Having beaten the All Whites quite comfortably at St Helen’s earlier in the season, and stolen a bonus point into the bargain, Bargoed are expecting a major backlash when they entertain last season’s Premiership outfit on Saturday, 28 March. They currently lead them by 15 points in the table.
One man definitely ruled out of that game will be centre Phil Price, who won’t play again until next season after breaking his arm, while No 8 Ross Coombes and centre Neil Burnett are both recovering from knocks sustained in the 27-20 away win at Cardiff Met last weekend.
That triumph made it 19 wins in a row thanks to two tries from lock Geraint Edmonds and others from wing Lewis Prothero and scrum half James Pizey. With five home games left in their seven remaining matches, the title is well within their grasp.
Before there end of the season there are also a few landmarks the Bargoed coaches want to surpass. Their best tally of points in the Championship was 98 in 2012/13, which is only five away; the record number of points by a team is 123, by Ebbw Vale in 2012/13, and is still matchable if they can clinch a try bonus point in winning all of their remaining games; the Championship record of 22 try bonus points can still be beaten; the club’s record high of 103 tries is only six away; they need only two more wins to surpass their previous best of 20.
As for Swansea, they will travel to Bargoed buoyed by seven straight league wins. A hard fought 17-8 triumph at Pontypool Park was followed by a 27-24 home win over RGC 1404 last weekend.
There were four tries in the end for the home side, including two from Nicky Thomas who ended with 17 points. The north Walians had led 10-5 at the break, but couldn’t build on their lead.
Newbridge’s improved form continued with an 11 try romp against Blackwood. Ryan Lee led the way with a hat-trick in the 74-7 win and Connor Goode chipped in with 21 points with a try and eight conversions. Newbridge have to travel to Merthyr for their next game and will be looking to continue their march up the table away from the drop zone.
The Ironmen slipped to a 15-10 defeat at Bridgend Athletic last weekend, while Pontypool leaked six tries in a 41-17 loss at Tata Steel. Narberth beat Tondu 17-10 and Glynneath overcame Llanharran 28-19.
