Josh Turnbull insists his side are capable of upsetting the odds, as Cardiff Blues kick off back-to-back Heineken Champions Cup fixtures against Saracens at Allianz Park this afternoon (KO 1.00pm)
The utility forward is set for his 25th European appearance for the region against the English champions.
The Welsh international believes there is a special aura around European weekends,
“It’s a mammoth task but there’s nothing this group can’t do,” said Turnbull.
“We’ve upset the odds plenty of times before, and you only have to look at the European games we played last year, especially towards the tail end of the season in the knockout stages.
“They were all big games, and managing to turn the Pau team over was special and it won’t be any different when we come up against Saracens.
“They’re well-drilled in playing in a certain way. They don’t play much rugby in their half, and literally drive, kick the ball, get the ball back and play.
“They’re strutctured in a certain way and that works well for them.
“When I was at the Scarlets, I remember my first time being involved in Europe and Stephen Jones told the boys how special it is to play in Europe.
“It’s where all the best teams play and ever since that moment, whenever we come up to an European week, you notice the intensity levels go up in training and every player is switched on.
“We worked hard last year to be where we are and we’re all extremely excited for the challenge on Sunday.”
Next week, Owen Farrell and co. will visit the Welsh capital for the second half of the back-to-back clashes.
Turnbull believes the structure of fixtures adds an extra spice to the encounters and, with only a limited amount of tickets remaining, he’s looking forward to a memorable occasion at Cardiff Arms Park.
The forward said: “I like the fact that you get to play back-to-back games in this competition.
“Whoever comes on top in the first game, the other team will really be going after the second game.
“For us, it will be about going up to Saracens and getting a result, and put ourselves back into contention in this group.
“Looking at the talk coming out of Cardiff Blues, there is only a handful of seats left, and it will be really good for us to have a packed house next week.
“It makes a massive difference with the noise in that stadium, and I think it will be a really good encounter.”
A very limited amount of tickets remain for next week's huge Heineken Champions Cup clash against Saracens at Cardiff Arms Park. Snap up yours NOW to avoid disappointment!