Exclusive interview with Blues Director of Coaching David Young ahead of the visit of Edinburgh.
Edinburgh under the guidance of Andy Robinson are currently 5th in the league and have recorded some good wins against Glasgow, Ulster and the Scarlets, in their last three league matches, so the Blues know they face a big challenge in their first game of 2008.
"I have got a lot of time for their Head Coach, Andy Robinson. Hes coached me on the Lions and is an extremely motivated and organised person as Im sure his team will be too. All those players are playing for their places and will bring high standards down to Wales with them.
"They will be a different Edinburgh side to the one weve played over the last few seasons. They certainly have enough quality in that team to go away from the Arms Park with a win. We have to make sure that they dont and will have to see a huge improvement in our recent performances if we are to get the win.
"We are still challenging in the league and putting pressure on the leaders Leinster. We were pleased to get the win against the Dragons and if wed have won 11-6 and played well, I would have been happy. But the standards that weve set throughout the year have been higher than those shown on Boxing Day. We were very disappointed with our skill levels, accuracy and decision making that day.
"We played better against the Ospreys but we still werent playing at our best. The Liberty Stadium is always a difficult place to go to and win so I dont think it is a situation where we have blown the title race by losing. It was a blow but it is not terminal.
"The Ospreys are the current champions and a good side so were not going to roll over at home. Our discipline was not good enough which allowed them to open up a lead which frustrated us. The kicking game was also a major difference between the two teams. They kicked well, while we kicked poorly. Their defence was also very good and they won the battle against our attack. These are aspects that we must improve on if we are to get anything out of the match against Edinburgh".
David Young