It may be a pre-season clash for the All Whites, but for Neath it’s an opportunity to prove they can still cut it against the best semi-professional sides in Wales following their relegation from the Welsh Premiership two years ago.
“We are the oldest club in Wales and it’s an honour to be involved with the club for its 150th anniversary season,” said head coach Patrick Horgan.
“It’s a bit disappointing that it’s a friendly and we aren’t playing the likes of Swansea and Cardiff in the Premiership. Historically we have been one of the biggest clubs in Welsh rugby and we’ve been pretty successful in the past.
“It’s a huge goal of this club to get back into the top flight and we felt we were making progress on that front before Covid-19 put a stop to everything. But it’ll still be a fantastic occasion against Swansea and it’s a golden opportunity for us to show we have what it takes to get back up there.”
Promotion from the Championship to the Premiership has been put on hold this year but Horgan insists the absence of promotion won’t take an edge away from the Welsh All Blacks this season.
“It’s obviously disappointing there’s no promotion this season because we want to get back to the Premiership but we’ll be doing our best to finish as high up the table as we can,” said Horgan.
“Pontypool are the team to beat but we believe we can compete with them. There are a lot of former Neath players plying their trade for Premiership clubs.
“If we can prove this season that we are serious about improving and are likely to return to the Premiership we are hoping to persuade many of them to return ahead of next season.”
There are a number of Premiership clubs involved in pre-season friendlies this weekend with Cardiff facing Carmarthen Quins while legendary referee Nigel Owens will be refereeing Trimsaran against Llanelli.
Pontypridd host Bargoed and Newport travel to Bridgend.
In the WRU Championship Cup, Ystrad Rhondda have a golden opportunity to move to the top of Group 2 with a home clash against Glamorgan Wanderers while Narberth have a home fixture against Trebanos in Group 4.
The standout fixture in the WRU Plate is a top of the table District C1 clash between Mountain Ash and Abercynon.
