Having lost at Parc y Scarlets in their Welsh derby on New Year’s Day, and fallen nine points behind the Scarlets in the fourth play-off place, the Arms Park side’s next opponents are nine points clear of them in fifth. Ulster are sixth, five points clear of the Blues, but with a game in hand.
A top six finish guarantees teams a ticket into the Champions Cup and the worry for Warburton and his Blues team mates is they could find themselves in ‘no-man’s land’ at the top of the lower half of the table if they can’t find a way to beat the 2015 champions this weekend.
“We have to get a win up there because if we don’t then a top six finish is slowly slipping away. Otherwise it is going to be extremely difficult and we will be playing catch-up again,” admitted Warburton.
“There will be a big emphasis on going up there, putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to produce a big performance. It’s extra motivation for us because we know if we lose any more than two or three more games we are going to find it extremely difficult to get into that top six.
“There is pressure on all our games now. We’ve been decent at home, but away is where we have to improve.
“We had a good win in Munster at the start of the season, but if you want to be a top six side then you have to go to a quality team like Glasgow and pick up wins. We have made good signings, from a playing and coaching perspective, and we really need to kick on to that next level and get in that top six.”
The Scarlets, 15-10 victors’ over the Blues earlier in the week, were the only Welsh region to qualify for the Champions Cup this season. While they currently lie in fourth place in the PRO12 , the Ospreys are second.
This is the third season in a row the Blues have played in the Challenge Cup in Europe and unless they can find a way to reach the top six they will remain in the second tier in 2017/18.
