FINALLY I've got something positive to write about! Since January it has been a case of 'it could've been' but at Gloucester it was.

To win at Kingsholm in a European quarter-final – ending their 15-game winning streak in the Challenge Cup – was a massive achievement and I was happy after the game, but I'm a bit too old for getting carried away. I've got a bit of a reputation for being a pessimist but I'd like to think that I'm more of a realist!

However, after seven defeats on the bounce, six of them narrow, the boys are buzzing and you could tell the difference in the changing rooms before training on Tuesday.

There are no positives in losing but sometimes the way we gave been beaten in the league, with so many games we could easily have sneaked, the frustration can make you look closer at the detail that you would have missed and ultimately bring you closer as a unit.

We stayed tight as a squad and we stayed positive. That paid off with a huge win at Kingsholm in front of a great bunch of loyal supporters, going some way towards conquering a few demons after our semi-final loss at Edinburgh last year.

The boys showed great spirit to ride out a few tricky spells against Gloucester and if there's one thing I'd like to praise then it's our exits – Carl Meyer certainly remembered to bring his kicking boots and made sure the game was played out of our half as much as possible.

He was on fire and clearly enjoyed being able to strike the Gilbert balls – I'm told by the kickers that it's always a pleasure to use them in Europe – because our exits from our half were the cleanest and quickest that they have been for some time.

Doing that put the pressure on Gloucester rather than inviting it onto ourselves at key moments.

Now we move on to Montpellier in the Challenge Cup, which will be a tough task but one we are looking forward to.

I'm especially excited about heading over there – I've earned something of a reputation for only playing the home games this season after missing the games at Castres and Pau! It'll be my first game in France since the win in Paris last season, so fingers crossed we can repeat that result.

But for all the excitement of a big European tie, we have to put that to the back of our minds for now given that we've got a huge away derby at Cardiff Blues.

We can't take our foot off the gas and I guess that we owe them one after they stole a victory at Rodney Parade over Christmas (and I certainly do after a yellow card in that game).

The Blues have found a bit of form since that game and it hurts me to say that they are playing some attractive rugby.

We have shown we are capable of playing some nice stuff ourselves and while we won't go out there playing sevens style, we will be positive in Cardiff.

They've had some success on their 4G pitch this season but we train on one every day at our training base in Ystrad Mynach so that will be nothing strange for us.

On a personal level I like playing on grass pitches, especially somewhere like the Liberty Stadium which is also a Premier League football ground and is like a pool table. Obviously there have been some problems at Rodney Parade this season because three teams use it and the winter was so bad but I'm glad it's not a 4G pitch.

I AM pleased to be able to launch another event for mine and Ashley Smith's beneficiary year with this one taking place on Judgement Day in Cardiff on Saturday, April 30.

We'll be holding a bit of a Q&A at the Bierkeller next to Principality Stadium with appearances from players from all four regions. It'll be a good chance to have a drink or two with us.

I'll provide some more detail in the next fortnight but it'll be £10 a ticket, includes a free drink and should be a good evening, hopefully raising a stein to a derby win!

Details here: billetto.co.uk/judgement-day-pre-post-match-event