Olly Robinson believes Cardiff Blues can be proud of the character they showed during the narrow Guinness PRO14 loss to Glasgow Warriors on Saturday.
After an early 14-point deficit, Wales’ Capital Region bounced back to earn a bonus point at Scotstoun, and could be counted unfortunate not to claim the win after a much improved performance compared to the defeat to Edinburgh at Cardiff Arms Park a week earlier.
The back row, who was named Cardiff Blues’ Players’ Player of the Year in 2018/19, admits there is still work to be done as they look to climb up Conference B and press for a play-off spot.
“We owed everyone that follows us, and ourselves, a performance after the game against Edinburgh last week,” said Robinson.
“We showed some character up in Glasgow and we were really good for 73 minutes to concede only three points in that time.
“But you can’t give a side like Glasgow, who are consistently pushing for honours, a head start like we did.
“Like I said, we’re really happy with the character that we showed but are gutted with the fact that it was a good opportunity to win the game.
“We had to front up and I feel like we did that defensively.
“Going forward it’s about how we can convert our pressure into points.
“We’re in a better position than we were this time last year.
“After winning our opening game away with a bonus point, we were bitterly disappointed with last week to come away without winning, and the same against Glasgow but full credit to them as they played well.”
Next up for John Mulvihill’s side is a trip to Belfast to take on an Ulster side which have recorded two victories from their opening three games.
The back row expects another tough challenge at Kingspan Stadium but insists the Blues’ best opportunity to target a victory is to concentrate on their own game.
Robinson added: “We’re under no illusions that there is a long way to go, but at least we showed a bit of fight in Scotstoun and we can be proud of that.
“Again, Ulster are a top quality side, as you get with all Irish side, and in this league there are no easy games.
“That’s why it’s important for us to concentrate on our own game and make sure we get our own stuff right.
“It’s a few more cliches, but it is about fronting up with the character we showed on Saturday because it’s never easy over in Belfast.”