BEATING a top Stade Francais side and qualifying in style for the quarter-finals of the European Rugby Challenge Cup shows how far we have come as a team.

It was a great win against a club that is challenging for the French title, especially after our away win at Newcastle with a bonus point.

We were under pressure to back up that performance and had buckled previously this season, going down to the Falcons the week after beating Stade in Paris and then being beaten by Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade after beating them at the Arms Park, but were determined that wouldn't be repeated.

We were already in the last eight but wanted to end the group stages with a win to earn a home tie and I think the 30-19 victory shows that we are making real progress as a team.

It hasn't been a case of improving skills overnight, more a change of mindset to play positive and attacking rugby, having the belief that we can beat top teams.

That is something that we now must demonstrate in the Guinness Pro12 but first up we have LV= Cup games against Exeter and London Welsh at Rodney Parade.

It has been a very busy period of the season so a few of us have been given a down week to allow our bodies and minds to recover.

It's important to have some rest to make sure our level of performance doesn't dip throughout a long season and it is also a chance to build strength in depth.

I've been able to rest a few niggles and get an MRI on an injury that has been plaguing me for a little while.

It's not often that professional rugby players get a few days off so we try to make the most of them, so a trip to London to see friends and family, as well as a bit of sightseeing, is something that I've been looking forward to far a while so that I can get away from being 'rugby drunk'.

It will be a tough game for the boys against Exeter on Sunday as they are performing well in the Aviva Premiership and have also qualified for the quarters of the Challenge Cup.

They will bring a strong team over because they won the LV= Cup last year and are well-placed for the semi-finals.

The Chiefs could have some old Dragons favourites in their side in Adam Hughes, Ceri Sweeney and Phil Dollman and it will be nice to see them as they have moved to pastures new and done well... although hopefully they won't on this occasion!

I may be having a bit of a break but I will certainly be at Rodney Parade to support the boys in their bid to secure another home win, however beforehand I will be joining a few other shaking buckets to raise money for charity.

Me, Ashley Smith and a few other close friends will be taking part in the Race to the Sun Brecon Beacons in the summer for Action Medical Research.

It entails a 45-mile bike ride then trek up Pen y Fan (2,907ft), then a 3km canoe across Pontsticill Reservoir and will certainly be a difficult task for us all.

The training has already started with a climb up Sugarloaf mountain in Abergavenny and there's no shortage of motivation as we are doing it for a great charity that funds vital research to help sick and disabled babies, children and young people.

If you see us with our buckets please dig deep and any loose change will be greatly appreciated.