If Neath win well they could overtake Swansea who, despite losing to both Newport and bottom club Pontypool, have taken advantage of Neath’s recent involvement in the British & Irish Cup.
Neath ended their British & Irish campaign on a real high. They made 12 changes for the Coventry game on Saturday and the revamped side produced an outstanding display in a rousing 29-24 victory and the Welsh All Blacks have virtually a full squad available with full back Gareth King poised to become the latest to make his century of appearances for Neath.
Neath Head Coach Patrick Horgan said: “It was very pleasing to end our British & Irish Cup run on such a positive note with a thrilling win over Coventry. Reflecting on the group, the tournament was good for us and we put ourselves in a position to win every game against full-time sides.
“The competition has sharpened up our act but now we concentrate on the bread and butter of our season – the Welsh Premiership – and we know we will face a real challenge from Carmarthen Quins who won at Ebbw Vale on Saturday.
“We made a lot of changes for Coventry and challenged everyone to prove their worth against quality opposition. The team responded with a display which will be remembered for a long time at The Gnoll as it really was a cracking game.
“With players returning from injury and the younger ones really staking a claim, there is strong competition for places throughout our squad and we’ll need it in the weeks ahead. We will be looking for another big effort because Carmarthen Quins have a lot of good players, have won their last 4 games and are still in the Cup.”
Neath G.King; K.James, S.Thomas, W.Mitchell, A.Jenkins; A.Thomas (captain), K.Farrell; N.Downs, G.Price, M.Jones; E,Evans, N.Edwards; M.Collins, G.Gravell, C.Price
Replacements : R.Smith, G.McCarthy, T.James, A.Lott, A.James, H.Pugh, A.Whitney
