Leinster A v Pontypridd, Donnybrook, Sunday, 2pm
AT this stage of the British & Irish Cup last season, Pontypridd were getting ready for an all-Welsh quarter-final against Llanelli.
On that occasion they prevailed, but only just. This time it’s going to be a whole new ball game over in Dublin as Dale McIntosh takes his men to the ground where so many Welsh teams have come a cropper over the years.
McIntosh and his players will be under no illusions about how tough Sunday’s last eight meeting with Leinster’s A team will be.
The Irish outfit can call on a number of players with experience of regional rugby and with Pacific Islander Leo Auva’a in the back row they have a real powerhouse that can a big influence on the game.
But Pontypridd are known for showing what they’re made of in the face of adversity and their hopes have been boosted by the timely return to fitness of fly-half Simon Humberstone and prop Ryan Harford.
They also welcome back second row Cory Hill and prop Pat Palmer from injury while McIntosh has drafted in young full-back Harley Thomson and winger Lewis Williams while prop Chris Phillips takes over at loosehead with Stuart Williams out injured and Ken Knaggs suspended.
The Sardis Road club didn’t get the ideal preparation with a narrow defeat at Bridgend last Saturday but McIntosh says he and his squad have put that setback firmly behind them.
“The players and ourselves as coaches were left totally frustrated by the Bridgend game,” he said. “We played well enough for long periods but when we needed to close the game down, we couldn’t.
“We are good enough and experienced enough now to win games like that, which we should have done. We will draw a line in the sand and move on.”
He added: “Leinster will provide formidable opposition and we certainly have to play our ‘A’ game to have any hope of a result. It will all be down to the performance; if we achieve our maximum then we are certainly capable of getting the win
“We hope to go out there and do Pontypridd proud.”
One man who won’t be travelling to Dublin is outside-half Dean Gunter who has left Pontypridd after three years. The former Wales under-20 cap is expected to join Premiership rivals Cross Keys.
Leinster’s Andrew Conway is ruled out through a minor knock, Andrew Boyle starts on the left wing and is included in a back three with Darren Hudson on the right though the full-back vacancy is set to be confirmed before kick-off.
Ciaran Ruddock leads the team for the knockout encounter and he is included in the back-row alongside Jordi Murphy and Auva’a with Jack McGrath joining Aaron Dundon and Nathan White in the front row.
In the group stages, Leinster defeated Esher away (32-18), Melrose at home (42-20) and Llanelli away (19-13) before drawing 24-24 against London Welsh to ensure a home draw for this season’s quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Pontypridd, who lost to eventual winners Bristol in the semi-finals last year, won two and lost two of their pool games. They beat Swansea (39-17) and Leeds (18-7) at home and picked up losing bonus points at Nottingham (20-17) and Ulster (17-16).
Verdict – Leinster by eight points
Teams
Leinster A
AN Other; D Hudson, B Macken, C O’Shea, A Boyle; N Reid, J Cooney; J McGrath, A Dundon, N White, N Keogh, M Flanagan, C Ruddock (capt), J Murphy, L Auva’a. Reps - T Sexton, J O’Connell, J Conan, C Gilsenan, L McGrath, C Marsh, B Daly
Pontypridd
H Thomson; L I Williams, G Dacey, D Lockyer, M Nuthall; S Humberstone, R Downes; C Phillips, H Dowden, P Palmer, C Hill, R Savage, C Dicomidis (capt), W O’Connor, D Godfrey. Reps – G. Lucas, G Wyatt, G Williams, R Williams, T Hetherington, J Thomas, R Harford.
Cross Keys v Llanelli, Pandy Park, tomorrow, 6.30pm
IF qualification for the knockout stages is anything to go by, expect a try-fest at Pandy Park tomorrow evening as two of the competition’s top scorers bid for a semi-final spot.
Wales was guaranteed at least one club in the last four when this tie was drawn out of the hat and for Llanelli it’s a case of second time lucky.
They came so close to reaching the semis last year, only to lose another all-Wales battle against Pontypridd so they won’t want to make the same mistake again.
Neither goes into the match with the greatest of preparations. Keys lost to Carmarthen Quins on their own patch last Saturday while the Scarlets haven’t played for nearly three weeks after two Premiership games were postponed.
If you had to pick a favourite it would have to be Keys due to the fact they are at home and have a marginally better record than their opponents in the tournament and the league to date. The one thing we do know is that both have an eye for the try-line with a combined total of 31 tries in the group stages.
In qualifying, Keys recorded wins over Moseley (42-3), Neath (45-18) and Ayr (32-7) before losing 30-3 at Cornish Pirates when they had already done enough to go through.
On the other hand, Llanelli thrashed London Scottish 63-0, comfortably beat Aberavon 47-22, were edged out at home by Leinster (19-13) and shared the spoils at Bedford (25-25). However, they did lose 33-20 to Keys in October.
Verdict – Llanelli by three points
Teams
Cross Keys – TBC
Llanelli
D Evans; L Williams, N Reynolds, J Lewis, C Keenan; J Williams, J James; S Hopkins, G George, A Hopkins, Ad Powell (capt), N White, C Price, D Eager, Al Powell. Reps - S Gardiner, A Pritchard, E Price, D Thomas, M Haylock, D Bird, B Davies
By David Williams
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