Steve Tandy is expecting a regional derby thriller when Cardiff Blues arrive at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
The Swansea-based region got over their defeat to West Wales rivals Scarlets with a convincing 22-9 triumph at the Dragons on New Year’s Eve and head coach Tandy believes the recovery will grow against their city rivals.
Captain Alun Wyn Jones returns to bolster the pack alongside Wales colleague Bradley Davies in the second-row.
Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar form a familiar half-back partnership with Dan Evans switching from full-back to wing to allow Sam Davies to come into the starting XV. And Tandy says his side will have a license to thrill against the Blues.
“It was an important win for us on New Year’s Eve, setting us up for an important month and some huge games we’ve got coming up,” said Tandy.
“The Blues will come here looking to attack, they have threats right across the field, and we know that we have to go toe-to-toe with them. It’s got all the ingredients of a great contest, a typical derby match with big head to head battles and two teams who know each other very well and want to prove a point. We’re looking forward to it.”
Danny Wilson’s side failed to capitalise on their opportunities as they became the latest victims of the Guinness PRO12 champions last weekend. The Blues ended a seven year hoodoo with a 35-17 victory over the Ospreys at Judgement Day last season but have not won at the Liberty since 2005. But Wilson reckons they can bounce back if they can bring the same edge to their play.
He said: “We were extremely disappointed we didn’t come out of the Scarlets game with a win, we dominated almost every area of the game and did everything bar win. We certainly go to the Liberty Stadium confident that we can test them, but they have been playing much better over the last month.
“They have gone back to traditional Ospreys. They have a bit more line speed in defence, they’re a bit more direct and set-piece based in their attack and we have to be able to deal with that.
“But if we can perform with the same intensity, ferocity and dominate the areas of the game that we dominated against the Scarlets then there’s no reason why we can’t go to the Liberty and get a win.”