Pooler have been the Championship’s dominant force over the past few seasons, and arguably have the strongest squad on paper, but are coming into this season cold having not entered the recent WRU Championship Cup.
Despite there being no promotion into the Premiership this season, head coach Leighton Jones is adamant his side are motivated to come out on top once again. “We’ve trained as best as we can and made it quite intense,” said Jones.
“We’ve retained a lot of our squad but also added a fair few players. It’s going to take a bit of time for everything to gel and the boys to get up to speed.
“We’ve never been a club to duck away from a challenge or an uphill battle. In camp we are looking forward to Saturday and rolling our sleeves up.
“It’s perception that we’ve spend a lot of money and we have made some good signings, but when you have a good look at our squad we’ve got a lot of boys who the local clubs have developed. We are a big team in this league and a target most weeks.
“We have a lot of faith in the local boys and the younger boys. We don’t just buy wins we have to create an environment which drives the team forward.
“We’ll be backing our home grown local talent. We want to be a Premiership team but it’s out of our hands. All the can do is keep setting standards and when the opportunity for promotion finally returns we need to be ready to take it.”
Pontypool’s recruitment has been extremely impressive of late with the likes of Ebbw Vale back-rower Cameron Regan, Wales Sevens prospect Jay Jones, and Dragons academy flanker Sam Scarfe among others. But perhaps the most eye catching signing was former Wales rugby league international Ben Flower who won three Super League titles and a World Club Challenge with Wigan Warriors.
“Ben has brought a lot of leadership and experience,” said Jones. “For the young boys in the squad who two or three years ago were playing Dewar Shield Rugby he’s a role model for them.
“It’s about how he acts around the club, the standards he sets himself, and when he speaks boys are listening to him and taking everything on board. He’s not fit to play yet after changing codes but he’s not far away, but what he’s added so far has been priceless for the squad.”
Pontypool will begin their season tomorrow with a home tie against Maesteg Harlequins. And Jones is expecting a tough challenge against a side he has the utmost respect for. “Pre-covid they were a really difficult team to play against,” he said.
“They come with a specific style and they are really good at executing that style. There’s a lot of local boys there, and there’s a lot of togetherness in their camp.
“They won’t be afraid to come to Pontypool Park. They really do like to go for it against us.
“They won’t show us any respect so we know we are in for a big battle on Saturday. They’ve had a few decent results in the cup so we know we are in for a massive battle.”
There’s seven Championship games on Saturday with Bargoed hosting Lee Jarvis’ Beddau, and Ystalyfera traveling to Cardiff Met. Glamorgan Wanderers face Tata Steel, while Neath face a tough task at Narberth who were the form team in the Championship Cup.
Morgan Stoddard’s Cross Keys face a tricky away tie at Trebanos, while in-form Ystrad Rhondda host Bedwas.
