Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl insists that Saturday's United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final against the Stormers in Cape Town is not the end of the road for his side, despite being heavy underdogs. The URC's own predictor gives Cardiff just a 32% chance of progressing, but van Zyl remains defiant.
"We don't see this as the end," van Zyl said. "We have also looked at what it would look like next week. It will take a massive effort, and I know people will be writing us off, but we will have a good crack at it."
Cardiff finished sixth in the regular season, securing their first URC playoff berth after missing out by a single point last year. They have been in the top eight all season and recently defeated the Stormers at home. The Welsh side now travels 6,000 miles to face a team whose director of rugby, John Dobson, suggested Cardiff were the "easiest" possible quarter-final opponent.
Former Wales internationals Alex Cuthbert, Jonathan Davies, and Liam Williams have noted that Dobson's comments will only add to Cardiff's motivation. Wales wing Josh Adams echoed that sentiment: "We haven't just crept into these play-offs. We finished sixth and didn't drop out of the top eight all season."
Cardiff's journey to this point has been steady, overcoming off-field uncertainty in Welsh rugby. With the WRU considering reducing the number of professional men's clubs from four to three, van Zyl's squad has remained focused. The team has won 11 of 18 URC games this season, losing a bonus point only once.
The match kicks off at 14:30 BST on Saturday, 30 May, with live coverage on S4C and radio commentary on BBC Radio Wales.