Cardiff Blues head coach John Mulvihill wants his side to “build on the momentum” from last season’s successful European Rugby Challenge Cup campaign as the Welsh region embark on a first European Cup bid since 2014. The Blues lifted the Challenge Cup after a thrilling 31-30 victory over Gloucester Rugby in last season’s showpiece final in Bilbao, with fly-half Gareth Anscombe kicking the winning penalty with seconds left on the clock. As a result of that success in the Basque Country, the Welsh region are in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup and have been handed an awkward Pool 3 draw alongside Lyon, Glasgow Warriors and two-time winners Saracens. Speaking at Wednesday’s Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup launch at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Mulvihill commented: “It’s really good to be involved in a big competition like the PRO14, but also exciting to think we’re only three weeks away from playing in the Heineken Champions Cup, so the club and the boys are really looking forward to it. https://twitter.com/cardiff_blues/status/1044661963178086401 “I think there’s a lot of excitement around and I think what we need to do is build on the momentum and the confidence they had last year. “It’s been about five seasons since they’ve been involved, so we’re looking forward to being in the top tier. “Last year they went fantastically well in the Challenge Cup, but they always had an eye on getting back into this competition. “Playing against the biggest teams in Europe, with the best players in Europe, is where we need to be.” https://twitter.com/cardiff_blues/status/1044896356349939712 Cardiff captain Ellis Jenkins also highlighted the tough task his side face to reach the knockout stages of the European Cup for the first time since 2012, when they were beaten 34-3 by eventual winners Leinster Rugby. “It’s where you want to be competing, at the top level,” he said. “For us, it was great to qualify - I think it’s the first time in three or four years since we’ve been at the top tier in Europe - but we know we’re going to have to raise our game. “The quality of the opposition on the whole will be higher and we’ll really have to raise our game if we want to compete. “We’ve played against most of the teams before. Obviously, Glasgow we play against quite a lot in the league and we had Lyon in our group last year.”