Europe’s premier club competition kicks off this weekend, with the Arms Park side joined by Exeter, defending champions Toulon, and Glasgow in Pool 2.
The Blues start with a trip to Sandy Park to take on Exeter this Sunday before a mouth-watering home meeting with a star-studded Toulon a week later.
Davies saw his side experience tough clashes with Toulon and Montpellier last year but argues his players are all the better for the experience. And on the back of a solid home win over Edinburgh, Alex Cuthbert scoring twice, the Blues head south in confident mood.
“We’re excited about Europe. We’ve shown progression as a team and this tournament is another step up for us,” said Davies.
“We’re still a young group and sometimes you can’t buy that big match experience but it’s something that will come.
“We’ve got two fantastic games to look forward to at the start of this competition. Toulon are the champions so that’s a tough one and Glasgow have developed very well over the last four or five years. They’re no pushovers and Exeter have done a phenomenal job of building.
“Each game is going to be tough and a massive physical challenge. That’s what we’ve got to prepare ourselves for.”
After an inconsistent start to the season, the Blues’ win over Edinburgh provided plenty of positive signs. Wales prop Gethin Jenkins started his first game of the season with Leigh Halfpenny booting 19 points. Add in the likes of British and Irish Lions skipper Sam Warburton and internationals Bradley Davies, Matthew Rees and Josh Navidi, and the Blues have the majority of their strongest side currently available.
On the return of Jenkins, Davies added: “His presence and mere actions say it all. He’s not a man of great words but he’s a top professional and we’re lucky to have him.
“He’s got some game time under his belt which is great ahead of the first two Heineken games.”
Skipper Rees, who has plenty of experience in Europe, added: “It’s a massive competition and we’re looking forward to the first game against Exeter away.
“You want to play against the best teams in Europe and that’s what the Heineken Cup gives you. The fascinating thing about it is it gets stronger every year. There’s a great buzz in training the week before you play.
“We know how good a team we are, we know how good some of our individuals are and it’s about being consistent for 80 minutes. If we do that, I’m sure we can match anyone.”
