the 10 shirt and would go down as Dai Young's biggest transfer mistake. In the Celtic League, Cardiff Blues finished fifth in the table, one point away from the playoffs; but secured a place in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup as the second-placed Welsh team. Their Heineken Cup campaign ended after the pool stage, in which they finished second to Toulouse and were not one of the two top second-place teams. However, this season was the first in which three-second-place teams from the Heineken Cup parachuted into the European Challenge Cup, and the Cardiff Blues were one of three teams to qualify. They crushed Newcastle Falcons 55–22 in the quarterfinals, and edged London Wasps 18–15 both on the road, to reach the final of the competition. The Cardiff Blues became the first Welsh side to win a European trophy after beating Toulon 28–21 in the final on 23 May at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. Off the field, the Cardiff Blues had a turnover of £8.7 million and a total employment bill of £5.6 million, with other costs including rental of the new stadium leading them to make a loss of more than £650,000. Xavier Rush chose to sign a new contract with the club, despite having earlier agreed terms with Ulster. After a "change in his personal circumstances" Rush had decided to remain at the club he described as his "home from home" and a release from his two year contract was negotiated with Ulster. Further signings were made. Michael Paterson joined from the Super 14 side the Hurricanes. Press reports in New Zealand at the time of the signing indicated that he had been close to selection for the All-Blacks before choosing to join Cardiff. With the unsuccessful Sam Norton-Knight signing for the Sanyo Wild Knights after not making the grade at outside half, Dan Parks of Glasgow Warriors and a Scottish International was signed. But the team were beginning to struggle on the field. They were runners up in their Heineken Cup pool but with not enough points to progress in either the Heineken or the Amlin Cups. In the Pro 12 they slipped to sixth place, missing out on a play-off spot. Lower attendances and a failure to progress in either the Heineken Cup or Magners League meant turnover fell to £7.4m, while added player and coaching costs led to the total employment bill rising to £6.7m. The