CARDIFF ARE now one victory over Bath away from the semi-finals of the EDF Energy Cup, and even though Leicester were within a score for much of the second half, there was no denying the merit of the Blues victory - especially when you consider that the Welshmen were called back on three separate occasions for forward passes when the runner was about to treat himself to a scoring dive.

Good luck to Cardiff. They were clever and able and had a kicking game which put that of Leicester to shame. In the dire confusion about laws, a kicking game is critical and Nicky Robinson and Ben Blair kicked beautifully into space. On the other side, the struggling Derick Hougaard and Toby Flood kicked with all the penetration of a wet lettuce.

The other slightly diminishing factor about Cardiff’s win was another desperately disappointing effort from Leicester. At the moment, the old passions and organisation are completely absent. Harry Ellis looked far more like his old self at scrum-half and Seru Rabeni, the glorious Fijian, was easily the most talented attacking player on the field.

But the ghost of Andy Goode, the player Leicester let loose for Brive to snap up, is haunting them. Leicester are so poor in midfield, they lack scoring power and kicking and ebullience - all characteristics of Goode. Leicester are also driving Jordan Crane into the ground. They use him so often on so many one-up charges that they really should put a flashing blue light on his head, just so that everyone in the stadium is 100% sure what he is going to do.

At least Crane knows what he is going to do. Leicester are so hesitant with their tactics, so unsure of their go-to area now that the rolling maul has been ripped so crudely from the game, that you could almost hear their minds clanking when in possession. Apart from a short pressure platform in the second half when, just briefly, they squared their shoulders in familiar fashion, they were always flirting with the abysmal.

So was the match itself, until it broke loose a little in the second half. Leicester had their main chances in the first, all created by Ellis or Rabeni, but the limited Hougaard was missing with penalties and drop goals, and it was 6-3 to Cardiff at half-time. The Blues did play some fine rugby after that and they broke in front after 46 minutes with a telling score.

The situation at the breakdown is now such a grey area that teams need to strike hard earlier in the phases, so Cardiff ran the ball from a scrum. Nicky Robinson sent the impressive Jamie Roberts clean through with a flat miss-pass and Jamie Robinson, the fly-half’s elder brother, scored under the posts with a delightful supporting run. Blair converted to make it 13-3 and that was always likely to be enough.

Hougaard did manage a penalty soon afterwards following a reasonably sustained period of Leicester attack, but the Tigers were lucky not to concede further tries, notably when Leigh Halfpenny and Blair fastened on to their woeful tactical kicking and ran the ball back with enthusiasm. It took desperate defending to stop both Taufa’ao Filise and Halfpenny scoring in the final quarter.

However, after penalties from each side, Cardiff made the score that killed it. Crane, under pressure near his own line, fired out a hopeless pass to Flood, who conceded a penalty. Soon after Flood, in desperation to start something, kicked diagonally to the left from his own line, only for Halfpenny to catch the ball and set up a dynamic attack, which ended with Jason Spice scuttling over to score. Cardiff are on their way, Leicester have lost their way.

Star man: Nicky Robinson (Cardiff Blues)

Scorers: Cardiff Blues: Tries: J Robinson 46, Spice 79 Cons: Blair (2) Pens: Blair (3) Leicester: Pens: Hougaard (3)

Referee: D Pearson (RFU) Attendance: 9,815

CARDIFF: B Blair; L Halfpenny, J Robinson, J Roberts, R Mustoe; N Robinson, J Spice; J Yapp, G Williams (R Thomas 68min), T Filise, D Jones (S Morgan 68min), P Tito (capt), M Molitika, A Powell, R Sowden Taylor (M Williams 68min)

LEICESTER: J Murphy (T Varndell 60min); S Rabeni, D Hipkiss, T Flood, M Smith (A Erinle 79min); D Hougaard, H Ellis (J Dupuy 64min); B Stankovich (D Cole 58min), G Chuter (M Davies 68min), J White, R Blaze, M Wentzel (B Kay 68min), M Corry (capt), J Crane, T Croft