The Cardiff side also have a severe test with Llandovery paying a visit to Riverside Park. The Drovers are in fine form with four victories on the road already this season and last week’s win against Treorchy saw them move into second place, just three points behind Pontypool. Rumney’s sole victory this term came against Bedwas in October but they gained a point with a 26-26 draw at Tondu last time out and will be hoping that signalled the start of better things.
Aberavon have games in hand on the top two sides but they face a tricky visit to Whitland to take on the Borderers. Eight of the Wizards matches have been at home while they have only travelled four times, losing two of those games at Pontypool and Cross Keys. Whitland are having a steady season and Aberavon will have to be at their best to collect another victory and keep up the pressure on the leaders.
Newbridge are having a very inconsistent season though their performances at the Welfare Ground have seen them gain seven victories from eight starts. They take on Cross keys having beaten Pontypool in their last home match but they have relied on outside half Jason Williams for many of their victories and he may not be fit after missing last week’s defeat at Glamorgan Wanderers. keys have won one of their seven away matches, have beaten Aberavon at home, but lost 28-24 at Beddau in their most recent match and they need to get something out of this game to avoid possibly slipping further down the table.
Beddau have found life in Division One very hard but they have managed three victories to stay clear of the bottom two places. They host a Narberth side that has lost six of their last seven outings. The home team have only managed 18 touchdowns all season while they have let the opposition go over no less than 50 times. The Otters will see this as a good opportunity to get back to winning ways and turn around a disappointing season.
Carmarthen Quins have lost their last two matches after going on an eight-match winning run. They were surprisingly beaten 28-26 at home by Glamorgan Wanderers and that may give visitors Llanharan hope that they can catch the Quins on another off-day. Llanharan already have three away victories in the bag so Carmarthen will have to be back to top form to achieve their tenth league win of the season.
Bedwas put an end to a run of four matches without a win by crushing Narberth 60-25, but they have only won two of their seven home matches to date and Tredegar will fancy their chances of a win to pull them away from the lower reaches. Bedwas are in mid-table while Tredegar’s poor away record, no wins from six, would seem to point to a home victory but this one could go either way.
Blackwood have managed just one victory from their last six starts and they have plummeted down the table to 13th place as a result. Visitors Glamorgan Wanderers are on a roll at the moment with victories against Carmarthen Quins and Newbridge in their last two matches and they are one place and three points above Blackwood.
Both sides have ace kickers in Jason Pocock for Wanderers and Martin Jones for Blackwood, and this match could be about which man holds his nerve on the day.
Bonymaen lost on their last outing but they had won five of their six games previous to that. They meet Tondu who are another side struggling in the pack just above the bottom two. Bony have been beaten only twice at home while the Waterwheelers have two away victories to their credit from six starts. Bony’s new-found confidence should be enough to add another victory to their improving record, leaving Tondu perilously close the bottom clubs.
