Bradley Davies insists players must take blame for Cardiff Blues' fall from grace

BLUES lock Bradley Davies is adamant the players must take full responsibility for their fifth defeat in a row.

The Welsh international defended under-fire coaches Gareth Baber and Justin Burnell after the Ospreys ended their hopes of reaching the RaboDirect Pro12 play-offs.

Six Nations Grand Slam winner Davies spoke with typical honesty as he addressed the 33-12 defeat at Cardiff City Stadium.

“It’s easy to blame off-the- field things and who is leaving but it comes down to personal and team performances on it,” he said.

Davies, who was captain against the Ospreys, insisted: “We’re letting ourselves down.

“You can’t blame the coaches. We have been embarrassed by how we have played during the last couple of weeks. We have created an environment which is not good enough.

“No-one likes losing, especially against our arch-rivals the Ospreys. We competed well for 60 minutes and then kind of crumbled. Our scrum has been under pressure the last couple of weeks.

“It’s not down to a lack of effort – we’ve being banging them out in training.

“We’re a bit naive and inexperienced but the only way to improve it is on the training field.

“Personally, I’m a bit embarrassed and there are a lot of forwards embarrassed in the dressing room.

“We’ve got a lot of youngsters. They’re inexperienced at the moment. They have to learn you can’t switch off.

“That’s (Ospreys pulling away) what happens when you do. They built pressure from the scrum and they kind of bulldozed us in the end.

“We have got two big games left to prove something. We are back in on Monday morning and must be harsh on ourselves.

“It’s up to us youngsters to build for next season. We have to take it on the chin, work hard next week, focus on our two remaining matches and next season.

“We need to try and finish on a high against Edinburgh and the Scarlets.

“If you look at the boys who are staying and coming through, we have got something to build on for next season.

“Edinburgh are playing good rugby at the moment. If we can get a win we will have a bit of confidence to go into the Scarlets game.

“The main thing is to stop this rot because our performance on the field isn’t good enough.”

Blues have followed up the signing of Wales lock Lou Reed and Ulster reserve hooker Andi Kyriacou from the Scarlets by recruiting Fiji loose-head prop Campese Ma’afu and Rotherham blindside flanker Robin Copeland on two-year deals.

Perpignan’s 26-year-old third-choice tight-head prop Benoît Bourrust is also set to join them.

Meanwhile, the Blues will play their final home Pro12 match of a disappointing campaign, against Edinburgh, at Cardiff City Stadium next Sunday.

There had been speculation they would switch it to Cardiff Arms Park but major road-works in Westgate Street ruled out the possibility



» Bradley Davies insists players must take blame for Cardiff Blues' fall from grace