Jarrad Hoeata has visited Caerphilly once to see its famous castle and he expects a full-blooded Welsh derby when Cardiff Blues face Newport Gwent Dragons there on Saturday (5.15pm).
With Rodney Parade unavailable, the Dragons have moved their final Guinness PRO12 clash of the season to the Constructaquote Stadium (Virginia Park) on the edge of Cardiff.
It is hoped a large contingent of Cardiff Blues fans will make the short trip and Hoeata reckons they will be treated to a typically intense derby.
He said: “I’ve been to Caerphilly once, to check out the castle and it was pretty cool. It’s a pretty awesome castle and we don’t have too many of those back home.
“I haven’t seen the pitch or ground but I’ve played in a few places now and the dimensions are pretty similar.
“But I’m looking forward to it, it’s something different, it’s our last league game and the Dragons will be up for it because it’s their final. We’ve got this game and then we’re onto the play-offs but our focus is solely on finishing the league as we should.
“They are really tough; they get a bit of stick but they are really tough to play. They have some top players, they make a mess of the breakdown and try to slow you down and that’s exactly what we don’t want.
“We want quick ball, to play with pace and get it wide and they want to stop that. It will be a big challenge all around the ruck.
“We just want to finish the PRO12 season off with a good win. After our result against the Ospreys it would be a shame to let this one slip and not finish it off the way we have been playing in the last few weeks.
“We have to put the second-half against Zebre to bed and concentrate on how well we have been playing and making sure we rip into the Dragons.”
On a personal level Hoeata has also been in fine form. Injury-free and on the back of a run of games, which stretches back to December, he believes the Blues are now seeing the best of him.
He added: “We’ve tried a few different ways and the way we are playing now is a nice, expansive game in attack and we’ve backed that up with some big defensive shifts.
“I’ve started about every game since Christmas, so I’m feeling really fit and healthy. When I first got here it was straight off a big Super Rugby season and straight after the play-offs in South Africa I pretty much came here.
“I picked up a couple of niggly injuries that stuck around. It took me a while to gel but I’ve been really happy with my form this season, I’m probably back to playing some of my best rugby.”
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