IT’S been a long season and there are some weary bodies in the camp but we are determined to finish strongly in the final two games of the Guinness PRO12.

There’s just over a week left for us with a game in Edinburgh tonight followed by our derby against Cardiff Blues in Caerphilly.

It’s been a challenging campaign but we are confident that we can get things right to sign off with a first away win and a morale-boosting derby victory.

We had a week off after an encouraging performance in defeat to the Scarlets at Judgement Day and that allowed us to get some of the donkey work done for this game in Scotland.

There were some anaerobic games with the ball to flush out the system and the coaches have to try and make the environment stimulating and productive.

It’s something like week 44 for us since we came back from our 2016 summer holidays and that’s a long time to spend in each other’s pockets.

That means the management have to be mindful of keeping things fresh and enjoyable while also ensuring that we have the same standards of preparation as we did back in September.

There is no danger of us having an end-of-term feeling in the camp because we know how important these last two games are.

We haven’t won away all season and have a good chance against an Edinburgh side who are only just above us in the league.

They are a decent team and are similar to us in that they haven’t quite been able to get over the line in a number of games.

We have to go up there with an attacking mentality because against the Scarlets it was our off-loading game that provided a lot of gains, as we showed with the late score by Adam Hughes after some great teamwork.

We are excited by the challenge and this time Edinburgh will be a different experience because they have swapped Murrayfield for a new home at Myreside.

Murrayfield is obviously an amazing ground and it must be great to play there in a Six Nations game but it doesn’t have quite the same impact for a PRO12 game running out in front of one man and his dog.

I don’t think many of us will miss being greeted by thousands of empty seats and an odd atmosphere, so tomorrow should be a good experience.

We beat them earlier this season with a strong performance at Rodney Parade and if we can repeat that then we’d climb above Edinburgh into ninth and that would set us up perfectly for the game with the Blues to finish our season off.

It’s been a hectic time in the boardroom at Rodney Parade while us players have also been busy off the field with a productive meeting with all of our neighbouring regions at the Vale Resort on Wednesday.

As a group in Wales it’s essential to recognise issues of vital importance such as player welfare and support for the transition to life after rugby.

Former Cardiff Blues back row forward Andries Pretorius is now chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Players Association and is determined to bring us out of the dark ages and to try and match the southern hemisphere countries and the RPA in England.

It won’t be an easy road but we are moving in the right direction and it is necessary for a positive future for current players and future generations.