Cardiff v Bath: Hosts must embrace challenge in Champions Cup - Sherratt

Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt says his hosts must embrace the challenge of high-flying Bath in the Investec Champions Cup on Saturday.

Cardiff were hammered 52-7 in their opening European match at French champions Toulouse.

They will now face a Bath side who comfortably defeated Ulster 37-14 last weekend and who lie second in the English Premiership.

"We have to look at it as a great opportunity," said Sherratt.

"It is a chance to showcase the club and the young boys to showcase their talents.

"We have turned over Sale, Leinster and Stormers here in recent times, so on our day at our best and with a bit of luck we can be competitive.

"When you have taken a group of young lads to Toulouse with a police escort to a hostile ground and playing against some of the best players in the world, those experiences are massive.

"The reason you start playing rugby is to play against the likes of Toulouse away or Bath at home in the best club competition there is around."

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Welsh regions are facing financial struggles with the budgets of the four professional sides having their budgets reduced to £5.2m for the 2023-24 season, which is much less than the top French sides.

"I'm aware people get bored of us saying we're fighting and we're trying to play a good brand of rugby," said Sherratt.

"But people who don't understand the situation will just look at the scoreboard and say they've lost.

"If you look at the Toulouse budget and squad size, they have a squad of 78 and a budget of more than 20m Euros, while we have a squad of 38.

"If that was football nobody would be giving us a chance. What everybody needs to recognise is that people only talk about cuts on the field, but there have been huge cuts off the field as well.

"We have lost two or three coaches and a strength and conditioning coach, an analyst.

"Our travel has also changed. We went out to Toulouse on Friday morning and came back on Sunday evening which does not sound a huge ask because people do it. But it's not great for preparation in terms of performance.

"Our defence coach Gethin Jenkins only works two days week so I was sat in the stand this weekend without a defence coach.

"None of that is an excuse because we want to be competitive. That is the reality of it.

"If I didn't know the realities, I would probably get annoyed, but I knew the situation when I signed up to do what I am doing."

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Sherratt insisted people must be patient amid the current plight of Welsh rugby.

"I won't get bored of saying it's a rebuild because, whether people like it or not, it's a rebuild," added Sherratt.

"And a rebuild is not six months unfortunately, we're talking years.

"Next year, Cameron Winnett isn't experienced when he's 22. Lucas De La Rua, 19, isn't experienced next year.

"Your prime age of players is 23 to 30, that's right when they're in the groove. We've got a bit of time for that, and we've got to recruit experience around them. That's just on the pitch.

"There's a huge amount of work to do off the pitch as well."

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