If Cardiff Rugby want to take a step closer to their dream of playing in a third EPCR Challenge Cup final at Principality Stadium in May then they will have to a Connacht side they haven’t beaten since 2020.
The Round of 16 tie in Galway has given Matt Sherratt’s a chance to shoot for a third European crown but he knows his team will have to be at their very best to topple the No 1 seeds in the competition.
The two teams have already met twice this season in the BKT United Rugby Championship, with Connacht winning 28-19 in the Welsh capital in January and 24-19 on home soil a month later. Can it be third time lucky for the Blue & Blacks?
“We put some emphasis on getting to the knock-out stage at the start of the season. I spoke to Rey Lee-Lo last week and he said this is the first time in his 10 years at Cardiff that he’s got to April and is fighting on two fronts,” said Sherratt.
“It’s a tough game but we’ll do all we can to take a step further. We are two well matched teams in similar positions in the league.
“They are a high phase count team and a team who like to keep the ball. They are very connected in defence and very much like the Irish team.
“But we’re pretty confident we can go there and get a positive result. It went down to the last play the last time we went there, so we’ve added a few new elements to our game to make sure we don’t just go there and do the same thing.
“It is sometimes a game of two halves in Galway with the wind and they are very good at using it to their advantage. If we play at our best, we can give any side a good game and we’ve been competitive on the road this season.
“When we won this tournament in Bilbao with Danny Wilson in charge, we were in a similar league position as this season, although we had got on a bit of a roll then. It’s just getting yourself to the knock-out stage and anything can happen.
“If we can get a win, build some confidence, and keep our best players fit then we’ll have half a chance.”
Sherratt has made eight changes to the side that played in Italy and will have Taulupe Faletau and Josh Adams back in action after recovering from injury. Skipper Liam Belcher, Keiron Assiratti and Josh McNally return to the front five, while Johan Mulder joins centre Rey Lee-Lo and Ben Thomas in stepping into the starting line up behind the scrum.
“It’s quite nice have Toby and Josh back in action. Our last two games have gone to the final play and the last two week sum up rugby for me,” added Sherratt.
“A fortnight ago at the Arms Park we twice held up the Lions over the line to win the game, while in Benetton last week they won with a 77th minute penalty. The players were hurting after last week’s defeat in Italy and that showed to me just how much they are engaged and want to do something special this season – we need to channel that hurt in the right direction in Connacht.”
A quarter final trip to the winners of the game between Perpignan and Racing 92 awaits Cardiff if they can pull of a win in Connacht.