Pontypridd v Merthyr – Matchday Preview
It’s a short five day turnaround between matches for Pontypridd RFC as we prepare to welcome Merthyr to Sardis Road this Thursday 14th March. The rearranged Indigo Group Welsh Premiership match kicks off at 7:30pm.
Thursday’s match was only announced on Saturday and the change of date (originally scheduled for Saturday 6th April) is due to Merthyr being one of the Welsh National Cup finalists, that match scheduled for Sunday 7th April.
Ponty and Merthyr have met on two occasions this season. Back on Saturday 23rd September tries from Liam Lloyd, Curtis Greenslade and Mitch Barnard plus twelve points from the boot of Josh Phillips wasn’t enough as Ponty suffered an agonising 30-27 defeat at Sardis Road in the Welsh Cup. The two clubs met at The Wern just last month on Saturday 3rd February and unfortunately for Pontypridd it was a similar story of so close but yet so far, falling to defeat by just six points – 21-15.
Pontypridd head into Thursday’s Valleys Derby buoyed by an excellent 30-22 bonus-point win against Swansea on Saturday, the win lifts Ponty up to 5th in the table chasing the all-important top 4 places. Matches are running out so the Valley Commandos will know that anymore losses will make finishing in that 4th spot extremely difficult. Merthyr also won with a bonus-point on the weekend, beating Aberavon at the Talbot Athletic Ground by 33 points to 31. The Ironmen sit in 8th position in the Premiership, three places and four points behind Ponty but have crucially played three matches less.
Everything is perfectly poised ahead of this week’s third Valleys Derby match of the season and as always the support of the Ponty fanatics will be key.
SUPPORTER INFORMATION:
Tickets – Admission on Thursday 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 (which is recommended to miss the queues) you can use our online e-Ticket system, link –e-Tickets – Pontypridd-RFC – 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.
Supporter access is via the Clubhouse end of the ground only as the Pwllgwaun end remains closed.
Club Shop – To purchase your Ponty RFC merchandise, the Club Shop will be open both before, during and after the match against Merthyr.
Ground opening – The Clubhouse will be open from 5:30pm onwards, so why not come along early after work and enjoy some refreshments before the big match.
We are looking forward to welcoming both sets of supporters to Sardis Road this Thursday evening.
