Fifth placed Ebbw Vale get the chance to overtake Aberavon in fourth when they host the Wizards on Thursday night at Eugene Cross Park, while high-flying Merthyr welcome the in-form Bridgend to The Wern on Friday for another crucial clash.
Bridgend aren’t in the running for a semi-final spot, but having notched a fifth successive home win in their 8-7 triumph against Carmarthen Quins at the weekend they are ready for any challenge thrown at them. Merthyr rose to second briefly last week on the back of their victory in the fog at Ebbw Vale, but then Llandovery went back ahead of them with their triumph at Swansea.
The Drovers will entertain struggling Llanelli at Church Bank on Saturday and should be able to clinch another five points to stay on the heels of top-of-the-table Cardiff.
The weather was almost the outright winner at the Brewery Field as Bridgend and Carmarthen Quins got stuck in the mud before the home side came out on top 8-7.
It took 56 minutes before the first points of game were scored and the drama mounted in the final quarter. In the end, the Ravens were able to make it five home wins in a row to continue their development.
Home head coach Tom Smith had every reason to be cheerful as his side somehow found a way to win, despite going behind just after losing hooker Evan Yardley to the sib-bin for a technical offence.
No sooner had Yardley departed than Quins prop James Newnian drove his way over for a try that Jac Wilson converted. Given how long it had taken to get the scoreboard moving, many thought that might have been the winning score.
But Bridgend are a different team to the one that managed only one win in the first half of the season in the Indigo Premiership. They seemed destined to remain in the basement for the rest of the season, but they have dramatically turned their season around since Christmas and have moved up to eight.
A 66th minute try from outside half Luke Price got the Ravens back into the game and then the former Ospreys and Wales U20 player kept his cool to slot a match-winning penalty five minutes later.
That was a cruel blow to Marc Jones and his Quins side, who battled long and hard to continue their recent revival. They, too, had a poor start to the season and managed only one win in 11 outings before the turn of the year.
Since then, Jones has got his pack firing on more cylinders and the experienced Haydn Pugh’s return from injury, along with scrumhalf Rhodri Davies, has been a major boost. Pugh’s influence alongside Josh Helps in the second row provided the power required to keep their side in the hunt.
The Drovers responded to Merthyr overtaking them in the Indigo Premiership table to move back into second place by picking up their 14th win of the season and bagging a vital bonus-point with a 35-9 win at St Helen’s.
The Ironmen had thrown down the gauntlet with their win at Ebbw Vale earlier in the week, but Euros Evans’ side weren’t in the mood to slip to a second successive defeat.
Three tries in a blistering 10-minute period early in the second half guided them to an impressive win and back to withing two points of leaders Cardiff.
Swansea started brightly and were probably worth more than the three James Davies penalties they managed in the first half. Then they were shut out after the break as the Drovers went into overdrive.
Ioan Hughes got the visitors on the scoreboard with a try in the 24th minute after he had kicked his side deep into the home before ghosting through the defence after Griff Evans had taken the line-out.
Four minutes later the forwards took advantage of another close-range line-out and hooker Criag Thomas was driven over. Hughes added a second conversion and it was 14-9 to the visitors at the break.
The second half started with Hughes being sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle, but by the time he returned Llandovery had increased their lead with a third try from wing Aaron Warren. That kick-started a purple patch that eventually saw full back Harri Doel and front row man Berian Watkins add further tries.
