Kristian Dacey is relishing another high-intensity festive derby, as Cardiff Blues travel to Swansea to face Ospreys on Saturday.
Wales’ Capital Region head to Liberty Stadium with the aim of completing a hat-trick of derby victories over the past three weeks, as they look to over-take their rivals in Conference A of the Guinness PRO14.
The current Cardiff Blues captain expects a tough challenge against Allen Clarke’s side, but has backed his “special” group of team-mates to get the job done in Swansea.
“It doesn’t stop! This is our league now, and the games come thick and fast, especially over this Christmas period,” said the Welsh international.
“Any derby will be a tough derby - whether it’s home or away. We now go to the Ospreys, where we haven’t won in numerous years.
“It’ll be a big challenge for us as a group of players and we’ve got the quality in our team to get down there and come back with a big ‘W’.
“As a team, it’s about us putting our own stamp on the game. We want to stick to a gameplan that we’re used to and a gameplan we enjoy playing too.
“We have some special players in our group, and a real mixture of youngsters and the older, experienced guys.
“We want to make sure that everyone is happy and everyone is on the same page. We’ve seen that grow, and the two games against Saracens were massive for us in moving forward.
“Hopefully we can keep the momentum going into the next derby before looking ahead to Europe.
“I’ve beaten each of the other Welsh sides, but have never won at Ospreys away. This would be a special one for me if we could go down there and get the win.”
Dacey, who has been named skipper of his home region in the absence of the long-term injured Ellis Jenkins, led his side to a stunning bonus point victory over Scarlets last week.
The eight-times capped international believes his side can take plenty of confidence from the victory in west Wales.
The Merthyr-born hooker said: “It was pretty special to get the win against Scarlets, and to lead the boys down at Parc y Scarlets made it a little bit extra special as well.
“We haven’t beaten them for three years down there and we’re a team that have nothing to lose in those games.
“A lot of people wrote us off going into the game, especially after the performance we put in against the Dragons.
“For us it was about going down there and playing the way we wanted to play. We stuck to the gameplan and it worked.
“It shows that we’re able to go on the road and get these big wins. I know the Scarlets are not where they want to be at the moment, but as a team, we can only play against who’s put in front of us.
“To get a big of that margin, on the road, was big for the team’s confidence going forward.
“I think we’ve changed a perception with a couple of the results we’ve had recently.”