Coach Danny Wilson praised the performance of all-action back row Manoa Vosawai after his try-scoring display in the victory over Connacht - admitting: 'We had to drag him off' in the end.
Italy international Vosawai - named man-of-the-match - grabbed an early try for Cardiff Blues in the battling 20-16 success at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.
And the giant Number Eight was a big presence all evening with some thundering runs and huge tackles before being forced off with a leg injury in the dying minutes.
“The last three weeks in particular, Manoa has really stepped up his performance and showed what he is capable of,” said Wilson.
“His carrying presence is something that is really important to us and he is improving his defence.
In relation to his injury, Wilson said: “The referee decided it was a no arms tackle against the man who tackled Manoa and hopefully it is just a dead leg he has picked up.
“He couldn’t run it off but showed the attitude we want here – he wanted to stay out there on the field and in the end we had to drag him off.”
“We have three openside flankers out at the moment, which is a bit of a one-off,” he added. “We need to manage the back row forwards we have got and we have a few left standing.
“Credit to those boys today, they did a great job and that is summed up for me by Josh Turnbull. He has now moved to openside and played six, seven and eight for us this season.
“He applies himself extremely well to each position and he is a very durable and hard-working professional.
“Josh Navidi is close to a return now and we have our fingers crossed that he will be close to playing some rugby next week. He’s made good progress and hopefully we will get him back.”