Greg Woods takes his Gwent outfit across the Irish Sea to take on Leinster A in a crunch Pool 1 encounter with the two sides joint top with nine points from two games.
While a trip to Dublin is always a difficult test for any side, Keys couldn’t go into the game in better form. Two comprehensive defeats of Cardiff and defending Principality Premiership champions Pontypridd have seen Keys hit a purple patch and they’re now into fourth place domestically, five points off the top.
On Wednesday, they ended Pontypridd’s unbeaten 30-match run with a 38-17 victory at Sardis Road and Woods is hoping his side can carry that form into a new competition.
“It’s been a tough week but we’ve had two great wins so we’re going into the game with Leinster full of confidence,” he said.
“It’s a massive challenge against one of the best sides in Europe but we’re more than up for it.”
Despite playing three games in a week, Keys keep changes to a minimum. Woods added: “We have got a small squad so the boys will have to double and triple up in some cases. There won’t be too many changes but we want to keep the momentum going from the last two games.
“Every time you play a fully professional team, the contact area is a massive step up. The key thing for us is that our defence is strong and when we have the ball, we have to make sure we keep it.
“We can’t defend all the time so in an attacking sense, ball retention is going to be massive for us.”
Despite seeing their unbeaten run ended by Cross Keys, Pontypridd remain in the box seat in their British & Irish Cup pool. Head coach Geraint Lewis will take charge of his side for the first time in this competition when they face a home tie with London Scottish on Saturday.
It’s a crucial match for Pontypridd, who lead Scottish by a single point at the top of Pool 2 with a perfect record from their two games so far this season. But as they seek a third consecutive victory, Lewis is faced with a mounting injury list.
The latest casualties are flankers Jake Thomas and Wayne O’Connor, the former damaging ankle ligaments in training on Monday night while O’Connor has a rib cartilage problem.
Centre Dafydd Lockyer pulled up in the recent away match at Carmarthen and has been diagnosed with a knee ligament problem while Wales Sevens skipper Adam Thomas suffered a shoulder injury in Dubai last week and joins Huw Dowden, Gavin Dacey and Alex Webber on the sidelines.
Others struggling to achieve full fitness before Saturday’s game are prop Pat Palmer (shoulder), flanker Luke Crocker (ankle) and No. 8 Dan Godfrey (hamstring).
Llanelli may have suffered a heavy defeat to regional rivals Llandovery recently but they too have had a strong start to this year’s British & Irish Cup. They sit top of Pool 3 but with top and bottom separated by just two points, there is still all to play for. Last year’s quarter-finalists thrashed Connacht A in their opening tie before claiming a losing bonus point away to Bedford Blues and with all four teams having one won and lost one of their two fixtures so far, home games could prove vital. This weekend, Llanelli welcome English Championship side Rotherham Titans to Parc y Scarlets.
“We have tried to catch some of Rotherham in action, they are a big powerful team, they’re going really well in their league and they’ve got a lot of experienced boys in their pack,” said Llanelli head coach Kevin George.
“It will be a big challenge up front but we’re glad to be back at home where we enjoy playing some good rugby.
“We’ve been a bit up and down recently in terms of results but there has been a lot of disruption with some of our boys playing for Wales Under 18, the LV = Cup and now European action.
“But we know our role in that system and we’ve had a good response from a very disappointing result against Llandovery. Hopefully we will continue that on Saturday.”
Saturday’s final clash involving a Welsh side sees Aberavon welcome Leeds Carnegie to the Talbot Athletic Ground.
In fourth place in the English Championship, Leeds will provide a tough test for a Wizards side who have won one game and seen the other abandoned.
British & Irish Cup fixtures: Saturday, December 7.
Llanelli v Rotherham Titans (KO 3.30pm)
Leinster A v Cross Keys RFC (KO 2.30pm)
Pontypridd v London Scottish (KO 2.30pm)
Aberavon v Leeds Carnegie (KO 2.30pm)
