Clive Griffiths admits the trip to Swansea to face Ospreys in the EDF Energy Cup on Sunday (kick-off 3.05pm) will be a special occasion for the coaching team at Worcester Warriors.
However, the head coach at Sixways Stadium has vowed that sentiment will be left on the sidelines as his side look for a win and revenge for cup heartache last season.
Griffiths and Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock have enjoyed spells in the hotseat at Swansea.
But after the heavy defeat to Ospreys last season in the same competition, all Griffiths is interested in is going back and showing how far Warriors have come in a year.
“When we played them up here last season we felt we let ourselves down badly and it was live on television too. It was a long day at the office and they showed the quality players that they have got,” said Griffiths.
“We will have to be at top form this time and it is a real benchmark game for us. We want to show how far we have come since last season and we are seeking to put right at the weekend what happened last year.
“The adding incentive is that whoever wins this game will also be favourites to go through the qualifying stages so it is all to play for.
“We go into the game on the back of some positive results in Europe. Going away and playing has been good for us, we have scored 16 tries in two games and only conceded two.
“We have been working on things after the London Irish game has come to fruition and now we want to carry that on.”
Warriors face a Welsh region who have not scored a try in their previous two matches and Griffiths wants to keep that trend as Worcester look to produce a rock solid defensive show.
“We have got to use the fact that they haven’t scored in two matches as a motivating factor,” he said.
“The longer that they go without scoring a try then it plants seeds of doubt in their minds again.
“The first quarter and first-half will be very, very important. The game isn’t won in the first-half, but Harlequins scored three tries in 11 minutes against us and it knocks your confidence and it gives them confidence. That will be a major factor.
“We will have to defend very well for the whole 80 minutes,” added Griffiths. “We have laid down a few extra principles since the Bath and Harlequins games and are also mindful that we did concede nine tries in those games, which is unlike.
“We have to be mindful of the fact that we have to defend and when we have the ball we have got to be absolutely squeaky clean and don’t give any turn-over ball because they have the likes of Shane Williams, Lee Byrne and James Hook, so it’ll be good night Vienna — they will punish you.”
Warriors are likely to be without Pat Sanderson, Hal Luscombe, Tom Wood, Will Bowley, Marcel Garvey, James Collins, Chris Fortey, Kai Horstmann, Dale Rasmussen and Miles Benjamin for the trip to the Liberty Stadium.
However, Griffiths insists the team sent out will be more than capable of getting a win and also showcasing the talent coming through the ranks at Sixways.
“We have got confidence in the guys who come in and what people will see at the weekend is the positive of having such a good Academy system at our club.”