Cup fever has been spreading fast around Cardigan over the past few weeks and several buses have been filled up with supporters eager to travel to Lampeter tomorrow for the WRU Bowl semi-final against Amman United.
The prize at stake is a cup final appearance at the National Stadium against either Caerphilly or Cilfynydd who meet at Taffs Well and this represents the only chance most of the players will ever have of running out on to the hallowed turf of the Principality.
The Cardi’s made their final preparations in training last night on the King George field before the team was chosen and there was one major surprise in the final selection made by coach Colin Horscroft.
surprise omission
There were several combinations that were heavily discussed but one in particular was the combination of the back row and Horscroft has left powerful number eight or blindside Colin Davies on the bench and this will come as a shock to the Gollop Stand faithful. Davies is arguably the best player at the club with a huge amount of experience and he has the rare ability at this level of being able to offload and create openings for his team mates. He will no doubt be used as an impact player later in the game and supporters will be praying that Cardigan are still in with a shout when Davies and a strong looking bench are emptied.
Skipper Llyr Griffiths starts at eight and alongside him are Kieran Hurley and blind side Gethin Jones and they have a huge job on their hands especially at the break down where Amman are very strong. In the engine room Dylan ‘Rambo’ Davies and Dean Harries provide the power for the front three of loose head Tomos Evans hooker Bedwyr Davies and cornerstone Richard Jones and they will be looking to the scrum as an area that they can gain the upper hand and pressurise the opposition.
Scrum half Arwyn Wilson teams up with Llyr Jones at stand off and in the centre Jack Lynch comes in to partner club top try scorer Marcus Castle, a key player and a consistent performer this term in attack and defence.
Rhydian Jenkins and Alun Jenkins provide the pace out wide and talented counter attacker John Lumb plays at full back as expected.
Amman United will ofcourse provide a very stiff test as they are unbeaten in Division 3B and have been scoring plenty of tries through pacey winger Dean Williams brother of Shane Williams who confirmed he hoped to be in attendance to watch, stand off or centre Rhys Thomas co-centre Mathew Brayley. They also have hard running forwards in skipper Sean Mangan and Alfie Rees who are effective ball carriers and often amongst the tries.
On the way to this penultimate stage Amman were given a walkover when Llandeilo failed to raise a team and in the second round they overcame the challenge of League 3 East A leaders Hartridge before emerging 39-5 away winners over St Albans of Cardiff. Sean Mangan and co then went on to beat Monmouth of League 3 East A 18-7 at home and reached the semi-final stage after a hard-earned 13-3 home win over Burry Port.
The forecast is set fair tomorrow and this will suit both teams although Amman have more of a cutting edge behind as they have some pace to burn along their backline and Cardigan’s first up tackling will have to be better than it has been for some time or they could be chasing the game very early. Horscroft and his men have proved they are up to this task following outstanding wins over Usk and Denbigh in this competition but Amman will be a step up and the Cardi’s will have to produce the performance of the season to get through.
It is going to be a very tense and passionate encounter but it promises to be a wonderful day for rugby at this level with a huge crowd expected especially from Ceredigion.
Amman will start as favourites but this is cup football and the team that keeps their discipline and maintains their composure will get through regardless of previous form.
15. John Lumb 14. Rhydian Jenkins 13. Marcus Castle 12. Jackson Tucker Lynch 11. Alun Jenkins 10. Llyr Jones 9. Arwyn Wilson 8. Llyr Griffiths 7. Kieran Hurley 6. Gethin Jones 5. Dylan Davies 4. Dean Harries 3. Richard Jones 2. Bedwyr Davies 1. Tomos Evans
Replacements: Ben Hughes, Aled Phillips, Daniel Evans, Robert Connolly, Colin Davies, Gareth Clifford, Siôn Hughes, Iestyn Crompton.
Kick off 2:30 @ Lampeter RFC
