Head Coach Danny Wilson believes his Cardiff Blues are ready for the away day challenges ahead - as the region kicks off a run of five away fixtures this weekend in Dublin.
With BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park being transformed into an Official Fanzone for the Rugby World Cup, Wilson and his men are now away from home until early November.
First up is Leinster away at the RDS on Saturday evening (kick-off 5.15pm) and Wilson has reiterated his desire to see his squad rise to the challenge and believes a good showing during this away spell could set up a successful season.
“We have spoken a lot about this period in the last few weeks; it is a great challenge to go to the likes of the RDS and some of these venues away from home,” he said.
“The good thing is they are broken up with weeks off, but it is a heck of a challenge to play four games away from home to all the Irish provinces.
“However, if we come away with a few wins or do well in the games it will do us the world of good in terms of a confidence boost and points for the season.
“We go this weekend full of confidence after a good home win, scoring 11 tries, but we also know that going to the RDS is a big challenge and a very different one, no disrespect, to the home game against Zebre.
“Both sides are impacted on by Rugby World Cup call-ups,” he added. “But it’s a home game for them, which gives them that advantage; they don’t lose many games at home. We go there as the underdogs and we are fully aware of that.”
Wilson also revealed he expects a better kicking display this weekend after a number of points were missed last weekend.
“We have discussed it as a group and obviously if we had got some of our kicks we would have been into the 80 points bracket which would have been a real freak result,” he added.
“It is something to build and work on, but those guys are diligent professionals. The likes of Rhys Patchell and Dan Fish have worked hard already this week to put that right.
“In tight games it could come down to kicks so yes it is an area we need to improve in and the work is being done to do so.”