The Wizards have won six of their opening seven fixtures and currently sit at the top of the western conference. While there is a lot of rugby still to be played head coach Jason Hyatt insists his players are motivated by the prospect of potentially running out at the Principality Stadium in the final.
“With this being a cup competition and the final being at the Principality Stadium there’s a huge incentive for us there,” said Hyatt. “We want to be competitive but we’ve also got an eye on development.
“The players are working hard to earn their right to represent the Wizards. There’s a lot of quality in this team which has made things easier.
“Our aim is to finish in the top two and then hopefully progress into the knockout stages. We want to be in the mix for honours.
“We’ve had a really good start to the season which is something we really targeted having been out for 18 months. First and foremost it’s great to be back playing rugby in a competitive environment which is a massive relief to everyone involved.
“We are playing some nice rugby. Our forwards have been very powerful and Marc Breeze is doing a good job prepping the forwards.” Hyatt has assembled a strong squad at Aberavon with a number of former professional players such as Joe Thomas, Nicky Thomas, and Aled Thomas supplementing some of the brightest young prospects in the Ospreys region.
“We are always trying to get a balance,” he said. “When we played down in Swansea Rhodri Lewis came in for his debut and became the youngest player since we’ve been semi-pro to represent Aberavon at 17 years and two months.
“Having someone like Rhodri Cole there and Aled Thomas at 10 is great for his development. We’ve also got Dan Edwards at 10 who is another 18 year old.
“We are trying to get the blend right that when we do introduce players we put good experience around them. We’ve got a lot of experience with guys like Chris Banfield, Joe Gage, and Nicky Thomas.
“We just find that makes the transition of the young players coming out of age grade into semi-pro rugby easier. After one game for us Dan is now involved with the Ospreys regional development team which is great to see.”
With Llandovery only two points behind them on the table the Wizards know they have to keep on winning, and face a tough challenge this weekend against Bridgend. “It’s a local derby first and foremost and everyone raises their game for a local derby,” said Hyatt.
“We’ve always had a really well fought battle against Bridgend whether that’s home or away. They come into this game off the back of a really good performance against Llanelli.
“Llanelli are a stubborn side to break down but Bridgend scored a good few tries against them. We are expecting a tough challenge against Bridgend as always.”
Elsewhere in the western conference, Carmarthen Quins host Swansea, while Llandovery will be strong favourites to beat lowly Llanelli. In the eastern conference Cardiff have an opportunity to close the gap on top of the table Newport as they host Ebbw Vale at the Arms Park tonight.
On Saturday both Pontypridd and Merthyr need a win to keep in touch with the top half of the conference as they meet at the Wern, while Newport host RGC 1404.
