Josh Navidi insists Cardiff Blues must focus on the ‘controllable’ aspects of their game as they look to bounce back from last week’s defeat against Scarlets when they take on Ospreys at Rodney Parade on Sunday.
The Guinness PRO14 season will official come to an end for John Mulvihill’s side in Newport - 11 months after it kick started at Port Elizabeth.
The back row star, who is set to skipper his side on Sunday, is confident his side can cut errors out of their game as they look to finish the campaign on a high note and aim to carry momentum into the 2020/21 season.
“I’m a terrible watcher so it was quite frustrating to watch the game on the weekend,” said the Welsh international.
“But we have another game this week and it’s still like a pre season for us. There are things that we can put right this week, and that’s our controllables.
“Obviously it’s the first couple of hit-outs in five-odd months. Fair play to the Scarlets, they came out firing.
“They have places to play for, and some competitive games coming up while it’s still like a pre-season for us, so it’s nothing to worry too much about.
“At the end of the day though, we still want to win every game.
“Ball retention is something we’ve really looked hard at since Saturday. We cost ourselves a lot.
“They were turning the ball over in the green zones, when we were looking to put some points on the board, and they’d run the length of the field and scoring.
“There’s little details that we can put right very quickly, and there are errors in the game that are bound to happen when the boys are a little rusty.
“We just need to make sure we’re on top of that this week, heading into the game against Ospreys.”
The back row is set to make his first appearance on Sunday since an impressive outing in the defeat to England at Twickenham in March.
Navidi is raring to go, but admits it will be a different playing experience as they play at their temporary home at Rodney Parade.
The academy product added: “It’s going to be a strange one, and obviously the boys have said about playing in front of no crowd.
“But I’m really looking forward to it, as it’s been a while. I came back from a hamstring injury to play against England in the Six Nations.
“We were meant to play Scotland the following week but we went into lockdown so I’m looking forward to getting back out there with the boys.
“I know some of the Ospreys boys inside-out now and it’s always a good, competitive game against them. It should be enjoyable.
“The good thing about Rodney Parade is that it’s got a good surface down there, which is the main thing.
“We obviously won’t have the Dragons fans shouting at you but it should be a nice experience.
“There won’t be any crowds at the minute, so I don’t think there will be much ‘home advantage’ anyway.”