Bedwas comfortably eased their way into a second successive final with a 55-14 win over Bridgend at the Bridgend Ford Brewery Field last weekend. There were six tries from the visitors in an unstoppable opening 40 minutes that saw them race into a 43-0 lead.
It took Bedwas just two minutes to set the scoreboard moving when 44-year-old prop Chris Budgeon went over. That set the tone for the day and where the veteran Kiwi led, so Nicky Griffiths (twice), James Richards, Pat Lewis and Aaron Bramwell followed in the first-half blitz.
Richard Powell chipped in with a penalty and five conversions and not even a Tom O’Flaherty score in the opening moments of the second half, converted by Joe Scrivens, could knock Bedwas out of their stride. Lewis raced over for his second try and then No 8 Geraint Edmunds crossed for the eighth try.
Tonight sees Carmarthen Quins hping to go one better than last season when they were beaten 48-20 by Bedwas in the semi-finals. Bedwas then went on to lose a thrilling final 38-34 to Pontypridd.
The Quins have been struggling for victories in 2017 and have only picked up wins in cup competitions since the final round of Premiership games before January’s split. Quins head coach Richard Kelly knows the scale of the challenge Merthyr will present, but is determined to keep making use of his full squad to achieve success.
“Merthyr have probably got the best players in the Principality Premiership. It’s a tough test for us, but we’ve proved we can beat them already this season,” said Kelly.
“We had a taste of a cup final last year [WRU National Cup] and we’re certainly targeting the two again this year. We made the semi-finals in the Foster’s Challenge Cup in 2016 and want to go one better.
“The tournament has been great for us in terms of using our entire squad. We’ve had 34 different players appear throughout our Foster’s Challenge Cup campaign so far, and it’s really increased competition for places within the team. It’s allowed us to have a look at the next generation of players and give them some much sought-after game time in a highly competitive competition.”
As for the Ironmen, they are already into the semi-finals of the WRU National Cup, where they will meet RGC 1404, and are currently fourth in Tier 1 of the Principality Premiership. There is a possible treble in sight, but head coach Lee Jarvis isn’t daring to dream just yet in his side’s first season in the top flight.
“It has been a competition sandwiched in between a few others and it has given us a chance to look at players from other clubs. It has been a good exercise for us and we will stick with the players who have got us into the semi-finals,” said Jarvis.
“The league is probably our top priority and we play against Llandovery on the Saturday after the semi-final. It is important we get into the top four in Tier 1 to get into the play-offs.
“It has been a great first season for us in the Premiership and we didn’t really expect to still be in the running for three competitions at this stage in March. That is a testament to what we have created here and the hard work of all involved.”
Both teams reached Tier 1 in the Premiership and Quins enjoyed a 26-13 home in over last season’s National Championship winners when they met on 3 December. They are due to met again at The Wern on 8 April.
Foster’s Challenge Cup Semi-Finals
Saturday, 11 March
Bridgend 14- 55 Bedwas
Wednesday, 15 March
Carmarthen Quins v Merthyr 19:30 Talbot Athletic Ground, Port Talbot
