Llandovery have lost 21 of their 23 matches against Neath and have never experienced victory at the Gnoll. Last year’s fixture between the sides saw Neath once again triumph 28-15 at the Gnoll and Drovers Head Coach Lyndon Lewis knows how difficult the task ahead will be.
“Neath are always up there fighting at the top of the table. We have never won at the Gnoll but I believe we have come a long way since an 80 point defeat five years ago,” he said.
“We will give Neath the respect they deserve but we won’t be arriving there to make the numbers up.
“The match provides our squad with the opportunity to measure where we are. We have had opportunities to win there in recent years and we are all looking forward to this weekend’s challenge.”
Last week’s 48-22 win at Cardiff Arms Park showed how dangerous the Drovers can be and the performance has given team manager Andrew Thomas some selection headaches with huge competition for places.
“The squad have trained very hard throughout the summer and with so much strength in depth it is difficult to pick a starting team,” he said.
“However with a long season in front of us we feel that we have the squad to challenge for all competitions”
Neath boss Pat Horgan is still finalising his squad for Saturday’s game but his quest for a second successive victory has been hampered by his search for a scrum-half.
First choice number nine Tom James is out for six months after a second knee injury in successive years, Luc Jones has returned to Monmouth to complete his schooling while Chris Morgans still has achilles problems.
The Llandovery match is Neath’s second home game in a row and they play four of their first six games at the Gnoll.
Despite the chance to build some momentum, Horgan says this is the opposite of what he would have preferred.
“I’d prefer to get a few away games out of the way in September when teams are starting to settle down to be honest,” he said.
“But that’s the way the league has been dealt. It’s a second home game so it’s important that we get a win on the board again.
“We did enough to win the game against Swansea but it’s going to be a much tougher match this week against Llandovery. They’re a very good side and they were the only team to record a try bonus in the first round of games.
“We’ll need to be at our best to get the win and we’ll need to up our game.”
Llandovery XV against Neath:
15 Lee Rees 14 Jake Randell 13 Matthew Jacobs 12 Jack Roberts 11 Sam Soul 10 James Garland 9 Rhodri Williams, 1 Owen Evans 2 Adam Yelland 3 Dean Howells 4 Shaun Jones 5 Bryn Griffiths 6 Phil Day 7 Shaun Miles 8 Richard Brooks.
Replacements: Andrew Jones, Wyn Jones, Luke Lewis, Llywelyn Jones, Luke Kendal, Paul Davies, Rhys Jones, Andrew Thomas.
Neath XV against Llandovery:
15 Aaron Bramwell 14 Kevin James 13 Ryan Evans 12 Gareth McCarthy 11 Gareth King 10 David Langdon 9 Ben Jones, 1 Nicky Downs 2 Rhodri Clancy 3 Tom Price 4 Euros Evans 5 Lee Williams 6 Gareth Gravell (c) 7 Emyr Williams 8 Lee Evans.
Replacements: Owain Ford, Aled Williams 18 James Reeves 19 Rhys Jones 20 Tom Morgan 21 Jason Howells 22 Jonny Davies 23 Huw Rees.
