It can often be a confusing time following the Cardiff Blues. Questions over identity, finances, coaching and even if they’ll actually have a home ground in the future have hovered over the team since the region was formed in 2003. As things stand you wouldn’t think there’s a lot to be happy about at the Cardiff Arms Park at the moment, with the ground falling apart and talks with Cardiff Athletic Club over renovating the stadium seemingly going nowhere in addition to their constant money issues and losing their fourth head coach in the space of four years, caretakers included. However instead of the usual pessimism surrounding pre-season in Cardiff that we normally get this time of year, there’s an unusual sprinkling of hope over the city. This is hope that’s come from the first silverware won by the region since 2010, since Dai Young was running the show. So where did all this gloom come from. and why does a 2nd tier European trophy feel so important?

The Cardiff Blues were born in a storm of financial uncertainty and organisational naivety that spread around British rugby following professionalisation in 1995. Unable to support 12 professional clubs, the WRU chose to form four regional teams that together would cover the whole country with their development pathways. The Cardiff Blues region was essentially a standalone club with it’s development pathways covering just the city, its outskirts and the Vale of Glamorgan. And then after the failure of the Celtic Warriors, the Blues took on part of that region which notably included Pontypridd, one of Cardiff’s biggest historical rivals. To say this move has caused some disagreement between rugby fans would be a gross understatement, it’s been at the forefront of the argument over regional identity to this very day, and if you don’t believe me just check Welsh twitter.

So through those years of suddenly coming into existence and having to unite the two disgruntled fanbases of two giant Welsh rugby clubs, head coach Dai Young had to find some results on the pitch. For the first couple of seasons there wasn’t too much to shout about aside from the shock signing of the legendary Jonah Lomu, until 2007 when they finished 2nd in that season’s Celtic League. This lead into a run of form that wouldn’t see much success in the league, but saw Cardiff Blues become a force to reckon with on the European stage.

In 2009 they finished as top seeds and ended up playing Leicester Tigers in that infamous semi-final that ended with Tigers winning 7-6 on penalties after extra time ended the match in a draw. They also defeated Gloucester in Twickenham to take the Anglo-Welsh Cup. The following season the Cardiff Blues won the Challenge Cup against Toulon in Marseilles and ended the Dai Young era with two trophies in as many seasons. It was around this time that the side also had average attendances of 10,000 – 12,000 people, the highest average attendances in the history of the region.

The good times wouldn’t last long however, with Dai Young resigning in 2011 to move to Wasps and poor performances resulted in a sharp drop in crowd numbers. The situation was amplified due to the Cardiff Blues leaving the Arms Park a few seasons earlier to take joint residence in the (at the time) 28,000 seater Cardiff City Stadium alongside Cardiff City FC. This meant that even when the Blues were getting good crowds in 2008-2010, the ground was still half empty and the atmosphere was lost. The drop in numbers made things look even worse and it hit Cardiff Blues right where it hurts, the wallet.

The side hit their lowest low at the end of he 2011/12 season when in the final game, thee was just a meagre crowd of around 3,000 to watch the great Martyn Williams play his final game for the region before retiring. It was clear they had to move back to the Arms Park, so that’s what happened.

The next few seasons saw a series of downs with just enough ups thrown in to keep some semblance of hope with the Arms Park crowd. Distinctly average performances in the league and cups, brand new pitch to end the days of mudbaths, coaches resigning, coaches joining, coaches leaving again, beating Jonny Wilkinson’s Toulon, becoming the first team to lose to Zebre. It was a confusing time to follow the Cardiff Blues.

Danny Wilson becoming head coach Seemed to have made things more stable. The great player drain which saw the loss of Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts, Bradley Davies and many others slowed to a trickle, and the focus changed to making a few sensible signings that would combine experience and flair. League standings hardly improved at all but anyone who had seen the side play in 2011/12 compared to Wilson’s side could see a difference. Cardiff Blues have always been at their best when dusted with Southern Hemisphere talent and this new group was to be no exception; over the seasons the signings of Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo and Nick Williams proved invaluable in building a solid squad that could improve over time.

This takes us to the most recent season, where in classic Cardiff Blues fashion their best season for years had been marred with coaching changes and stadium uncertainties. With Danny Wilson announcing his departure early in the season, disagreements between the Blues and the Cardiff Athletic Club over the potential new ground and results not going their way it was looking like another dire season. But things started picking up, big wins over Toulouse and Lyon led to league wins over Cheetahs, Munster and Ulster. Then they won the Challenge Cup quarter-final against Edinburgh in Murrayfield. Then they went and beat a Pau side starring Conrad Smith, Frank Halai and Steffon Armitage in the semi-final at a once again electric and packed Cardiff Arms Park. They left it late to win the final, right until the 79th minute in fact, but win the final they did after being down on the scoreboard at half-time.

This was a team that was starting to feel like that side of a decade ago, they play all 80 minutes and know how to win the games that matter against teams that are used to winning. As for the future, who can know? They’ve secured Champions Cup rugby for the next season and have a coach coming in who is enthusiastic to continue the entertaining style of play that Danny Wilson introduced. It’s taken many years and a lot of effort to get back to this position, the position the Cardiff Blues believe they should be in, and they’re not going to let it go easily. They certainly won’t want to go through the last decade again…