had been highly recommended by Alec Evans, who had been a highly successful and respected coach at the Arms Park in the 1990s. Mulvihill assembled a new coaching team of mostly young Welsh coaches recommended to him by the WRU. However his late arrival meant that Mulvihill was unable to make many changes to the playing squad. His first season included some notable wins over the Scarlets and Lyon and a narrow defeat to English giants Saracens, but after a mixed season Cardiff Blues had narrowly failed to remain in the Champions Cup for the following year. Project reset Off field, The WRU and Welsh professional teams had been negotiating over "Project reset", which had been intended to improve relations between the teams and the union, as well as change the way Welsh professional rugby was funded. However, these talks led to the sudden imposition of a transfer embargo for much of the 2019/20 season. The embargo meant that although Mulvihill had secured the high profile signings of Hallam Amos and Josh Adams for the following season, he was unable to strengthen his forward pack. The embargo also meant that Cardiff Blues could not offer a new contract to breakthrough academy prop Rhys Carre, who would as a result take up an offer from Saracens. Changes at boardroom level The "Reset" talks also resulted in major changes and a process of modernisation at board level. Peter Thomas stepped down after twenty years as Chairman and became Life President while remaining on the board. Thomas would also write off £14 million pounds of loans he'd made to the club since 1996. Fellow investor Martyn Ryan also wrote off a near seven figure sum. Long term board members Gareth Edwards and Paul Bailey also stepped aside to become Life Patrons. The new Chairman was Managing Partner of Law Firm Hugh James, Alun Jones and experienced business people Andrew Williams and Hayley Parsons would also join the board in the first major changes to the Cardiff Rugby Ltd board since its creation in 1997. Three years later, David Allen would become the board's first supporter advisor. Covid 19 Mulvihill's second season continued the mixed set of results experienced in his first season. This season was however to be curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As with every other professional sports team, Cardiff Blues's future was now in jeopardy. Planning for future seasons was also