Cardiff have arguably the strongest squad in the Premiership and began their season by thrashing RGC 60-5 last weekend, while Newport suffered a narrow defeat at Pontypridd. And Newport forwards coach Hobbs has warned his side they will have to be a lot better to overturn Cardiff in tonight’s Premiership Cup clash at Rodney Parade.
“We will certainly have to bring our A game to beat Cardiff who are probably the strongest side in the Premiership,” he said.
“Cardiff were going to win the Premiership last year before the season was stopped due to covid. They year before they won the cup.
“They’ve got a strong squad and have recruited well but they’ve also got some exciting youngsters coming through. They’ll be pushing at the top end of the table again this season, and they are the team everyone tries to emulate.
“The boys were bruised and battered after the Pontypridd game, but we are confident we can do well.” The Newport forwards coach plied his trade for both Cardiff and the Dragons at regional level and is now cutting his teeth in coaching.
And he believes the Premiership deserves huge credit for its role in developing young players and coaches. “Everyone has a big opinion on the Premiership but we’ve got to be part of the solution rather than sitting in our houses and moaning about it,” he said.
“I think the more opportunities we can get of young players who are developing and playing, but with the old guard the better. I think back to my time playing I had players like Morgan Strong and Wayne O’Connor teaching me how to value hard work.
“We could maybe tweak the Premiership but if we can get the product with some really good older head semi-pro players and some exciting young talent then the products there.”
On Saturday Ebbw Vale will be hoping to build on their stunning opening win over Merthyr as they host a strong Pontypridd outfit, with Merthyr strong favourites to get their season back on track with a home fixture against RGC at the Wern.
In the West conference Aberavon, who comfortably beat Llanelli last weekend, welcome Swansea, while Llanelli take on Bridgend at Parc y Scarlets. There is also a tasty derby clash with last weekend’s big winners Llandovery and Carmarthen Quins going head to head at Carmarthen Park.
In the Championship Cup the game of the weekend is Maesteg Harlequins’ home clash with Tata Steel. A win for Maesteg will secure their place in the play-offs.
