Danny Wilson is hungry to continue the hunt for a Guinness PRO14 play-off spot, as they look to chase down the Cheetahs in the final four rounds of fixtures.
Cardiff Blues head into Saturday’s clash against Ulster on the back of four consecutive Championship victories, and will look to continue their momentum against the Belfast-based side before a Challenge Cup quarter-final tie against Edinburgh on Easter weekend.
Wilson’s side currently occupy a Champions Cup qualifying spot in Confernce A, and believes Connacht and Ospreys will be looking to take advantage of any slip-ups, but insists the Blues will continue to take each game as they come.
“We’ve had four wins on the bounce and won eight out of our last 10 games in Europe and the PRO14, so it’s a good place to be,” said Wilson.
“In the last block of games, we told ourselves that winning all four games would give us a real chance of doing something, but now we have to make sure we take that opportunity.
“The first stage of that is to that we need to win against a good Ulster team at the Arms Park on Saturday, and if we can do that, it will keep us right in the hunt for the play-off.
“We desperately want to hunt the Cheetahs down for third-spot in our Conference, and it will be a minimum for us to maintain our position to qualify for Champions Cup.
“It might be a cliche, but we’re literally taking each game as it comes. We targeted the four-game block and now it’s about each individual game as it comes to finish the season.
“Both Ospreys and Connacht are in a position where they can chase us down, but our whole focus has been on chasing the Cheetahs so we’re looking up not down.”
Meanwhile, Ulster head into Saturday’s clash following defeats to Edinburgh and Scarlets.
Jono Gibbes’ side have their own play-off ambitions in Conference B, and Wilson is aware of the dangers they will bring to the Welsh capital.
Wilson said: “Ulster have a lot of dangerous individual players who, on their day, are outstanding collectively.
“They’ve had their ups-and-downs over the season following changes in their coaching staff, but with Jono Gibbes and Dwayne Peel there, they’ll be well-organised and well-ran.
“They’ve also got the individuals which we already know about, quality players like Charles Piutau, who I’m sure will play against us, and they’ll go as fully-loaded as they possibly can in terms of their Irish internationals.
“They need wins at the moment, and with four games remaining, we’re very aware of the type of team that will come to the Arms Park. It’s going to be a tough one, but we’ll also come back to our recent form and in particular our home form.”
Cardiff Blues take on Ulster Rugby at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday, March 24 (3.15pm). Make sure you're there for the final PRO14 fixture at Cardiff Arms Park by purchasing your ticket today!