Josh Turnbull insists Cardiff Blues are intent on making Cardiff Arms Park a fortress and creating a daunting venue for sides visiting the Welsh capital.
Friday’s victory over Connacht was Cardiff Blues’ fourth consecutive home victory in Guinness PRO14 and European fixtures, with Danny Wilson’s side racking up an impressive 18 tries in that period of time.
Turnbull, who has featured in every Guinness PRO14 fixture this season, was delighted to continue the recent run of good form against a tough Connacht outfit.
“We’re making this place a fortress and are getting those wins here at home,” said the eight-times capped Welsh international.
“The boys have said that we want to make Cardiff Arms Park as hard as possible for opposition teams to visit, and put our own stamp here to get those wins.
“It’s important for us as a group, and something Danny has always emphasised that if teams who come here want that W, they have to work hard for it.
“The boys are delighted to come away with the victory and build on that performance against Zebre a couple of weeks ago.
“Games against Connacht are never easy, it's always gritty and they’re a well-drilled, determined team.
“They’re always hard to play against, and that showed when we played them away as well where we grasped a last-minute winner against them.
“They came at us hard tonight, and defensively we dug in and showed that we’re starting to build some momentum now.”
Turnbull insists focus now turns to Friday’s fixture against Glasgow Warriors and the double-header against Sale Sharks in Europe.
The utility forward is keen to carry momentum into these vital clashes as the Blues look to put themselves in a commanding position in both PRO14 and Challenge Cup tables.
Turnbull said: “In the context of the whole season, the teams who do well are the teams who managed to win while the internationals are away.
“We’ve addressed that issue, and it’s a big period for us over the next couple of weeks, going up to Glasgow next weekend, who will have a couple of Scottish boys back, I’m sure.
“These two games are opportunities for us to build momentum before we go back into Europe, as well as a chance to build momentum in the PRO14 to climb up the table.
“There’s only a handful of points that separates second to fourth in our Conference, so it’s important that we keep picking up these victories, whether that’s by one point or twenty points.
“We've started to get momentum in the Championship, going into Glasgow next week, and then that momentum will kick us into Europe. The European games will be massive for us and there’s always a bit of a buzz leading up to these games and that’s what we want.
“It doesn’t come much bigger than European games and back-to-back games against Sale Sharks.”