Dillon Lewis insists Cardiff Blues can take positives from Friday’s defeat to Munster.
John Mulvihill’s side scored three tries in Cork, with Tomos Williams, Aled Summerhill and Rey Lee-Lo crossing the whitewash as the Blues displayed their open, attacking style of rugby.
Lewis praised the back three’s impact at the Irish Independent Park, in particular wing Summerhill, who also celebrated a half century of appearances for his home region.
“I think there are plenty of positives we can take from the game against Munster,” said the Welsh international prop.
“You know what Nipper can offer you and how dangerous he can be, and Aled Summerhill seems to be scoring a try in every game these days.
“It’s great to see him playing well, and he’s someone I’ve come through the system alongside.
“For 60 minutes, we were in that game. But we probably gave away too many penalties, kicked possession away and were guilty of not taking our chances.
“You always know Munster are going to turn up with a strong team from one to 23, but I do think we can consider ourselves unlucky not to get a bonus point out of the game.
“Munster’s bench probably made the difference in the end. We have to learn to keep our performance levels up for the full 80 minutes, and that’s why we didn’t win the game.”
Only two games remains in the race for a top three finish in Conference A of the Guinness PRO14, with Wales’ Capital Region facing closest rivals, Connacht and Ospreys, before the end of the season.
The prop believes the opportunity to compete until the end of the campaign is a motivation for the squad over the next few weeks.
Lewis added: “We’re playing Connacht next week, and we know that it’s a massive game if we want to continue to compete until the end of the season.
“Every team in the Championship want to be competing in meaningful games, and we’re no different to that and are working hard to reach that goal.
“It’s so important for us to continue to play as we’ve done in recent weeks if we’re to get the result we want out in Galway.”