Pontypridd RFC senior coach Paul John has his sights firmly set this
week on the club's crunch British & Irish Cup qualifying tie against London
Welsh, and his hopes set on securing a vital win from the encounter.
Having been unveiled on Monday as Cardiff Blues' new backs coach, Paul
John will also maintain his current role with Pontypridd. He is determined to
push his squad towards further success, with progress in the prestigious
British & Irish Cup tournament a priority.
Pontypridd gained a hard fought home win over English Championship high
flyers London Welsh in the reverse fixture back in October. Ironically that was
the last game in charge of Dale McIntosh as senior coach before he departed to
work full time for the Blues.
Whilst following in McIntosh's footsteps to regional status, Paul John
remains committed to pushing the Pontypridd squad towards further
honours. That quest commences on Sunday with the away BIC tie against the
Exiles.
"This is simply a massive game for us" said John in the lead
up to the London Welsh clash. "Its tight at the top of our qualifying pool
and after going down to a narrow defeat at London Scottish last time out we
need to go on another cross border raid and this time come away with a result.
"It will undoubtedly be a tough challenge, and Justin Burnell being
from the Ponty area will want nothing more than to get one over us and cancel
out our win at Sardis Road back in October.
"We will need our players to be on top form and fully focussed, and
our travelling support once more to be there in numbers and to be very vocal to
spur us on. This will be another opportunity for Pontypridd to make a statement
of intent, going head to head against a fully pro English side.
"We aim to come away from the Kassam Stadium on Sunday with our
destiny still in our own hands and with a chance to progress in the British
& Irish Cup."
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