squad had a settled look, with few new signings. The team would finish only 6th in the Celtic League, but the club's focus on cup competitions would see them win the Anglo Welsh Cup final 50–12 against Gloucester at Twickenham and make the semi finals of the Heineken Cup. The Heineken Cup campaign began with a 20–56 bonus point victory away to Calvisano. before another a bonus point 37–24 win against Gloucester at the Millennium Stadium before a crowd of 27,114. The Cardiff Blues then claimed back-to-back victories over Biarritz in December, winning 21–17 at home followed by a 6–10 victory away. Following the Christmas break, an away 12–16 victory over Gloucester was recorded despite being reduced to 14 men after Tom James was sent-off for a head butt on Gloucester hooker Olivier Azam. In the final round of pool games a bonus point 62–20 win over Calvisano ensured that Cardiff Blues remained the only unbeaten team in the pool stages of the 2008–09 Heineken Cup and claimed the top seed position and a home quarter-final. The quarter-final against eighth seed and three-times Heineken Cup winners Toulouse was played in the Millennium Stadium with another record attendance of 36,778. A 9–6 victory was recorded in a defence dominated game. The semi-final against Leicester Tigers was also hosted at the Millennium Stadium. Despite being 12–26 down with six minutes remaining, a mighty comeback tied the scores at 26–26 after 80 minutes and forced extra time. With no further score in the 20 minutes of extra time, the game was forced into an historic penalty shootout. Cardiff were defeated 7–6 following missed kicks by Tom James and Martyn Williams. Cardiff City Stadium Despite the excitement on the field, off the field a drama had been playing out as the Cardiff Blues board put in place a plan to move from their historic home at Cardiff Arms Park and into the new Cardiff City Stadium. Supporters were alarmed by the supposed rental costs involved in using the new venue as well as moving away from what they regarded as their spiritual home. More big name signings were made upon the move to the new stadium, including Casey Laulala and Sam Norton-Knight. Norton-Knight had the job of replacing fan favourite outside half Nicky Robinson who, along with his brother Jamie Robinson had chosen to leave Cardiff Blues that summer. However, Norton-Knight would struggle in