Kick off at St Helen’s is 7.15pm and Neath make five changes from the side that beat Bedwas. Alec Jenkins returns behind the scrum while Dai Langdon and Tom James – who starred in the mighty win at Ulster in the same competition – return in place of James Thomas and Chris Morgans who were an impressive pair of half-backs against Bedwas.
Up front, prop Anthony Lott and flanker Lee Evans return with the latter captaining the side for the first time – a well deserved honour for the back-row man who has been one of Neath’s most consistent and reliable players over the last four seasons. Another stand-out player on Saturday, the young Bonymaen hooker Rhodri Clancy keeps the hooking jersey while the replacements’ bench is yet to be finalised.
Neath Head Coach Patrick Horgan, said: “Saturday’s win against Bedwas was very pleasing and the six tries we scored reflected the brand of rugby we are playing. Bedwas are no mean side and they regularly cause problems for teams in the League and, like us, they were building for a cup game against Swansea.
“Swansea present a different challenge and, although they are already out of the British & Irish Cup, we know that they will be keen to put one over on us. Unfortunately, we are still minus our captain Gareth Gravell but we have a ready-made replacement in Lee Evans who fully deserves the honour and will lead from the front. We are hungry to play and we are looking forward to it.”
Neath: A.Jenkins; K.James, L.Ford, G.McCarthy, A.Bramwell; D.Langdon, T.James; A.V.Lott, R.Clancy, R.Davies; P.Sidoli, M.Collins; L.Evans (captain), A.Powell, A.Whitney
Replacements :- To be confirmed
Swansea: N.Thomas; R.Jones, L.Hathaway, C.Shelmerdine, N.Harwood; L.Thomas, P.Tucker; R.Jones, P.John, A.Clatworthy; B.Fox, P.Arnold; D.Blyth, R.Pitman, J.Bija
Replacements :- A.Rees, L.May, S.Kiley, T.Morgan, B.Lewis, R.Wells, J.Garland
