John Mulvihill insists Cardiff Blues’ home form will be crucial in their bid for Challenge Cup glory.
Wales’ Capital Region kicked off their European campaign with a bonus point win over Calvisano last week, but welcome Leicester Tigers to the Arms Park on Saturday for a blockbuster clash.
The Gallagher Premiership giants were fully loaded last week, as the likes of Manu Tuilagi, George Ford, Ellis Genge and Dan Cole featured as the Tigers secured maximum points against Pau.
Mulvihill says two-time winners, Cardiff Blues, are hungry to continue their proud history in the competition, but admits they will have to be at their best against Geordan Murphy’s men.
“We’ve got a great history in this competition, but to get out of your group you have to win your home games,” said the head coach.
“We did ourselves a favour by picking up five points away from home last week.
“If we can follow that with a win, we can re-assess and look back at the PRO14 and make sure we take the momentum out of this week’s games into that competition.
“Depending on how much importance the French team place on the Challenge Cup, this game could go a long way to figuring out who finishes as the top two in the pool.
“It’s a home fixture for us, and we need to win it, but I’m sure Leicester will be looking to come down, get the points and set themselves up nicely for the rest of the competition.
“We’ve looked at their last three games, and there was certainly a rise in intensity against Pau last week.
“A lot of the big players played in that game and certainly had a big effect on the outcome and the performance.
“We expect that some of them will arrive here on Saturday at eight o’clock, and it might be a little bit cool for them down here on the plastic pitch.
“But we’re really looking forward for them to bring a strong squad and making a big game of it.”
The head coach is set to welcome Wales’ Rugby World Cup duo, Hallam Amos and Owen Lane, back into contention for Saturday’s encounter.
Following his summer move from east Wales rivals, Dragons, Amos is set to make his debut for Wales’ Capital Region, and Mulvihill says both players are hungry to make impact in the European showdown against the Tigers.
The Australian added: “It’s good to finally get those boys back in.
“I’m sure they’ve enjoyed their time away in the Welsh colours, but I know both Hallam and Laney are keen to put the Cardiff Blues jersey on and have a decent crack out there for us on Saturday night.
“I’m sure they’re looking forward to starting something new at the club and getting off with a big win against a massive European opponent.
“We’ve got some very classy outside backs, with Aled Summerhill to come back into the team this week, and I’ve asked him to go out there and score three this week!
“He’s looking forward to the challenge and we have an exciting back three.”