The international-laden Warriors were never in danger of losing the Celtic League tie, and their 16-point victory cements the Bues’ position in the bottom three of the 12-team tournament. The Warriors move from eighth to fifth on the back of a hat-trick of tries to in-form skipper Gareth Thomas. It was 17 minutes before the scorers were troubled, with Thomas bursting on to a flat pass 25 metres out and brushing aside two Blues defenders to score near the posts. The home side hit straight back with a Iestyn Harris penalty goal after the Warriors’ hard-working New Zealand flanker Corey Harris was yellow-carded for a professional foul. The Warriors shrugged off the setback and a heavy penalty count against them, with fly-half Ceri Sweeney speculating ahead and Cardiff centre Matt Allen losing control of the bouncing ball. Sweeney pounced to score against the left-hand upright and his conversion gave the 14-man Warriors a 14-3 lead after 32 minutes. Thomas scored his second immediately after the resumption by brushing off Rhys Williams’ weak tackle and dragging Blues fullback Nick Robinson over the try-line to score in the corner. Warriors scrum-half Gareth Cooper made a nippy break up the middle of the Arms Park to set up his side’s fourth and bonus-point try. Thomas was in the movement twice before reaching out to complete his hat-trick. The Blues finally breached the Warriors’ defence when replacement hooker Rhys Thomas was pushed over in the 75th minute, but it came far too late for the capital club.
