Carmarthen Quins v Pontypridd – match preview

The year 2020 kicks off for Pontypridd with a trip out west to face Carmarthen Quins on Saturday 4th January, the match at Y Parc kicking off at 2:30pm.

A fine run of form through November and into December has seen the Quins climb to second place in the Premiership table, three points clear of fourth placed Pontypridd and with a game in hand. In the reverse fixture back in late September it was Ponty however who edged a 20pts to 17 victory at Sardis Road.

In their previous outings Pontypridd secured a morale boosting home win over league leaders Cardiff by 26pts to 25 whilst Carmarthen battled out a 13pt all draw away to Llandovery.

Ponty make four changes to the starting line-up that won against Cardiff, plus one positional change as Ben Jones moves from full back to outside half to replace Diggy Bird who is away due to work commitments. Lloyd Rowlands resumes at full back with Corey Sheppard coming into the centre and Joel Raikes at scrum half, with Nathan Huish recovered from injury to claim the hooker’s berth.

Club captain Dafydd Lockyer has shaken off illness to take a place on the bench, where he is joined by lock Chris Dicomidis, making the cut after recuperating from a shoulder operation. Having regained fitness from a recent facial injury, lock Sean Moore is however fighting off a bout of flu.