"We are far more equipped now for the Heineken Cup. We have put a flag in the sand and shown we are moving in the right direction.
"There always seems to be doom and gloom and Wales, but with ourselves and the Ospreys reaching the quarter-finals, it sends out a positive message.
"To have two Welsh teams in the last eight of Europe shows the regional structure is starting to work."
