Cardiff Local Guide A guide to all Things Cardiff
Cardiff Blues had opened Pool 2 proceedings with a resounding bonus point home win over French side Grenoble last weekend on home soil.
And on the road in Italy at Stadio Mario Battaglini they again took maximum points after overcoming a Rovigo side that battled hard throughout.
It was the home side that took the early lead with a Luciano Rodriguez interception score before Jenkins was driven over for a Blues response.
Josh Turnbull put Blues ahead before Jenkins again touched down as the forwards looked to dominate and the visitors took a 19-10 lead into the half-time break.
A stubborn Rovigo refused to go away and Blues were frustrated for almost half an hour before Italian ace Manoa Vosawai smashed over for the crucial fourth.
Macauley Cook added a fifth try before Rovigo grabbed a late second score through Jean-Francois Montauriol.
Boss Mark Hammett made eight changes from the side that dispatched Grenoble with a new-look front row and Josh Navidi handed the captaincy.
And the visitors looked to strike early and assert some dominance as a poor kick from the home full back Davide Farolini almost put Lloyd Williams away in the opening minute before Dan Fish was dragged back as he looked to fire away down the left wing.
Referee Laurent Cardona gave Rovigo some territory as he repeatedly penalised Blues in the opening minutes and a kick to the corner saw them drive for the line but knock on as they lived up to their billing as a forward orientated side.
The home side did take the lead on 10 minutes but it was handed to them by Blues as a loose pass was picked off by Rodriguez and he coasted in under the posts unopposed, with his score converted by Farolini to give the home side a dream 7-0 lead.
The response from Blues was immediate as a driving lineout was powerfully forced over with Jenkins scoring to cut the lead to two points.
Blues continued to look to attack from deep with Turnbull sending Cory Allen into space but his final pass to Williams went behind him and the ball was spilled.
Williams sparked another attack as he broke around the fringes and when Adam Thomas touched down in the corner the try was ruled out by referee Cardona for a foot out of play.
Rovigo continued to use their driving game to good effect, but their back line was misfiring as another kick out on the full gave the visitors more attacking possession.
The second blues try finally came as a powerful break from Dacey saw him brush off tacklers and feed Navidi who drew the final man and popped a pass to Turnbull to smash over from close range despite two tacklers.
The visiting forwards went to work to start to dominate and when a series of penalties allowed them to kick to the corner it was a carbon copy of the opening visiting try with Jenkins this time the man at the back to dot down.
A jinking run from Fish put Blues back on the attack once more with Macauley Cook popping up on the left wing to race into contact. Richard Smith was next to take ball on from deep as Blues looked to wrap up the try bonus point by the break.
But it was Rovigo that finished the opening 40 minutes the better and a period of sustained pressure was rewarded when Farolini slotted over a penalty to cut the lead to 19-10 at half-time.
Blues made a half-time change as Allen was replaced by Gavin Evans and the centre was straight into the thick of the action with a crunching run down the middle.
A stolen home lineout released Dacey and Blues rumbled up to the line but knocked on just as it looked as if the try was coming.
Rovigo ate into the lead with another penalty from Farolini while Blues again went close but saw Richard Smith’s try ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up.
Blues finally grabbed the bonus point just after the hour mark when the forwards bashed up close and it was Italian international Vosawai who grabbed the score as he bulldozed past men and over for a 26-13 lead.
A fifth followed soon afterwards as a powerful driving lineout crunched over with the whitewash with Cook touching down.
Blues looked to open up in the final ten minutes by turning down kicks to the corner and instead tapping and going all over the field.
But it was Rovigo, in similar fashion to the first, who finished the game on the attack and a short lineout was shunted over with captain Jean-Francois Montauriol scoring to delight the home fans.
Timeline:
10m Rodriguez t Farolini c 7-0
13m Jenkins t 7-5
24m Turnbull t Patchell c 7-12
29m Jenkins t Patchell c 7-19
40m Farolini p 10-19
50m Farolini p 13-19
62m Vosawai t Patchell c 13-26
69m Cook t Patchell c 13-33
80m Montauriol t 18-33
Cardiff Blues: 15 Rhys Patchell (Walsh 70), 14 Richard Smith, 13 Cory Allen (Evans 40), 12 Adam Thomas, 11 Dan Fish, 10 Gareth Davies, 9 Lloyd Williams (L Jones 59), 1 Gethin Jenkins (Davies 70), 2 Kristian Dacey (R Williams 66), 3 Scott Andrews (A Jones 55), 4 Chris Dicomidis (Paulo 64), 5 Macauley Cook, 6 Josh Turnbull, 7 Josh Navidi (Jenkins 63), 8 Manoa Vosawai
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Filo Paulo, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Gavin Evans, 23 Geraint Walsh
