Gareth Anscombe has called on supporters to turn up in their droves to drive Cardiff Blues to victory in the crucial Guinness PRO12 clash with Munster at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday (KO 5.15pm).
Danny Wilson’s men will be targeting a third consecutive championship victory, following wins against Benetton Treviso and Edinburgh over the last two weeks.
Anscombe, who returned to action last month following a groin injury, acknowledges the challenge facing his side on Saturday, but insists the home support could make the difference when it matters.
“It’s always nice to have these big games at home. We managed to get a big win against them at the start of the season away from home, but Munster are a big team to face,” said Anscombe.
“They lost last week to Scarlets, and that’s going to hurt them, so they’re going to want to come here and get a bit of revenge for us tipping them up earlier in the season.
“It's a big game for both teams. Munster are going to want to win to cement themselves in that top four, and likewise for ourselves we have to take it week-by-week and I think we’ve made some big improvements in the last couple of weeks.
“It would be nice to get a big crowd here and certainly we heard them against Benetton Treviso in that second half.
“It was probably the loudest crowd I’ve heard at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park for a while so it would be nice to get a few more numbers, especially with a week off the Six Nations, and hopefully the weather gods will be nice to us to get a big crowd at home.”
Anscombe’s half-back partner, Lloyd Williams, scored a late try at Myreside last week to secure a 18-17 victory over Edinburgh, despite the Blues trailing by 17-6 early in the second half.
The 9-times capped Wales international praised his side’s grit and determination to come away with the hard-fought win.
“Even though our performance wasn’t quite where it needed to be last week, we showed some heart to get the win.
“We were really happy that we managed to come away with the points. I guess, maybe in the past, we would’ve rolled over in that situation, and they were tough conditions.
“But after conceding a couple of tries early in the second half, and being on the wrong side of the penalty count for most of the game, the boys showed an incredible amount of character and kept fighting.
“Once we got the first try, and came within a sniff, we kept playing away and thankfully we got the winning try towards the end and defended really well, showing some grit to hold on to the result. It was a much needed win away from home.
“I think those type type of victories can really bring the group together.
“The boys are trying to add bits onto our defence, and I think over the last couple of weeks we’ve really improved. We know we’ve got a massive challenge this weekend against a big Munster pack and a team that are probably one of the in-form teams in the championship.”
We need YOUR support to make BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park a fortress. Ticket deals for Saturday's Guinness PRO12 clash with Munster includes: £10 Ticket with your Wales v Ireland Ticket, Season Members bring a friend for £10 and Buy Three Tickets Get the Fourth FREE! Be sure to grab your ticket NOW by visiting cardiffblues.com/tickets