Dai Young has challenged his side to rediscover their early season form as Cardiff prepare to welcome Benetton Rugby to the Arms Park on Saturday (KO 5.15pm).
The Blue and Blacks return to competitive action as the United Rugby Championship heads into the business-end of the campaign.
As they prepare for the penultimate home league game of the season, Cardiff currently sit five points behind Saturday’s opponents, who occupy a play-off spot as things stands in the table.
The Director of Rugby has warned his side of the tough task ahead against the Italian outfit, but believes it’s a golden opportunity for players to make a mark in the absence of Welsh internationals.
“We’ve had notification that no players will be released back to us from Wales this week. So we’ve got what we’ve got. We’ll definitely have a good team out,” explained Young.
“We had to be a little bit sensible in training last week because we are down to bare bones with all the injuries we’ve picked up.
“But now we’ve been able to pick up the pace and intensity of everything we’ve done this week because it’s going to be a tough game for us.
“We’re obviously looking forward to getting back out on the field and hopefully turning things around.
“Some players have waited a while to have opportunities, so they certainly see this period as an opportunity for them to put their hand up and put pressure on players that have kept the jersey for a while. So it’s certainly an opportunity.
“If you look at Benetton, they’ve got something like 65 players, with a lot of non-Italian players and they’re well-versed in playing without their internationals.
“There are real game-breakers within their team, so we’re expecting a real tough game.
“The last two games haven’t been anywhere near good enough and we certainly dropped below the standards we set previously.
“The last two weeks has all been about getting ourselves back up to the levels which we produced earlier in the season.
“If we are loose and give them opportunities like we have over the last two games, there’s only going to be one winner.
“But we believe that, if we can first of all respect the ball and make sure we get through the phases to fire some shots of our own, we can definitely cause them problems.
“If we can control the field better than we’ve controlled it over the last two games to give ourselves opportunities in their half and not lose the possession game as well as the territory game, I think we can get a good result off them.
“They’re not the team that people talked about three or four years ago, that were good at home but not very good away. This team can play both at home and away, and let’s not forget what they did to us last year as well.
“So it’s a big game for us, and we’re very respectful of them as a team.
“We need to be at the top of our game. I know it’s something we say week-in week-out, but I firmly believe that. If we are at the top of our game, we can get across the line and win this game. Anything below that will be tough.”
With only five regular season games remaining in this season’s BKT URC and ground to make up in the table, Young insists Saturday’s clash will be crucial in the chase for a play-off spot.
“The next two games will be huge for any end of season ambitions. If we win the next two games, we’ve got a strong chance of challenging for the play-offs,” added the former Wales prop.
“If we don’t the results in the next two games, it’s generally going to go against us and you’re then looking at a fight to be the top Welsh team rather than for the top eight.
“We certainly haven’t given up on that, we still think it’s realistic for us but the next two games will be huge in the fight to get there.”
Tickets are available for Cardiff’s remaining home league fixtures against Benetton Rugby (February 18) and Ulster (March 4), with the Challenge Cup last 16 clash against Sale Sharks (April 1) also on general sale. Click HERE to purchase yours now.