Mark Hammett’s men claimed a 28-3 triumph at Grenoble on Saturday to set up and all-Welsh quarter-final clash with Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade at the start of April. The Blues have already won at Rodney Parade this season, but Williams knows it will not be easy against their regional rivals.
“We know what the Dragons are about and what they can do. We’ve beaten each other already this season but it’s a game that everyone will be excited about. It’s just great for us to be in the quarter-finals,” said Lloyd Williams, a try-scorer in France.
“We genuinely feel we have a squad capable of competing for this trophy but hopefully we will have everyone available after the Six Nations. It’s going to be really tough in the next round because it will be knock-out rugby and anything can happen. It’s all about who is mentally switched on for that day.”
The winner of the East Wales derby faces an away semi-final against the winner of the clash between Edinburgh and London Irish. And he will be hoping they can produce a similar performance to the one that saw them win in the snow in France.
“We knew it was going to be tough as soon as we saw the weather, it pretty much snowed for 70 minutes of the game. It was all about being mentally switched on and that’s why we won,” said Williams.
“The forwards did very well and they allowed us to put the ball in the right area. We almost won the game without the ball in hand by managing the conditions well in the first half when we played into the wind. It was a bitter-sweet moment at the end because we got the bonus-point but then found out London Irish had got theirs as well.”
