WE take on Castres in the European Rugby Challenge Cup tomorrow buoyed by last Sunday’s bonus point win against Sale and with the knowledge that we can triumph on French soil.

Last season we got our European campaign off to a dream start by beating Stade Francais on their own turf, running in four tries in the process, while a few years back we were so close to beating Bayonne only for Mike Phillips to score late on.

As I’ve written a few times before, we’ve enjoyed some important away wins in recent seasons with successes at Glasgow, Leinster, Cardiff Blues and Treviso, places where we hadn’t had much joy.

Fingers crossed we can do it again because another victory would put us in great shape in a tough group.

Last weekend’s win against Sale was so important and we put pressure on ourselves to not only build on our strong performance against Ulster in the Guinness Pro12 but to go out there and score tries, something that we haven’t done in the league.

The synergy between forwards and backs was excellent, we weren’t two separate entities.

That was shown by Rynard Landman being on Dorian Jones’ shoulder to go over for our second try and by the front eight working hard around the corner to free up space for Sarel Pretorius to snipe away and cause mayhem.

We know that when we attack with high tempo and provide quick ball that we are as good as anyone, that’s what made the start of the Pro12 season so frustrating.

We have to make sure that we maintain those standards in Castres – get over the gain line, make sure the ball is quick at the rucks and that we are on the money at the contact area.

Our strategy was clear from the first two phases, we were all on the same page from starter plays and we had good role responsibility with everyone just doing their job.

Obviously I was massively disappointed to be forced off the field after an hour – my calves have been the bane of my career.

It’s a problem that I just have to manage, something that I’ve done pretty well over the past couple of seasons, but I’ve been hampered so far this season and have been unable to build up momentum.

It’s a delicate balancing act when managing the issue and I will keep working hard with our strength and conditioning coach Ryan Harris to get on the right path.

I enjoyed playing alongside Ollie Griffiths and it’s great to see another back row forward coming through the same Newport pathway that I did.

Young players are keen to make that step up to regional rugby but they have to be patient and earn their stripes in the Principality Premiership first.

That’s what I had to do and the same was the case for the likes of Jason Tovey and Hugh Gustafson.

If they impress in the Premiership, whether with Newport, Cross Keys, Ebbw Vale or Bedwas, then they will get their chance and they will be in a better position to make a big impact.

That’s what Ollie is doing at the moment. Nic Cudd has been a standout player for us this season but his injury provided a chance and Ollie has arguably been man of the match against both Ulster and Sale. That battle for the 7 jersey is going to be massive with James Benjamin also in the mix.

South Wales Argus:

IT’S a pleasure to have a number of events lined up as part of the beneficiary for me and my good mate Ashley Smith.

As the poster shows we’ve got a dinner at the Celtic Manor and it would be great to see you there.