Cardiff registered its best result of the season Saturday evening, toppling the Stormers, the reigning URC champions 30-24 at an overcast Cardiff Arms Park.

The Welsh province was without numerous star names, including British & Irish Lions standouts Josh Navidi, Liam Williams, Josh Adams and Taulupe Faletau, and yet they managed to hold firm in the face of a stern challenger, which up until yesterday, was unbeaten in 15 matches. 

The impressive win means Cardiff is the first Welsh team to beat South African opponents in the league this season, and it catapulted the victors up to sixth in the URC standings.

Winners are grinners 😄

That was a monumental shift and meant a huge amount to the boys. #YmlaenCaerdydd pic.twitter.com/3yINJJXkdk

— Cardiff Rugby (@Cardiff_Rugby) October 22, 2022

A few months ago, Cardiff capped the 2021-2022 campaign with a stutter, landing 14th in the table with only seven wins.

Now, the men in blue and black look revitalized and competitive. 

Of their six games played, they have lost only two - falling to Glasgow Warriors and the Lions - and have beaten provincial rivals the Scarlets and Dragons in the past month.  

The most impressive aspect of Cardiff's new vein of form is the squad's resolve and lack of reliance upon these new star additions. Williams has been absent since collecting a shoulder injury in the season opener, while Faletau missed the Stormers game with a calf strain.

With Navidi and Adams also out yesterday, Cardiff required a spark and found it in fly-half Rhys Priestland.

The Welsh playmaker had yet to start at No. 10 this term, but he looked imperious in the position, scoring 20 points and setting up two tries to help sink the Stormers.

Jarrod Evans was favorited at fly-half in previous weeks, with Priestland filling in at 15, but the reshuffle worked for Cardiff, as the 35-year-old veteran controlled the tempo of the game, exhibiting some sensational placement kicking.

Cardiff Director of Rugby Dai Young was predictably enthused by the performance put in by his starting 10, impressed with the way the veteran adapted to a shift in position.

"Rhys controlled the game really well," Young said. "On a night like tonight, he got us out of danger on a number of occasions, to not only relieve pressure, but put pressure back on them, I thought he had a great game at 10 and was really accurate taking the points. Selection is subjective (for Wales) but he's put his hand up over the last couple of weeks, at 15, and now at 10."

Priestland has been named in Wayne Pivac's Wales squad for the upcoming Autumn Internationals and vindicated his call-up with a pitch-perfect performance against the Stormers.  

It all began with a lofty cross-field kick, which he launched into acres of space. The ball bounced into the 22 and was quickly recovered by the onrushing winger Theo Cabango, who crossed the line to give Cardiff the opening score.

Two earlier penalties converted by Priestland meant Cardiff had a healthy double-digit lead before the Stormers had even landed a punch, but the reigning champions did not remain quiet for long, hitting back almost immediately with an ominous driving maul, steered by flanker Nama Xaba, who dotted down with ease.

Then, another cross-field kick was unleashed, this time by Manie Libbok. The Stormers talisman dinked the ball over the onrushing Cardiff defense and into the path of Leolin Zas, who recovered possession and ran in an easy score to put the South Africans in front, only for Priestland to convert another penalty before the end of the half to bring the scores level.

With less than three minutes played in the second period, the Welsh fly-half unleashed another pin-point cross-field kick to Jason Harries, who used his strength to withstand a tackle and score in the corner.

🏉 20 points from the boot
🏅 BKT Player of the Match
🔚 Stormers 15-game unbeaten run
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Autumn Series call up and postponed work experience.

Not a bad week for Rhys Priestland!#YmlaenCaerdydd pic.twitter.com/4r8CPkQ2Xy

— Cardiff Rugby (@Cardiff_Rugby) October 23, 2022

The Stormers clawed their way back into the contest, using their maul to suffocate the Cardiff pack. Xaba claimed another try, before back rower Junior Pokomela crossed over for one of his own.

Priestland's impeccable goal kicking kept Cardiff in the contest and left the scores tied once more at 24-24 heading into the final quarter. 

While the Stormers failed to collect any more points, Priestland converted another two penalties to secure a famous victory for his team.

"We beat the defending champions Leinster here last year as well, and we're really pleased with the way we fronted up and delivered on the game plan," Young said. "We went to the air quite often and got plenty of joy, and we had to make a mess of the contact area. 

"We talked all week about backing up two decent performances, and they've done that, so we roll on to next week against Edinburgh, and the pressure is to keep these levels of performances up."

Stormers coach John Dobson admitted the wet conditions made things more challenging for his team, but he conceded there was little his side could have done to prevent Priestland's kicking master class.

"I can't fault our efforts, but the Welsh teams have played very cleverly against us," Dobson said. "Cardiff manipulated our backfield, and we've got to get better at (dealing with wet) conditions, especially on a 4G pitch, where we were poor at the breakdown. 

"We knew it would be tough in these conditions, but we emerge from this tour with nine points from three games (five against Zebre, a draw against Ospreys and two in Cardiff), so it's not the end of the world.

"Priestland was absolutely sublime, him and Tomos Williams, his kicking display was right up there."

Written by Stefan Frost