League leaders Merthyr put their one point lead on the line against second placed Aberavon at The Wern, while third placed Bedwas will have home advantage over Pontypridd, who are four points behind them in fourth. Ponty will have former Wales outside half Ceri Sweeney back in their side and will be seeking a double at the Bridge Field having already won their 8-3 in the first half of the season.
Bedwas have already picked up one piece of silverware this season, beating Carmarthen Quins in the Foster’s Challenge Cup final, and head coach Steve Law knows exactly how much is riding on the game against Pontypridd.
“One more win will definitely put us in the play-offs, but finishing in the top two and getting a home draw in the semi-finals is really important. We’ve been working the boys hard in training over the last few weeks and really cracking the whip because we want to keep our good form going,” said Law.
With two games of the regular season to go, there is still a mathematical chance for reigning champions Ebbw Vale to creep into the semi-finals. So, too, newly crowned WRU National Cup winners’ RGC1404.
“We want to be in the fight to defend our title and we’re still trying to get into that top four. We’ve got every confidence for Saturday and our sole focus is to try and get at least four points from the match and then see how the other results go,” said Ebbw Vale skipper Damien Hudd.
The Steelmen travel to Llandovery for a ‘must win’ match, while RGC host bottom of the table Carmarthen Quins at Parc Eirias. Ebbw are currently two points off the top-four, with a home game against Merthyr to come, while the ‘Gogs’ are two points further behind with a trip to Sardis Road to look forward to in their final fixture in what will be a repeat of the Cup Final.
“We don’t want the shine to be taken off the season, and we will be looking for two wins in Tier 1 to see where that takes us. We celebrated our cup win in Cardiff, but that is all gone now – it is all about the league,” said RGC head coach Mark Jones.
Tier 1 – Saturday, 29 April
Bedwas v Pontypridd
Llandovery v Ebbw Vale
Merthyr v Aberavon
RGC 1404 v Carmarthen Quins
Teams
Bedwas v Pontypridd
Bedwas: Aaron Bramwell; Pat Lewis, Ross Wardle, Mike Callow, Matthew John; Richard Powell, Nicky Griffiths; Dan Preece, Alun Rees, Matthew Pettit, Geraint Edmunds, Joe Davies, James Richards, George Lee, Robson Blake
Reps: Brynley Toms, Nathan Huish, Rhys Hutcherson, Rhys Verley, Andrew Waite, Tom Rowlands, James Dixon, Adam Williams.
Pontypridd: Dale Stuckey; Lewis I Williams, Garyn Smith, Gary Williams, Joe Davies; Ceri Sweeney, Wayne Evans; Tom Mably, Liam Belcher, Mitch Auger, Sean Moore, Chris Dicomidis (captain), Lee Evans, Rhys Shellard, Hemi Barnes
Reps: Joel Raikes, Lewis K Williams, Bradley Coombes, Huw Dowden, Gruff Lloyd, Peter Sidoli, Joe Popple, Keelan Marney
Llandovery v Ebbw Vale
Llandovery: Tomi Lewis; Jack Parkinson, Rhodri Wall, Rhodri Jones, Aaron Warren; Jack Maynard, Lee Rees; Dean Howells, Ryan Williams, Greg Cunniffe, Bryn Griffiths, Joe Powell, Duane Eager, Shaun Miles, Richard Brooks (captain)
Reps: Scott Jenkins, Jamie Hughes, Jake Baker, Stuart Worrall, Matthew Moore, Lewis Ellis-Jones, Craig Woodall, Alex Davies
Ebbw Vale: Dan Haymond; Nathan Preece, Dominic Franchi, Dai Langdon, James Lewis; Josh Lewis, Dai Jones; Ian George, Joe Franchi, Rob Sevenoaks, Damien Hudd (captain), Ashley Sweet, Lance Randall, Ronny Kynes, Rhys Clarke
Reps: Jonny Bowen, Ross Jones, Gethin Robinson, Max Williams, Dawid Rubasniak, Rob Lewis, Will Talbot-Davies, Srdan Majkic
Merthyr v Aberavon
Merthyr: Matt Jarvis; Martyn Thomas, Harri Millard, Arron Pinches, Teri Gee; Gareth Davies, Rhys Downes; James Howe, Rhys Williams, Gary Powell, Lou Reed, Craig Locke (captain), Ed Siggery, Osian Davies, Phil Rees
Reps: Nathan Trevett, 17 Rhys James, Corrie Tarrant, Ben Murphy, Nick White, Justin James, Richard Carter, David Bishop
Aberavon: TBC
RGC 1404 v Carmarthen Quins
RGC404: Afon Bagshaw; Carwyn Ap Myrddin, Tom Hughes, Tiaan Loots, Rhys Williams; Jacob Botica, Efan Jones; Phil John (captain), Evan Yardley, Sam Wainwright, Henri Williams, Andrew Williams, Tim Grey, Josh Leach, Huw Worthington
Reps: Rhys Williams, Ross Davies, Joe Simpson, Robin Williams, Mei Parry, Cam Davies, Tom Seddon, Richard Hopkins
Carmarthen Quins: Chris Banfield; Gavin Thomas, Iolo Evans, Josh Batcup, Morgan Griffiths; Steffan Marshall, Ifan Beynon-Thomas; Nathan Williams, Rhodri Clancy, Javan Sebastian, Shaun Jones, Lee Taylor, Andrew Green, Shaun Evans, Morgan Allen
Reps: Steffan Phillips, Lewis Roberts, Steff Thomas, Morgan Minchin, Lewys Millin, Aron Hemmings, Aled Thomas, Elliot Davies
