Our last match was against Connacht, and although I was pleased to get the win and the bonus point, I felt we made hard work of it. However, having said that, it is hard to play against a team that doesn't want to play any rugby. As much as I respect Connacht they didn't try to play and never went for more than two phases before kicking the ball.

One thing that you could say was that their kicking game was better than ours. They gave us no field position and any scrum or lineout possession we had was deep in our half, which made it difficult for us to get momentum. However, we have worked on this in training, as we feel we will face more teams that do not want to play rugby against us and force us deep.

Obviously it is very satisfying to have won so many matches in the Magners League so far this season. It's better to go into any game with a win behind you but we are mindful that we have not hit our stride yet. With all respect to Connacht we feel that Sale Sharks will be a much tougher proposition this evening. They will certainly focus our minds.

We know they will come here to play rugby and have some star players within their team that can cause us problems if we are not at our best. However, if we put in a performance like we did against Gloucester at the start of the season there's no reason why we can't get the result. They are one of the strongest teams in the English league and are always a difficult team to beat, but we are looking forward to it.

The Celtic nations tend to play the ball a lot more on the ground than the English teams do. Most English teams are very physical, with strong driving line-outs, powerful scrums a sound kicking game and a strong defence. They are very much like their national team in that respect. We know what to expect and have to front up physically before we can try to play our game.

Sale also have a lot of big forwards who will carry the ball and play a lot of pick and go around the rucks. We have to win the battle of the gain line, which is massively important. They have the physicality and the power to cause teams problems. Our defence has to stand up first and foremost while primary possession from scrum, lineout and restarts for us has got to be spot on. If we can get these aspects right I think we have the flair and the skill to cause them problems. We certainly don't want to be playing from deep as we did against Connacht.

The EDF Energy Cup competition is certainly something we enjoy as a team. It changes our focus and gives us a chance to play against different teams who play a different brand of rugby. The English opposition always adds a bit of spice, and the feel good factor is back in English rugby after the success of their national side. I imagine the English teams will also be very focused as there is a European place up for grabs which is a carrot to them all.

The odds are stacked against us a bit with two away games, but we are in the competition to win it. We've got two difficult games against Leicester and Bath away, but we'll worry about that when they come about. The first thing is to try to get a result against Sale Sharks tonight.

Tickets for the Cardiff Blues v Sale Sharks match are available to purchase on-line or by calling the Ticket Office on 029 2030 2030.