THE away dressing room at the Arms Park was a good place to be after our 21-16 win over Cardiff Blues in the LV= Cup.

That win won’t go down in history as being a mighty victory but, in the context of our season, it was a very important result for us.

Being from that part of the world, I know it is always tough to win at the Arms Park and it was good we were able to grind it out and get across the line at the end.

The first-half was outstanding and we were able to perform as we have been doing in training.

Defensively, we were strong, as were our driving line-out and scrum, while the back-line looked threatening too.

It was a similar feeling to the Amlin Challenge Cup game in Oyonnax in that we gave youngsters an opportunity and they stood up to the challenge well as they have done every time they have had the chance.

Max Stelling, James Stephenson and Rob O’Donnell were all great which bodes well for the future.

James showed great foot-work to get over the line, while Max’s was a fine solo effort too — you can’t say the same about Rob’s footwork, but it was an outstanding finish with the way he went over the full-back.

We could have cracked on in the second-half if I am being critical, but everyone knows where we are as a side and it was great to hang on for the win.

It was the first time I had ever played on an artifical pitch and, personally, I didn’t know what to expect from it, but I really enjoyed the surface.

The game is a lot faster and I prefer that.

The weather can often dictate how you play games in this part of the world, so it is interesting to see Cardiff Blues and Saracens installing 4G pitches.

If they catch on with other sides too, it could transform the way the game is played in the northern hemisphere.

My only concern about those pitches was the potential for injury, but that doesn’t seem to have been a problem so far and, from a playing point of view, the surface is great.

We entertain Leicester Tigers at Sixways on Friday night and it is important we now look to keep our momentum going.

If we can get another win, then this competition becomes something we could do well in and it would give us a snowball effect going into the Aviva Premiership game at Sale later in the month.

Leicester will probably field a second-string side, but they did that at the weekend and smashed the Ospreys, who have a good squad, so it will be a really tough match.

Our crowd have been great this season, though, and hopefully we can give them something to shout about on Friday night.