Pontypridd v Newbridge – Match Preview
On Saturday 28th September Pontypridd RFC play Newbridge RFC in the Admiral Premiership at Sardis Road, kick off is at 2:30pm.
Saturday will herald Newbridge’s first visit to Sardis for nearly 20 years, their last outing at The House Of Pain took place on Saturday 27th November 2004, whilst the last time the two clubs met in any competition was on Saturday 14th April 2012 in a Welsh Cup semi-final at Cardiff Arms Park. This Saturday we are looking forward to renewing a rivalry which goes back many decades – the first recorded fixture between the two clubs is etched as taking place on 16th February 1946.
Ponty will be looking to make it three wins out of three in the league this weekend, whilst Newbridge will also be looking for their third win in four Premiership matches following their defeat against Neath last Saturday. It’s second versus joint-third on Saturday and with the weather forecast looking favourable a cracking encounter should be in store.
The Team News…
Ponty have made three changes and one positional switch to the XV that won away at Llangennech last Saturday, and they all come in backs. Joel Raikes returns to the starting line-up at scrum-half, Louis Rochefort-Shugar makes his first appearance of the season on the left wing and on the right wing there’s a Club debut for Charlie Morgan-Stephens. The positional switch sees Dale Stuckey move to the fullback berth. The pack remains unchanged for the third league game in a row.
There are four new faces amongst the replacements, including a new signing who could potentially make his Ponty debut. Ben Drew and Jaydan Pugh return, as does Mitch Barnard following his two-week leave of absence.
Our new signing is back-rower Will Jameson who has joined Pontypridd after studying and playing his rugby at Loughborough University last season. The more eagled-eyed Ponty supporters may have noted that this will be Will’s second matchday involvement at Sardis this season following his appearance in Cardiff’s starting XV against Ponty in August during pre-season.
In terms of unavailability, Joe Davies and Oli Shepherd are nursing injuries and join Ioan Evans and Garyn Daniel in the treatment room.
The Pontypridd team selected to play Newbridge is as follows:
15. Dale Stuckey. 14. Charlie Morgan-Stephens. 13. Stuart Floyd-Ellis. 12. Garyn Smith. 11. Louis Rochefort-Shugar. 10. Jacob Symes. 9. Joel Raikes.
1. Ben Stephens. 2. Rob Jones. 3. Morgan Bosanko. 4. Joe Miles. 5. Kristian Parker. 6. Cai James. 7. Cally James (c). 8. Lloyd Riley.
Subs: 16. Dylan Kelly. 17. Ben Drew. 18. Kian Mattravers. 19. Mitch Barnard. 20. Will Jameson. 21. Lucus Welch. 22. Jaydan Pugh. 23. Brandon Huntley.
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 (which is recommended to miss the queues) you can use our online e-Ticket system, here’s the link which includes all our different packages – Pontypridd v Newbridge 28/9/2024
Supporter access is via the Clubhouse end of the ground only.
Season Tickets – For supporters who have not yet received their season tickets, they will be available for collection before the match at the front doors of the Sardis Road Clubhouse.
Live Sport In The Clubhouse – Our Clubhouse will be open from midday onwards and we will be showing live coverage of Newcastle versus Manchester City in the Premier League – 12:30pm kick off.
Pontypridd RFC would once again like to place on record its sincere thanks to all of the businesses and individuals who have sponsored our players for the 2024/25 season:
