The back-row star forced his way into the Wales squad last Autumn and hasn’t looked back since after putting in a series of outstanding performances. And the 27-year-old is determined to overcome Gloucester in Friday’s European Challenge Cup final at the Sam Mames Stadium in Bilbao.
“This is the biggest game I’ve played in since I’ve been at the Blues,” said Navidi.
“All the results have come together and everyone is clicking. Everything has gelled together over the last few months.
“At the start of the season we struggled but we showed a lot of character to claw some results back. It’s been a real breakthrough season for me this year and hopefully there will be a bit of silverware at the end of it.”
The Blues lost 46-26 against the Cherry & Whites at the quarter final stage of last season’s competition. But Navidi has warned Gloucester they will not be such a soft touch this time around and insists they are ready for a dogfight.
He said: “There’s been a big change and with Shaun Edwards coming in it’s had a big focus on defence which has toughened us up.
“The way we are training and the way we are going about things on the pitch is a lot different to what it’s been like in the past.
“We played some good rugby against them last year but fell away at the end. Gloucester are similar to Pau in that they’ve got a really strong driving lineout and a powerful pack. But we can cope with that.”
