Coming up on the horizon are a British & Irish Cup quarter final tie against Leinster A and a SWALEC Cup tie against Llandovery, but the immediate focus will remain very much on the Premiership.
Ponty occupy fourth position in the division but with a game or games in hand on the clubs above them. A win at Bridgend is a must to make up ground towards the top of the table.
Bridgend have made the most of their return to the top flight this season, consolidating a mid table position with eight wins from their seventeen games played, and the points scoring of former Ponty favourite Dai Flanagan a key factor in that success rate.
Pontypridd make seven changes from the team which started in the home win over Tonmawr last weekend, and welcome back fully fit Blues Academy lock Cory Hill in the process. The experience of Gareth Wyatt and Chris Clayton is re-introduced to the back three with outside half Simon Humberstone continuing his comeback from a long term injury, partnering Rhys Downes at half back.
Pontypridd team manager Richard Langmead emphasises the importance of the Bridgend game in the greater scheme of things:
“We have a big four weeks coming up, embracing three different competitions, with visits to Leinster and Llandovery in the BIC and SWALEC Cup before we make a return home with a league game against Carmarthen.
“Starting this run away at Bridgend is a tough proposal, but we need to focus on gaining a win to generate some momentum. We have some key players coming close to returning from injury, and we will need the whole squad fighting for selection and on top form to see us through.”
Pontypridd 15.Gareth Wyatt. 14.Chris Clayton. 13.Dafydd Lockyer. 12.Gary Williams. 11.Matthew Nuthall. 10.Simon Humberstone. 9.Rhys Downes; 1.Stuart Williams. 2.Huw Dowden. 3.Ryan Harford. 4.Cory Hill. 5.Ryan Savage. 6.Chris Dicomidis – cpt. 7.Wayne O’Connor. 8.Dan Godfrey.
Replacements: Garyn Lucas; Dean Gunter; Gavin Dacey; Darran Harris; Jordan Sieniawski; Calum Thomas; Chris Phillips.
Bridgend 15 Ross Jones 14 Steve Cullen 13 Jamie Murphy 12 Nathan Edwards 11 Kristian Phillips 10 Dai Flanagan 9 Tom Habberfield; 8 Rory Pitman 7 Ben Rose 6 Ben Thomas (capt)5 James Goode 4 Lloyd Peers 3 Owen Williams 2 Arthur Ellis 1 Jonathan Thomas
Replacements: 16 Matthew Dwyer 17 Ian Williams 18 Matthew Llewellyn 19 Jonathan Vaughan 20 Dan Griffiths 21 Luke Morgan 22 Tom Grabham
