Seb Davies insists Cardiff Blues are relishing the opportunity to bounce back from Saturday's defeat to Sale Sharks, as they prepare to host the Aviva Premiership outfit in part two of the crucial festive double-header next week.
With Danny Wilson’s side suffering their first loss of the European campaign and Toulouse’s claiming a win over Lyon on Thursday, the Blues’ lead on top of Pool 2 has been cut to a single point.
Cardiff Blues’ focus now turns to Sunday’s clash in the Welsh capital, and Davies believes the Cardiff Arms Park crowd can be a decisive factor in the crucial Challenge Cup match against Steve Diamond’s side.
“The best thing about this tournament is we face them at Cardiff Arms Park next week and have an opportunity to bounce back immediately,” said Davies.
“We must get a result next week in order to keep competing in the Challenge Cup. This game has ended now so we have to move on and put all our focus on next week.
“As a squad, we want silverware and we want to go as far as we can in this tournament.
“We hope to have a big crowd at the Arms Park next week, a full house would be great and I’m sure we’ll see quite a few Sale fans coming down for it.
“They really can spur the team on and they definitely are the 16th man. It’s great when you hear them chanting and it gives us a big boost on the field.”
Davies, who recently returned from international duty with Wales during the autumn series, wore the number six jersey at the AJ Bell Stadium, having played most of his rugby at lock this season.
With spells of snow and freezing cold temperatures throughout the match, the utility forward admits playing conditions were difficult in Salford, and believes Sale adapted their gameplay better to suit the weather.
Davies said: “I felt that Sale played to the conditions much better and a couple of mistakes led to their two tries.
“The conditions out there were tough. It was cold, wet and snowing, and the ball became slippery and difficult to control.
"It was tough to keep hold of the ball and we went off structure quite a bit.”