Rhys Patchell is urging Cardiff Blues to return to winning ways at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - insisting the squad can still look up the Guinness PRO12 table if they fire on home soil.
Cardiff Blues are back in the Welsh capital on Saturday afternoon as they face high-flying Leinster Rugby (kick-off 3pm).
Fly half Patchell and his team-mates will be eager to bounce back from the defeat to Benetton Treviso last weekend.
And the league’s top point scorer – with 125 points from 12 games – acknowledges home form will be crucial in the closing months of the campaign.
“Our home form has been pretty good this year,” he said. “When we’ve been at the Arms Park, one game apart, we have produced. We need to get back to basics, be clinical and build on our home performances now.
“Treviso was a big opportunity for us and we’re bitterly disappointed we couldn’t put them to the sword. We want to put that right.
“We’ve got a lot of home games and we may be reliant on other results, but if you’re not striving to push up that table you might as well not come to work on Monday morning.
Reflecting on the Treviso game, Patchell admitted the statistics had all pointed to an away win.
He said: “On paper it looked like one of our best performances of the season in terms of possession and territory. We just need to finish opportunities – that’s as simple as it gets.
“Against Edinburgh we didn’t get over the line and the same against Treviso. That is the focus and making sure that when we get opportunities we take them.
“Our build-up play and attacking shape is improving all the time, but we need to get back to where we were over Christmas and the New Year period and put that ball down.
“It’s about being accurate and more diligent when we get in the scoring zone. We have been working hard at it; we’ve spoken about it and worked at it on the training field.”
Leinster arrive at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park eyeing top spot and sitting in third position in the Guinness PRO12. And Patchell is expecting a high tempo and open game on Saturday.
“I expect they will have some Ireland players back in so they will be like us in many ways,” he added.
“They’re a well-drilled side, like they have been for the last six or seven years, and Ben Te’o in the middle will be a big focal point for their attack.
“They also have width because they play a strong attacking game. On our pitch, with the good firm ground, I’m sure they will want to throw the ball around a bit.”
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