Hammett sees Cardiff Blues improvement

Cardiff went down 37-23 to reigning champions Leinster Rugby at the RDS, but rallied well in the second-half and came within a whisper of claiming a valuable losing bonus point.

The visitors found themselves playing catch-up, following touchdowns for Rhys Ruddock, Mike McGrath and Gordon D'Arcy, but Cory Allen and Sam Warburton went over in the second period to give the Blues hope.

Rhys Patchell added 13 points with the boot to set up a tense conclusion, but McGrath crashed over again in the final play of the game to snatch the bonus for Leinster.

And Hammett admitted that with hindsight perhaps his side should not have gone for the equalising try.

"The smart choice would have been to kick the ball out and take a point away," he told the BBC. "We had got ourselves back in the game pretty well.

"We knew we'd have to be right on our best against Leinster. They play a pretty wide game, a lot of behind balls and a lot of times we shut it down.

"But unfortunately we didn't always get our reads right and there's also some individuals who have to look hard at themselves around making their tackles.

"Once again we were an improvement, now we need to add the finesse and add some of the shape to it.

"But it always hurts when you see 37 points against your name. It was nice to score two tries but that first half we should have got over the line at least another two or three times."

Click here for the best images from Cardiff's 37-23 loss to Leinster.

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