Josh Turnbull expects emotions to be running high on Saturday, as Guinness PRO14 rugby makes a long awaited return following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Cardiff Blues travel to Llanelli for what promises to be a mouth watering derby clash against Scarlets - almost six months after their last Championship encounter against Edinburgh at BT Murrayfield.
The clash will be the first of a derby double for John Mulvihill’s side, who welcome Ospreys to their temporary home of Rodney Parade the following weekend, with Cardiff Arms Park still currently out of action as it is currently utilised as part of Dragon’s Heart Hospital.
While the usually fiery crowd will be a notable absence from the upcoming derby clashes, Turnbull has emphasised the importance of creating atmosphere within the group, and that starts with their actions on the pitch.
The former Scarlet said: “When you have away games and you don’t have many travelling fans, you have to bring your own atmosphere.
“You do that through big collision, winning turnovers and scoring good tries. Sometimes you don’t have to rely on the crowd to do that.
“The way we’ve been training recently is promising. We had a really good 15 against 15 hit-out recently and there were some real intensity in that session.
“We’re just looking to put that intensity on an opposition now and the boys are just really eager. Like I said, we’ll have to bring our own atmosphere when it comes to firing each other up.
“I get excited for every game. I always play it like it’s my last and I enjoy it.
“Every since I played as a young kid, this is all I wanted to do and I’m really looking forward to this weekend.
“There will be a few hair standing on the back of the neck and I think a few of the boys will be looking forward to it.
“I’ve been seven years at Cardiff Blues now, meaning I’ve done an equal amount of time here as I did at Scarlets.
“I enjoy the games with Scarlets and they’re probably up there with any European games or derbies. I love to play in those big events.
“Every time we play each other, the banter between the boys is really good.
“Ken [Owens] rang me on Wednesday trying to find out the team we had. I started some rumours and dropped in a few names that possibly weren’t playing, but he’ll see what happens on Saturday. It will be good to catch up with a few of them afterwards.”
Wales’ Capital Region have been back in training for a number of weeks, with the intensity of session gradually increasing following an unprecedented break from action.
While Turnbull admits the period has allowed a number of bodies to earn some well-earned rest and recovery, he insists the players are desperate to get back in the heart of the action.
The Welsh international added: “It was tough to start off with, because you didn’t know when you were going to come back. To be fair and to give credit to the boys, a lot of them took gym equipment home, cracked on and did their own thing.
“The boys have come back in pretty good nick, probably better than they were during the season before lockdown!
“But it’s been good. On a personal level, I feel good, I feel refreshed and it’s probably added a couple of years onto my career if I’m honest. I’ll take that at this age!
“A lot of the boys are feeling a lot better. You don’t have that physical contact on a daily basis which makes a massive difference.
“The boys have enjoyed the break but are eager to get back into it.
“Even though it was nice to spend a lot more time with the family, build a treehouse with my girls and do things that I wouldn’t usually necessarily have time to do, I’m now eager to get back into normality and get back to playing sport.”