Don’t be the same, be better.

Just as dust that settles back after being disturbed ostensibly looks as it did before there are subtle differences in its pattern, so Cardiff rugby and more particularly its squad settles into an interesting time, a kind of Westgate St inspired Schrödinger’s CAP (I know, I know). Having previously given voice to the hope that the rest of the season will be an elongated audition for the squad and that actually nothing much has changed; rather it is the pace in which change is coming; thoughts naturally turn to what is next? It is clear that now is the time for rational thoughts to permeate the Board, a time to refuse submission to the comforting idea of ‘good press’ and the time to rage against the reaction of the jerking knee. It is heartening to hear of the twenty-five applications, it is heartening to hear of young players hopefully re-signing soon, it is heartening to hear that a new stadium is more than a pipedream.

For all this, in sport some decisions are huge. Manchester United have gone through several iterations of post Alex Ferguson life before finally arriving at their current plateau of calm; England rugby post 2003 have gone through a period of equal combustibility and as for Wales rugby, only Tarot card readers and tea leaf surveyors know what will happen when Warren Gatland decides to spend all of his time in New Zealand. It is no hyperbole to suggest that whoever is the next Cardiff coach, they have to be a pretty darn near perfect fit. It is perhaps the biggest decision the Board will face since the fairly binary ‘Shall we return to CAP or die’ decision following the Leckwith experiment. There will be many contenders who will be linked before the official announcement – maybe some of them will even provide a quote to the Wales Online – some will be exciting, some will be worth a ponder, some will strike fear into hearts of supporters and some will be cause frantic Wikipedia searches. It really was ever thus!

The question of ‘Who?’ is far deeper than on first glance. There has undoubtedly been a huge (welcome maybe) shift in the way Cardiff rugby is building a squad. From within, taking good young players and making them understand and react to being professional. Infusing an identity of what it specifically means to be a Cardiff professional rugby player. Regardless of where the first junior club was located, regardless of whether an under 11’s District was represented or regardless of whether it was Blues South or Blues North, what is apparent that for all of those fine achievements – if indeed they were achieved for it isn’t the only path – they were merely tickets to enter the stadium. The hard work, the dedication and the desire is fed by and fostered in the professional environment.

This is where the ‘Who?’ becomes interesting. Who can take a squad of bubbling potential and foster that sense of what it means to be a Cardiff player. The term ‘Cardiff player’ is not a millstone or an imaginary mythical force; yes it comes with a responsibility and yes it should ensure that the jersey when finished with is left bigger than when found but this is too easy, too faux representative and easily too emotional to justify too long a focus. Let us just agree that it is too simple to equate a professional rugby player with a rugby player who gets paid and it has little to do with where the player was born or he went to school.

Returning to ‘Who?’ it is clear the coach who next steps into the breach must be able to communicate with clarity, purpose and no little enthusiasm. The next coach must be able to foster a mindset that puts excellence at the heart of everything the squad do. Danny Wilson started this, in two short seasons it is churlish and wholly incorrect to assert he has made little difference. Yes the team still lose games we expect them to win and lose games they should have won despite pre match predictions, there are a few heavy defeats still in the post but the squad has the feel of togetherness and that is to his credit.

The next coach needs to harness this and take it to the next level. Cardiff supporters needn’t bow to anyone in admiration for what a stern Australian did for the team a good few years ago now; clear standards, an unbending universal view and the belief in getting better every single day. Is that a good template? Brave, bold and unapologetic must be essential criteria for the new coach – being able to manage all of that on a shoestring highly desirable. Offering constructive support to the Board when fighting against the foot on their budgetary windpipe will be crucial as will the ability to offer a vision for supporters to follow. Not so much a Together Stronger in Unity appeal nor a banal One True Region jab but something that offers the clearest way forward, harnessing excellence and quality so when times get unimaginably tough the focus on the prize is not lost. This is the next level, this is the next stage.

In the final analysis, striving for, reaching and maintaining excellence is priceless, it has a value that cannot be couched in purely monetary terms; as it must not be assessed purely by results. It is an attitude that cuts through the fleeting moments of height and the elongated periods of depth. Whoever holds the whistle and masterplan for 2018/19 must imbue this attitude.  For too long Cardiff has been looking up from down where the rain water and discarded sweet wrappers flow. It is time to remember that there is a future still to be won. In the maelstrom of a coach leaving and a paucity of money, it would be wise to heed the words of Benjamin Franklin, who may well have urged Cardiff to write her injuries in the dust, her victories in marble.