A packed Cardiff Arms Park gives Cardiff Blues the belief that they can beat any side, insists John Mulvihill.
The iconic ground is set for a capacity crowd on Saturday, as two-times European champions, Saracens, visit the Welsh capital for the second half of back-to-back Heineken Champions Cup fixtures.
With the Blues’ European ambitions in the balance - and a trio of festive derbies to look forward to - the head coach has called on the Arms Park faithful to make the difference as the likes of Owen Farrell, Mako Vuniopola and Jamie George visit town.
“It’s a massive game as far as the Heineken Champions Cup is concerned,” said Mulvihill.
“But it’s also a massive game for us going forward, because we’ve got three massive derbies coming up after that and we don’t want to limp into those. We want to bounce in and have some confidence going forward.
“Looking at this run of games, we probably targeted this one as a home game because we knew Cardiff Arms Park would be a sell-out.
“We definitely have the belief, especially at home, that we can turn any team over. We need the crowd to be out in force, and that’s something they’re really good at.
“They’re passionate and knowledgable about the game and they’ll get behind us this weekend.
“We haven’t played at home since Zebre at the start of November, and it’s been a long time coming.
“Everyone is really looking forward to a big performance and we want to have confidence from this week heading into Dragons at home the following Friday.
“We’ve looked at the review from Sunday and there wasn’t a lot that we got wrong.
“Our defence was probably 90 per cent there, and across the board there were a few times where we were inaccurate, but that didn’t come down to the system.
“There are areas we need to work on because we know they will come with a similar sort of strategy this week and we’ll want to get the ball to the right areas of the field this weekend.
Numerous Cardiff Blues stars, including Josh Navidi and Nick Williams, are set to be back in contention for the Arms Park clash.
“Those guys will be back in the mix for selection and it will be really good to see those guys working with Olly Robinson and Samu Manoa, who keeps getting better with more minutes under his belt.
“We’ve managed our group well over the break, and five or six boys will be back in there this week, with an eye on the Dragons next week.”
A very limited amount of tickets remain for Saturday's huge Heineken Champions Cup clash against Saracens at Cardiff Arms Park. Snap up yours NOW to avoid disappointment!