IT feels like we are David going up against Goliath this weekend but we've already upset the odds once in the knockout stages of the European Challenge Cup and have to believe we can do so again in Montpellier.

Our semi-final hosts are hot favourites for tomorrow's game as they are flying high in the Top 14, have a galaxy of stars on their books and have home advantage.

However, not many people gave us a chance of winning at Gloucester in the quarter-finals but we did.

People talk about the internationals in the Montpellier side but I hope that they all play – what better way to test yourself than going up against the likes of Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis, Akapusi Qera, Frans Steyn, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Francois Trinh-Duc? Although if powerful Springboks back row forward Pierre Spies is injured I won't be disappointed!

Occasions like this are why we play the game and after giving our fans plenty to cheer in Gloucester, hopefully we will do the same for the loyal supporters who have booked their flights for France.

There's no doubt that Montpellier will pose a big challenge but we just have to focus on all doing our jobs individually to play our part in the team effort.

That's something that I don't think we did in Cardiff and I left the pitch feeling disappointed and frustrated – that performance just wasn't us.

We let ourselves down and were harmed by individual errors and sloppy play. Cardiff Blues are playing well at the moment so we needed to bring our 'A' game and we had to be nice and tidy, doing the basics well.

We had to build pressure but instead we kept going for double-top too soon; we were positive and made plenty of line breaks only to force things rather than then going through the phases to either earn a penalty or exploit a defensive mistake.

I hate it when people talk about 'composure' – it's a word that gets chucked around too much – but when coaching with Newport I like to highlight organisation and structure amongst the chaos that is rugby after set piece.

That's what makes the difference when you are trying to manage a game and ultimately build pressure on the opposition to get inside their 22 and come away with points.

I'm not one to blame 'external' factors, as it was us making life difficult for ourselves most of the time, but it was difficult to build any momentum into that game with decisions going against us so often, only being awarded two penalties inside 72 minutes.

The Blues picked a mobile pack and we knew contact area was going to be vital to success but when referees allow teams to get away with murder it ruins much of what we are trying to achieve in attack.

It may be a case of us being too naive at times or that Pro12 refs have a negative perception of the Dragons, something we need to change.

We haven't had long to lick our wounds after our derby defeat and the six-day turnaround presented its challenges, especially after playing on the 4G pitch in Cardiff.

There are always battered and bruised bodies after any rugby game but I was walking like an 80-year-old after playing on their plastic pitch.

We train on one in Ystrad Mynach so I wrote before the Blues game that it wouldn't make a difference but it felt different, especially on the joints the day after.

Montpellier also played last Sunday – beating Stade Francais in Paris – so the key thing for both teams this week will have been making sure that they are fresh mentally and physically for 5.30pm tomorrow.

It's going to be a massive test for us out there but Cardiff Blues pushed them all the way in December when they were only beaten by a point after conceding a last-minute converted try. That shows that while it will be tough, winning is not beyond us.