Young hopes for Blues improvement Dai Young refuses to blame fly-half flop Sam Norton-Knight for Cardiff Blues' struggling season. The Blues director of rugby takes full "responsibility" for the big-money Aussie summer signing replacement for number 10 stalwart Nicky Robinson. Young will sign Scotland fly-half Dan Parks from Glasgow in the summer due to Norton Knight's poor form. "He's not quite where he wants to be or where we want to be," Young admits. "I think that's fair to say." Young admitted signing Norton-Knight from the New South Wales Waratahs was a "gamble" as the Australian international was not an experienced number 10 but more a recognised full-back and centre. The 26-year-old, however, wanted to be a fly-half and the Blues promised him an extended stint at the pivotal number 10 position. But Norton-Knight's game-management has been criticised and he was dropped in their defeat at Edinburgh on Saturday.  | We need a general on the field and that's been evident for most of the season |
Ceri Sweeney started at fly-half in their 21-12 loss at Murrayfield ahead of Norton-Knight while Dai Flanagan, the other recognised fly-half at the Cardiff City Stadium, was on the replacements bench. Now the Blues have signed Scotland international Parks, the experienced 31-year-old, for next season. Young told BBC Wales' Scrum V show: "Sam Norton-Knight is a 10 and a 15 and by his own admission he's still learning the game a little bit at 10, so that could be an ongoing process. "I don't want to put all the blame on Sam, I think he's getting better and better with every game. "But he's not quite where he wants to be or where we want to be and I think that's fair to say. "I'm not saying it hasn't worked, nobody is saying that, I just think Dan being available for next season is something we had to jump on. "But he's not quite where he wants to be or where we want to be and I think that's fair to say. "It's my squad, all results, all signings and I take full responsibility for that. "But you're not going to get everything right and we've got far more right than we have got wrong. "We need a general on the field and that's been evident for most of the season. "I think Parks is well recognised with his kicking game, he's the Magners League highest points scorer so that's a massive achievement, but what people don't look at really is his distribution as well. "Glasgow are always up there scoring tries, they're a very difficult team to beat and Dan Parks has always been a thorn in the side of all the Welsh teams." | We knew Sam was a comfortable full-back but he had played 10, he had played 10 internationally, and it was how quick he was going to pick it up Blues director of rugby Dai Young |
Robinson - who departed to English Guinness Premiership side Gloucester while centre brother Jamie joined Toulon - has proved a difficult man to replace in the number 10 shirt. Young insists he would have preferred to have signed a home-grown player had one been available. The Blues approached Welsh rivals the Ospreys to enquire about the availability of Wales and British and Irish Lions star James Hook but the enquiry was rejected. Young has not ruled out another approach in the future but says he understands that Hook is "very happy" at the Liberty Stadium. "We didn't want Nicky to go and we've found it very hard to replace him," Young added. "If we could have got a Welsh alternative we would have, but there's not one forthcoming. "We knew Sam was a comfortable full-back but he had played 10, he had played 10 internationally, and it was how quick he was going to pick it up. "What we have done, certainly over the past five to six weeks, is support Sam in his development, keep on selecting him hoping he can get a bit more confidence and more understanding. "But we're getting to the business end of the season now and from here on in it's whoever puts their hand up and that's playing the best on the day." While Norton-Knight has failed to convince in the number 10 shirt, Young admits that the Blues have been hampered by not having a settled team on the pitch. | 606: DEBATE |
"Consistency in selection has always been a problem for us this season," Young said. "A number of players went on the Lions tour, a number of players went on the international tour. "To try and filter them back in earlier in the season we've found difficult and we've really struggled to get anywhere near our strongest team on the field. "We haven't had many players who have had huge injuries but it's always little niggles - out for one game, in for one, out for another game. "What's been disappointing as well from us then is the players who have come in that are perceived to be back-up players we haven't really measured up and we've lost points. "In the big games I still think we've performed, apart from the Ospreys last week I think we've performed and shown we're not a million miles from it."
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