Seb Davies has urged Cardiff to kick on in the European Challenge Cup and use it as a springboard for the upcoming Welsh derbies.
Cardiff travel to face Newcastle Falcons on Saturday, having notched up a bonus-point victory over CA Brive at the Arms Park.
It was the second maximum points haul secured by the Blue and Blacks in three games and Davies believes the squad are in a good place.
Now he is eyeing a victory in the North East to roll into three consecutive Welsh derbies in the BKT United Rugby Championship on a high.
He said: “It’s been pretty good coming off the back of a good performance against Brive. It’s always a bit better when you win.
“Newcastle have had some really good victories in the English division and we’re going up there full of confidence and looking to do the job on them.
“We’re doing well in the league and previously we’ve done well in this competition. We put out a really strong team this past weekend and the same this weekend so we’re looking to do well in this competition.
“If you want to progress in this competition you have to win pretty much all of your games. In the league, the first block and a half, we’ve done pretty well. We have lost a couple that we probably should have done better in.
“But the next three weeks after Europe is a big, big part of our season. We need to be winning those games.
“We have performed well, we’re doing well as a squad so as long as we do well in this next block, we don’t lose games we shouldn’t lose and put in performances then we can do something good here this year.”
On a personal level, Davies has now started three consecutive fixtures having suffered a shoulder fracture against the Dragons in October.
The second-row recovered quicker than he anticipated and is now targeting consistent game time and performances in a Blue and Black jersey, which could lead to further international honours.
He said: “The main thing is just consistency, especially last year. This year I’ve been quite consistent apart from I picked up the injury earlier in the year. Last year was more about consistency and I agreed (with Wales) that I was a bit too up and down rather than a constant level to be picked as much as I wanted.
“I prefer playing second-row, I don’t really want to play in the back-row. The back-row in Wales is such a competitive area, there’s so many players with different strengths.
“I’m much better suited to the second-row like I play for Cardiff pretty much every week. Having played so many games there for Cardiff, I’m just more used to it a bit more.
“I’ve become more of a leader. A lot of the boys here, the older boys and leaders have either moved on, retired or gone to different places. Over the last two and a bit years, I’ve taken on more of a leadership role with the line out. That’s probably the biggest difference.”
Tickets for Cardiff’s back-to-back Welsh derbies at the Arms Park against the Ospreys (Jan 1) and Scarlets (Jan 7), are available now but selling fast. Secure yours today by clicking here or calling 029 20 302030.