The Brecon-born prop is currently in France preparing for the forthcoming Junior World Championship with Patrick Horgan’s Wales U20 squad – but will return to Cardiff on Saturday morning in time to pull on the Pontypridd jersey against Neath. He will then return to Western France on Sunday morning to rejoin the squad.
He said, “I’m on a real high at the moment. In camp, we are all working hard to get ready for the Junior World Championship, but from a club perspective, Saturday will definitely be the biggest day of my career so far and it’s fantastic to be able to do both.
“A lot of my friends and family from Brecon are going to make a day of it on Saturday, taking in all the games, from the DC Thomas Cup Final and Shane’s game, to the FA Cup Final then the Konica Minolta Cup Final in the evening.
“It feels amazing to be playing regular rugby for a big club like Pontypridd, to play for the Blues region at U20 and to experience international rugby with Wales U20 – it doesn’t happen very often for boys from mid Wales!
“As far as the Cup final is concerned, we have beaten Neath twice this season, but they are not four-times champions for no reason and we’re well aware of the challenge. I’m really looking forward to the day – especially after listening to the players who played in the last Cup final win.
“Then it’ll be back to the U20 camp where there’s a real buzz at the moment. I experience the U19 World Championship last year but this time around, it’ll be 10 times more intense with it being held in Wales but with the improvement we showed in the Six Nations, we’re confident we can do well.”
Pontypridd: Lawrence Price; Chris Clayton, Gavin Dacey, Adam thomas, Owen Williams; Gareth McCarthy, Andrew Jenkins; Ian Poley, Duane Goodfield, Sam Hobbs, Ryan Savage, Chris Dicomidis, Geraint Lewis, Rhys Shellard, Nathan Strong (Capt)
Replacements: Tom Riley, Matthew Hutchings, Glenn Holloway, Ryan Harford, Rhys Williams, Lee Evans, Wayne O’Connor
