For both Neath and Aberavon, Sunday’s SWALEC Cup semi-final at St. Helen’s gives two teams who have disappointed in the league this season, the chance to reach a Millennium Stadium final.
Neath may have had only two games to reach the semi-final but with matches against Cross Keys and Bargoed, they haven’t had an easy run. They knocked last year’s champions Keys out with a 19-12 win at The Gnoll, a result that boosted confidence in the squad.
And against Championship side Bargoed, a 39-27 victory set up today’s semi-final.
Neath’s last game, ironically against Aberavon, saw Pat Horgan’s side edged out 13-12 on Easter Sunday. But after a two week rest since that game, they are raring to go as they look to replicate their 2009 cup final success.
“It’s our biggest match of the year so far without a doubt,” said Neath fly half Dean Cummins.
“It being a local derby makes it all the more special and I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fans following us as it’s only a short distance to Swansea.
“The boys had last week off so we’ve worked hard during the last two weeks and we’re really excited.
“Semi-finals and finals are what you want to be a part of so the boys are looking forward to it.”
Following Aberavon’s narrow win when the sides met two weeks ago, the Wizards may go into the game with a psychological advantage. This though, is an argument Cummins rejects.
“You could say that but it’s not the point of view of the boys,” he added.
“Obviously Aberavon played really well against us a few weeks ago, have had some good recent results and to be fair, are one of the form teams. We’ll be up against it.
“But we know if we play the way we know we’re capable of then we’ve got more than a chance.”
Head coach Horgan has left naming his side to the last possible moment as injuries take their toll on his squad.
But after a difficult league campaign, blighted by inconsistency, he says his side have what it takes to reach a final against Pontypridd next month.
“We have had a horrendous time with injuries this year but we have battled through,” he said.
“It is all about seizing the moment because Cup final chances don’t come along that often.
“Our preparations have been far from ideal but it is who performs best on the day that matters. If we play to our capabilities and get a fair rub of the green then we can do it.”
For the Wizards, today’s semi-final is also a means of salvaging a disappointing league campaign. A poor start left Simon King’s men facing an uphill battle but the last month has seen them turn things around.
Fly-half Jamie Davies passed 4,000 points in the quarter-final win over Swansea and the recent league victory over Neath will be a morale booster when things inevitably get tight today.
“The win over Neath certainly boosted confidence within the squad and we’ve had a great couple of weeks picking up some wins,” said skipper Sam Williams.
“Hopefully we can take that confidence into Sunday and come out with a win.”
Neath (from): Gareth King, Aaron Bramwell, Kevin James, Dafydd Howells, Elliot Jones, Dean Cummins, Lloyd Phillips, John Leyshon, Bowdy Davies, David Langdon, Chris Morgans, Luc Jones, Owain Ford, Rowan Davies, Greg Cunniffe, Roy Jones, Chris Davies, Marc Jones, Rhodri Clancy, Stuart Vokes, Aled Williams, Rhys Jones, Euros Evans, Jonny Griffiths, Callum Davies, Jordan Collier, Leon Ward, Matthew Rees, Lee Evans, Steffan Jones, Gareth Gravell (c).
Aberavon: 15 Paul Bamsey 14 Richard Carter 13 Richard Thomas 12 Matthew Jenkins 11 Stef Andrews 10 Jamie Davies 9 David Pritchard, 1 Neil White 2 Ieuan Davies 3 Andrew Clatworthy 4 Gavin Ronan 5 Ian Moore 6 Lee Purnell
7 Chris Davies 8 Ben Thomas.
Replacements: John Phillips, Joe Heatley, Craig Evans, Gareth Harvey, Nathan Brown, Rowan Jenkins, Steffan Jones, Anthony Edwards.
