Director of Rugby Phil Davies acknowledged his Cardiff Blues have everything to play for in the closing rounds of this season's Heineken Cup - after victory over Glasgow Warriors fired them back to the top of Pool 2.
Blues leapfrogged Toulon, ahead of the French sides clash with Exeter, as they recorded a third win of the campaign in Europe.
And Davies hailed the win as great for the ‘whole Blues region’ as a week of off field politics ended with fantastic memories on the pitch.
“To come here and get four points was crucial. It wasn’t pretty, but it allows us to go into games five and six with everything to play for,” admitted Davies.
“A lot of work is going in and the guys on the shop floor, the coaches and the players are working exceptionally hard to push us forward.
“That was a great win tonight for the whole Blues region and hopefully as well for rugby in Wales.
“I was pleased with how we picked up from last week,” he added. “We were very dogged and determined without the ball and we were ambitious, considering the conditions, with the ball.
“We knew Glasgow wanted to right what happened last week so we knew we were in for a tough game. It proved to be so, so I am pleased with the resilience to keep us in the group.
“We wanted to be aggressive and abrasive at the breakdown, in terms of trying to trying to negate some of their running threats because they have some real talent behind.
“We were technically accurate and we caused them some problems. But so did they, I thought they were good. The contest was powerful.”
Davies also admitted a ten minute period before half-time, as Glasgow camped on the Blues line and had several scrum penalties before a try was disallowed, was pivotal.
He said: “Glasgow showed real tenacity to try and get over the line then and we showed a similar amount to try and stop them.
“The referee called it as he saw it and that is the way the game goes. But I felt, with our determination, we deserved to get a result.
“It’s never an easy place to come here, but to get a win away from home in Europe is big.”