Match Preview – Pontypridd v Bridgend
On Saturday 14th October Pontypridd RFC welcome Bridgend Ravens to Sardis Road in the Indigo Group Premiership. The match between the two clubs kicks off at 1:00pm.
This Saturday sees a return to action for Ponty for the first time in two weeks, and for Bridgend a first competitive clash for three weeks respectively. Last season Ponty and Bridgend met on three occasions, two of them coming on back-to-back Saturdays at Sardis Road in the first month of the season. On the 17th September 2022 Bridgend won at Sardis by 30 points to 26 in in the pool stage of the Welsh Cup. The following weekend Ponty gained revenge with a 40-8 win in the Premiership. The last time Ponty and the Ravens met was on the 14th January this year at the Dunraven Brewery Field, the home side won by 18 points to 8 on that occasion.
The Team News…
The good news for Ponty is that the extended rest between matches has allowed some players to return to full fitness for Saturday’s contest. Despite players returning, Ponty have made just two personnel changes and one positional switch to the XV that won at Neath in readiness for the Ravens’ challenge this weekend.
The Valley Commandos have named the same backline that took to the field at The Gnoll a fortnight ago. In the pack Morgan Bosanko earns a starting place at tighthead prop and Cai James returns from injury on the openside flank berth, thus allowing Aled Ward to switch back to his favoured position on the blindside flank. Macauley Cook captains the team this week.
On the bench the big, breaking news is the return to the Club of Ben Burnell – more on this a little later in the piece. Also amongst the replacements there are welcome returns for Curtis Greenslade and Chris Dicomidis to bolster the ranks.
Niko Matawalu, Cally James, Sion Parry, James Murphy, Tom Devine and Garyn Smith are still injured but all working hard to return to full fitness as soon as possible.
The Pontypridd team selected to play Bridgend is as follows:
15. Liam Lloyd. 14. McCauley Rowley. 13. Ryan Wilkins. 12. Will Keep. 11. Dale Stuckey. 10. Josh Phillips. 9. Harvey Nash.
1. Ben Stephens. 2. Rob Jones. 3. Morgan Bosanko. 4. Mitch Barnard. 5. Macauley Cook (c). 6. Aled Ward. 7. Cai James. 8. Joe Miles.
Subs: 16. Curtis Greenslade. 17. Kian Mattravers. 18. Tom Harper. 19. Chris Dicomidis. 20. Kristian Parker. 21. Joel Raikes. 22. Joseph Scrivens. 23. Ben Burnell.
THE RETURN OF BEN BURNELL…
Pontypridd RFC are delighted to welcome Ben Burnell back to the Club. Ben left Pontypridd for English Championship Club Jersey Reds earlier this year and along with Macauley Cook helped the Channel Islanders win the English Championship in April.
Many rugby supporters will have seen the very recent news that Jersey Reds ceased trading on the 27th September following severe financial difficulties. Ben, along with other former Ponty players Huw Owen and Alun Lawrence have found themselves in the extremely difficult circumstances of being made unemployed following Jersey’s liquidation. Ben has now returned to Pontypridd and takes his place amongst the substitutes for Saturday hoping to add to his 13 prior appearances for the Valley Commandos.
On returning to Ponty, Ben said: “Obviously I’m gutted with what happened at Jersey and didn’t expect to be back this soon, but I’m really happy to be back at Sardis and looking forward to the coming games, starting with this weekend.”
Ponty Joint-Head Coach Gareth Wyatt commented: “It’s disappointing circumstances for Ben to be returning and worth a thought for Huw Owen and Alun Lawrence who have also suffered the disappointment of Jersey going under. All three would certainly add competition for places in our current squad.
SUPPORTER INFORMATION:
Tickets – Admission on Saturday will be £12 full, £10 concession access-all-areas and under 16’s free if accompanied by a paying adult. You can purchase tickets on the day or to save time can use our online e-Ticket system, link – Pontypridd v Bridgend 14/10/2023 – The club has increased the range of tickets now available to cover small groups (2 people) and large groups (4 people). We also have a family ticket for our Youth and Mini & Junior sections.
Club Shop – To purchase your Ponty RFC merchandise, the Club Shop will be open before and after Saturday’s match.
Live Sport – The Clubhouse will be open at 11:30am and there’ll be live rugby on the screens throughout the afternoon – Exeter Chiefs play Saracens in the Gallagher English Premiership prior to Wales’ huge Rugby World Cup quarter final clash against Argentina. Wales v Argentina kicks off at 4:00pm which will allow supporters to get settled in the Clubhouse after the conclusion of Ponty v Bridgend. Later in the evening Ireland play New Zealand, kick off at 8:00pm.
Stars in Their Eyes – The Club recently announced a ‘Stars in Their Eyes’ event which will take place on Saturday 25th November (article – Ponty RFC presents Stars in Their Eyes). Paul Marshall will be in the Clubhouse on Saturday selling tickets for the event in person.
