Cardiff Blues post crushing win to clinch Champions Cup place

Cardiff Blues clinched European Champions Cup rugby for next season after a seven-try rout of Southern Kings in the Guinness PRO14.

Hooker Kirby Myhill scored two tries with Josh Turnbull, Seb Davies, Blaine Scully, Willis Halaholo and Alex Cuthbert also crossing the whitewash for the Welsh region.

Cardiff fly-half Jarrod Evans kicked five conversions in the 45-12 victory.

The Kings, bottom of Conference B, scored twice, with tries for stand-off Ntabeni Dukisa and Lindokuhle Welemu, with Masixole Banda slotting one conversion.

The victory for the Blues followed Ospreys' defeat to Ulster which meant any win over the South African side would have been good enough to secure a top-four finish.

Danny Wilson's side led 33-0 at the break after tries from Cuthbert, Davies, Turnbull, Halaholo and Myhill.

Dukisa scored a consolation in the second half but the Kings defence remained leaky as Myhill touched down for a second and Scully also crossed the line.

The match fizzled out in the last quarter as Welemu scored another try for the hosts, but it was not enough to turn the tide against Cardiff.