Danny Wilson insists Cardiff Blues remain fully motivated for Saturday's Judgement Day derby against Ospreys at Principality Stadium.
Ahead of the final game of the regular PRO14 season, Wales’ Capital Region have already sealed a place in next season’s Champions Cup, and secured their tickets to Bilbao for the Challenge Cup final following Saturday’s win over Pau at the Arms Park.
Cardiff Blues came out on top during last season’s clash at the national stadium, and Wilson believes players have an opportunity to secure a place in the side for the game in Bilbao.
“Judgement Day is massive, it’s a derby again and those are the big games you want to play in. At the tail-end of the season we’ve come up against a number of big games and it feels like every week there’s a big game,” said Wilson.
“We will certainly go into a derby against Ospreys with the mindset that we want to pick up another derby win and we believe our squad is capable of doing that.
“We picked up a lot of bumps on the weekend, and this week will be about managing those and making a decision on those players, going into Judgement Day and going into the final in a couple of weeks time.
“What this is going to provide is an opportunity for some players, with places genuinely up for grabs.
“We had a massive game on Saturday, and have another massive game this Saturday, and they’re two games to assess individual games to make sure we pick the right squad and the right team to go to Bilbao.
“We hadn’t beaten the Ospreys for a certain number of years until last season’s Judgement Day and it was very well documented.
“We went to Judgement Day last year and it was a real big one-off game for us to try to get that achievement and we did it in quite some style.
“The first 50-60 minutes of that game we played some of the best rugby we’ve played. It was a really enjoyable day out and a big platform game for us, in terms of an achievement at the end of the season.”
The Cardiff Blues head coach, who will make a summer move to Wasps, also reflected on a memorable occasion, as his final game at the Arms Park ended in a famous European victory over Pau.
Wilson was delighted to be able to celebrate the victory with the squad, staff and players and is looking forward to capping off a special season with a trip to the Basque country.
Wilson said: “It was a great day, and the boys certainly took an opportunity to plaster me in beer!
“But it was a nice moment and nice for us to have a bit of time in the changing room together for the last game of the season at the Arms Park and my last game at the Arms Park.
“It was great to have a couple of photos and celebrate a famous win. The achievement is outstanding for this group of players and staff to make a European final and qualify for Champions Cup.
“It’s been one hell of a season and now we look forward to a big day out in Bilbao.”