Phil Davies acknowledges the away clash with champions Toulon will be the toughest game his Blues have faced this season - but he cannot wait to send his side into European action in the south of France.
Blues travel to Nice this Saturday afternoon (kick-off 4.40pm local time) and the fantastic surroundings of the Allianz Riviera Stadium for a crunch clash in Pool 2 of the Heineken Cup.
Top 14 giants Toulon lead the pool by two points from Blues and many see the game as the pool-decider.
Blues triumphed when the sides met in October with a thrilling 19-15 win at the Arms Park. Yet they face a stern examination in the return fixture as Toulon are undefeated at home in the Heineken Cup – with nine wins out of nine!
But Director of Rugby Davies has urged his team to enjoy the occasion and rise to the challenge.
He said: “We are excited about this opportunity and you don’t get a chance every day to go and play the European champions in front of thousands of fans in Nice.
“We know what the challenge is all about, we know it is going to be physical and mentally we have got to be switched on.
“It will be the toughest game we have had this season, but we are in pretty good shape going into it so the players are confident and motivated.
“We want to try and set up an opportunity to come to the last pool game at home against Exeter with lots to play for.
“Since the autumn period the squad have developed and players have gained more experience. People have stood up and a few key players have really developed so we are looking forward to this game.”
Davies revealed Blues will again be without flanker Sam Warburton for the trip to France.
“Sam is recovering well and we will only play him when he is fully fit. Gethin (Jenkins) is back, which is great news, but other than that we are where we are with the injury situation,” he added.
“We are not making excuses. We will just concentrate on what we have got and the players have responded fantastically well.
“It’s tough to lose Rhys (Patchell) too and he is a young quality player. But this is a period when he can get himself right. We will look after him and get him right.
“Gareth (Davies) will come in and we will know that he will do a job for us.
“We will go to France to try and win the game. We will concentrate on performing as well as we can and trying to win, that is the focus and not the repercussions in terms of qualifying.
“We have put ourselves in a good position to challenge for a place at the top of the group.”