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Mulvihill hails Blues pathway after Smith becomes latest to stay on
By Online Editors
Garyn Smith has handed Cardiff a further boost by putting pen to paper on a new long-term contract at the Blues.
Following the announcement that Harri Millard has committed his future to Cardiff Arms Park, the region has now confirmed that Smith, who has made 81 appearances, is also staying on.
The 23-year-old has become a regular first-team member since making his debut in 2014 and played a crucial role in last season’s European Challenge Cup triumph. Not only did Smith score a try but he won the match-winning penalty at the death.
He said: “This is my home region, I have come through the ranks here and I was excited to get the contract signed. I’m very happy and it ties in with my studies at the University of South Wales really well.
“The majority of the boys have come through the Cardiff Blues pathway and I was fortunate to play with the likes of Jarrod (Evans), Tomos (Williams), Dillon (Lewis) and Ethan (Lewis) right the way through. When you are playing, training and working with your mates, it doesn’t feel like a job.
“The competition in the centre has been great for me. Harri has come through this year and added to that. We are all really pushing each other because everyone wants that starting jersey and nobody wants to give it up.
“Winning the Challenge Cup last year is obviously a highlight of my career and I was delighted I could do my bit for the team.
“Now I’m really excited about the future. We want to remain in the Heineken Cup, to continue building as a group and competing in every game. We have the squad to do that, everyone believes in themselves and we have shown we can beat anyone on our day.”
Smith and Millard are the latest in a long line of young, local players to sign new deals at Cardiff and head coach John Mulvihill has been delighted with pathway.
Mulvihill said: “Garyn is one of the best team men at our club. He works extremely hard both on and off the field on his game and balances his studying in between rugby and his role within our leadership group.
“He’s an excellent defender whilst also very capable in attack and has become one of our main match-day 23 players.
“Although only young Garyn has already played over 80 games for the Blues and will continue to bring his physical and mental toughness to be a pivotal player in our future success.”
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i think Argentina v France could be a good game too, depending on which Argentina turns up. The most difficult to call is Scotland Australia.
Go to commentsSmith is playing a different game with the rest of the backs struggling to understand. That's the problem with so called playmakers, if nobody gets what they're doing then it often just leads to a turnover. It gets worse when Borthwick changes one of them, which is why they don't score points at the end. Sometimes having a brilliant playmaker can be problematic if a team cannot be built around them. Once again Borthwick seems lacking in either coaching or selection. I can't help but think it's the latter coupled with pressure to select the big name players.
Lastly, his forward replacements are poor and exposed either lack of depth or selection pressure. Cole hemorrhages scrum penalties whenever he comes on, opponents take advantage of the England scrum and close out the game. Is that the best England can offer?
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