FRIDAY RUGBY PREVIEW.
DIVISION 3 PROMOTION TEST:
Cardigan V Milford Haven
The season proper starts for Cardigan tomorrow with the arrival of Milford Haven to the King George and it will only be on the final whistle that supporters in the Gollop Stand can start thinking realistically about promotion.
Colin Horscroft and his men have done what they were expected to do so far by putting away St Davids three times, once in the league and twice in cup competitions and they also beat division three newcomers Tregaron very comfortably.
The Mariners though will offer a much different challenge as they also have ambitions of getting out of this division and they hammered the Cardi’s in the final game of last season.
The corresponding home fixture probably cost the Cardi’s promotion as they threw the points away that day with some poor decision making and Horscroft will remember that afternoon well and won’t allow his team to make the same mistakes again.
The former Emlyn hooker has surprised many with his team selection as he has not found a starting place for number eight and skipper Llyr Griffiths and this would have been unthinkable twelve months ago. This may have come as a blow to the talented ball carrier but it is good news for the team and supporters as it shows they have a squad strong enough to leave him out. However expect Griffiths to make a significant impact in the second half when he gets the call.
Colin Davies takes his place and there is no surprise there as he still has that touch of class if maybe not quite the speed he used to and he forms a formidable unit with Dylan ‘Rambo’ Davies and Gethin Jones on the blind side.
Horscroft must have pondered hard about including Griffiths and slotting Dylan Davies in to the second row as he is without doubt the most reliable line out ball winner since Kevin Hurley many years ago and he will be called upon tomorrow to win the key line outs in the opposition twenty two or on his own line.
Rob Connolly and Dean Harries have been given the job of bulking up the engine room and Will Brice is chosen at loose head with the ever reliable Dan Evans returning to hooker and old head Richard ‘Rara’ Jones at tight head.
Aaron Evans is chosen at nine with talented playmaker Luke Rogers at stand of and Emyr Harries and Marcus Castle at centre. Llyr Jones who is comfortable playing at most positions in the back line is on the left wing and Gruff Lewis is on the other side with talented teen Alun Jenkins at full back.
With a bench of Griffiths, Rhys Brock, Iestyn Crompton, Ifan James and Gareth Clifford this is the strongest team Cardigan have fielded for a few years with an abundance of power and pace across the side and they should be too strong for a Mariners team who have yet to impress.
The Mariners pride themselves in a front row of skipper Jamie Parr, Luke Ryan and Adam Rees and have a quality line out forward in Tom Manning and behind they have a reliable kicker in Craig Barnett and an elusive runner in his brother Jamie at centre but they were only 5-0 up at half time in Tregaron in the opener and scraped through to win by just five points in the end. At Neyland the following week they struggled to put away an All Blacks side who lost three players to yellow cards but they will have improved since then and they will certainly travel with confidence and this promises to be an intriguing contest.
