MY past experiences of Judgement Day tell me that tomorrow’s game with the Scarlets will be a step up in intensity from the average Guinness PRO12 game, and we can’t wait.

All regions always looks forward to derby games and the double-header at Principality Stadium is extra special.

It’s a shame that we’ve lost two home Rodney Parade fixtures this season, with the Cardiff Blues one being played in Caerphilly on final day, but this weekend’s game is one that every player wants to play in.

I have experienced two of them as a player – against the Ospreys in 2014 and the Scarlets last year – and they are two of the most high intensity games that I have played in.

That’s partly down to the atmosphere and I can understand why all the boys love playing at the Principality Stadium for internationals; it’s a fantastic ground and even when it’s not quite full the noise is incredible.

Being captain and leading out the team adds to it a bit and it would be great if we could break our Judgement Day duck this weekend.

It won’t be easy against a quality Scarlets side who are going for the PRO12 play-offs but we can take confidence from our game in Llanelli earlier in the season.

We played some fantastic stuff in a really good performance and were unlucky to have to settle for a pair of bonus points in a 31-27 defeat.

We have to try and emulate that display against a number of talented individuals – their back line is exciting while they have plenty of Wales internationals up front.

I felt we had the better of them at the lineout in Llanelli and will look to repeat that, while we need to be careful of James Davies.

He is a flanker who can be a real threat at the contact area and in the loose, but I am sure they are saying exactly the same about Ollie Griffiths, who is just as exciting a player and that battle will be great for supporters to watch.

The Scarlets have plenty of experience and quality in their side but we are looking forward to the chance to put the wrongs of last week right.

It was massively disappointing to lose 29-14 at Zebre, especially after starting the second half strongly when a moment of brilliance by Sam Beard set up Adam Hughes (who made his own bit of history by joining the 100 starts club in Italy) to make it a one-point game.

Sadly it was the same old story with one or two lapses in concentration costing us and before we knew it we were chasing the game by two scores.

We can’t wait for the chance to give a better account of ourselves in front of a big crowd, both at Principality Stadium and watching on television.

Speaking of which, it is nice to be back open at The Lamb after being shut for a few weeks to give the pub a bit of a ‘freshen up’ ahead of the summer sun in Newport. We’ll be showing both Judgement Day games at The Lamb as we look forward to a big weekend.

We were back open for a charity quiz for St David’s Hospice raising over £150 on Wednesday night and hopefully a Dragons win can help make it a good Easter week.