Jason Harries has billed Cardiff Blues’ Guinness PRO14 clash with Edinburgh on Monday night as an all or nothing encounter.
The wing, who spent a season with the Scots before joining Cardiff Blues in 2018, is acutely aware that his side must prevail in the Arms Park finale.
While Edinburgh boast two games advantage, Cardiff can secure a fourth place finish by beating Richard Cockerill’s men and denying them losing bonus-point or by racking up a four try win. They could even finish third should Connacht upset the odds at Parc y Scarlets.
And, following a bonus-point victory over Benetton Rugby, Harries has revealed the squad have been left with no uncertainty of what is required in the final game of the regular PRO14 season.
He said: “Going back out to Treviso for my first game in a long time was nice. The boys played well. In the first half we ground it out but in the second-half our attacking shape flourished.
“It’s given us a lot of confidence and we just have to take that into Monday night. We know how important the game is, it’s all or nothing really. We have to go out there and win. It is as simple as that.”
Harries is well acquainted with Edinburgh, having spent a season in the Scottish capital after impressing for London Scottish and he has pinpointed Bill Mata as the man the Blues need to stop.
He continued: “I spent a year up there with Richard Cockerill and he is big on set-piece and they will come down here with a big set-piece, a kicking game and we have to match that and more. We have to make sure we know our roles and our game-plan and just make sure we look after ourselves.
“When there’s internationals, they do miss boys but under Cockerill they have built some real depth there and a big focus will be on Bill Mata. He’s a big player for them, he will give them front foot ball - he’s a strong carrier and tackles hard.”
Now in his third season with Cardiff Blues, Harries is just happy to be back out on the pitch after an unfortunate double dose of knee surgery.
The giant wing suffered a ligament injury in the final week of pre-season last summer and after recovering and battling back to fitness, he did the exact same thing to his other knee in his first team session back.
It was a bitter pill to swallow but the Carmarthen-born powerhouse remains philosophical and is determined to make up for lost time in a fiercely competitive back-three.
He added: “It was a long time coming. I counted it had been seven months since my last competitive game so it was really nice to get out with the boys and earn a decent victory out in Treviso.
“With what happened out in Treviso last year, winning the game when the clock had gone red and scoring the try as well was nice.
“The first instance was a week before the actual season started, before going out to Zebre. That was a kick in the teeth, then to come back and do exactly the same thing to the other knee was a double whammy.
“It’s part and parcel of the game and you can’t dwell on it too much because you have a job to do away from the field to get yourself back.
“All you want to do as a rugby player is play rugby and you get one knock you are given a timescale of roughly how long you will be out. I got given 8-12 weeks on my first knee and it ended up at nine and then l turned the switch building into rugby, trying to bring my skills up to speed, the plays and then it was a knock again to the other side.
“You are rocking back into the gym with the injured group saying I was only in here two days ago but you just have to knuckle down. I’m just excited to be back now and looking forward to some big games before the Rainbow Cup.
“It’s a tasty back-three we have here and the calibre of player is exceptional. We have Josh, who’s on international duty at the moment, Hallam and obviously Nipper, Aled, Laney and myself. As a back-three we know whoever plays we are all on the same page of what we need to do and what we can get out of each other.”