Lloyd Williams insists his side must perform consistently over 80 minutes in order to compete with quality opposition, following Cardiff Blues' defeat to Gloucester in the European Challenge Cup quarter-final.
An Alex Cuthbert brace helped the Blues to a 23-20 half time lead, before the home side bounced back to secure a 46-26 victory and progress to the semi-final.
Williams admits the manner of the defeat was bitterly disappointing but insists his side can take positives from the first half performance at Kingsholm.
“We were playing good rugby during the first half, and our intentions were to be in the game from the start, and we did manage to do that up to a certain point,” said the scrum-half.
“Small moments in the game really cost us as it allowed them back in the game and they took advantage of that.
“They had an effective scrum and a big pack which helped them get over the gain line and I believe that’s what made the difference in the end.
“I thought the forwards played very well in the first half and at half time we spoke, as a team, about being very physical, as that’s what made the difference in the first 40. In the second half, we dropped off a bit and you can’t afford to do that against a side like Gloucester.
“Alex played very well tonight, not just taking the two tries, but also his work off the ball, and it’s good to see.”
The Blues have four games remaining in the Guinness PRO12 regular season, and hope to secure a play-off spot, for the opportunity to qualify for next season’s European Champions Cup.
Williams believes his side must now concentrate on their performances in the remaining fixtures, in order to build momentum ahead of the crucial play-off games.
“There’s not much to play for in these next few games, but we must turn that into a positive as we’ve got nothing to lose.
“We need to starting playing good rugby again, like we have done at points over the course of the season.
“It will be very difficult to move into the top six in the table but we have a huge game against Ospreys coming up in the Principality Stadium, and we need to make sure we develop our performance for that game and the scoreboard will take care of itself.”