Bedwas enjoy moment in spotlight
Bedwas Coach Ian Gardner says his side and all in Bedwas are determined to make the most their moment in the limelight. The Principality Premiership side have never made it to the final eight of the WRU Challenge Cup and Gardner knows occasions of this magnitude don’t happen every day.
“It’s our first ever game in the quarter-finals and the whole community is looking forward to it,” he said.
“It’s a big day for any club, especially a village side like Bedwas. The Scrum V cameras are there to do a feature on the match; it’s going to be a great day for all concerned.”
Bedwas edged out Glamorgan Wanderers 20-19 in Round 6 and Gardner believes the lure of a Millennium Stadium final will spur his side to victory on Saturday and knows that in knockout rugby, the difference between winning and losing can be the bounce of a ball or a moment of magic.
“When you’re at this stage of the competition anything can happen really,” he said. “We’re really looking forward to it. It’s a nice change from the league and the Millennium Stadium prize is something all the boys want to aspire to.”
Gardner has an injury-free squad at his disposal ahead of Saturday’s clash but he will be without centre Phil Dollman.
“We’re pretty much at full strength,” he said. “A couple of the boys were involved with Wales U20 side but they are back so we’ve pretty much got a full squad to pick from.
“The only possible blow is that Phil Dollman could potentially be playing for the Dragons on Friday night. Yet we’ve got plenty of strength in depth in that position so we can cover it no problems.”
Bedwas are under no illusions as to the threat Llandovery will bring to Bridge Field on Saturday and hope the home crowd will turn out in force.
“There will be good support for us,” said Gardner. “The match has been well publicised in the area and it’s a great achievement for a small village to get this far. Everybody within the community is looking forward to it.
“I’d rather Llandovery be coming to us than us going up there. They are notoriously good at home so hopefully we can use home advantage to our favour.
“Honours are even so far this season. We beat them at home and they beat us up in Llandovery. We are certainly under no illusions that this is going to be a tough task.
“They are always very strong in the forwards, with a formidable driving line-out and a very committed regiment of players. I think the ethos of both clubs is very similar in terms of never quite having the money to attract the top players so we’ve got to grow our own and develop from within which really fosters a team spirit.
“I know the Llandovery coaches well and they’ll be well prepared this weekend, but at the same time we’ve got to be confident about going in and getting a result against them.
“I think everybody concerned will make sure it is a great day come what may. We are certainly going to enjoy it and I’m sure Llandovery feel the same.”
