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Drovers look to end Pandy curse

Drovers look to end Pandy curse

Llandovery head to Pandy Park this Saturday aiming to make it three wins on the bounce this season.

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Lyndon Lewis’ side take on Cross Keys but know that if they are to return home with a victory, it will be their first at the Gwent venue in 10 years. 

It’s a remarkable statistic and the Drovers, who are third in the table behind Carmarthen Quins and Pontypridd, will face a Keys side smarting from defeat to Pontypridd last time out.

Despite their poor record at Pandy Park, Llandovery will be in confident mood after successive wins over Cardiff and Bridgend.

“Performances are improving and a number of our new players are now settling into our team patterns,” said head coach Lewis.

“Last Saturday we were very pleased with the first 55 minutes but we were disappointed with the last 25 minutes where we shipped three tries.”

On the task facing his side this weekend, Lewis added: “Cross Keys are well coached and well organised. Greg Woods is a quality coach and with him at the helm they have reached the Welsh Cup final, the British & Irish Cup final, and have always been competitive at the top end of the league over the last three years.

“We have made big strides over the last three seasons ourselves but this is a hurdle we haven’t yet managed to master.

“We all know it will take a special performance to beat Cross Keys in their own back yard.”

Keys know history is on their side but at the same time, they will belooking to bounce back after defeat against Pontypridd.

Greg Woods makes five changes to the side defeated by the Sardis Road club. Rhys Jones replaces Aaron Bramwell at full back to make his first start for the club whilst his brother Dorian Jones replaces Angus O’Brien at outside half. Up front, there are recalls for Gerwyn Price, Tom Lampard and Reuben Tucker.

Cross Keys: 15 Rhys Jones 14 Elliot Jones 13 Leon Andrews (c) 12 Aled James 11 Nathan Trowbridge 10 Dorian Jones 9 Rhys Dyer, 1 Richard Cornock 2 Gerwyn Price 3 Nathan Buck 4 Danny Hodge 5 Tom Lampard 6 Reuben Tucker 7 Scott Matthews 8 Adam Powell.
Replacements: Luke Garrett, Darren Hughes, Craig Gould, Ollie Hodge, Rhys Peebles, Ryan James, Angus O’Brien, Phil Williams.

Llandovery: 15 Matthew Jacobs 14 Jake Randall 13 Adam Warren 12 Craig Woodall 11 Aaron Warren 10 Ian Brooks 9 Lee Rees, 1 Wyn Jones 2 Luke Lewis 3 Andrew Jones 4 Bryn Griffiths 5 Stuart Miller 6 Phil Day (c) 7 Shaun Miles 8 Richard Bloomfield.
Replacements: Greg Cunniffe, Gethin Jones, Llewelyn Jones, Luke Kendall, Tom Ball, Lawrence Reynolds, James Garland, Rhodri Davies.

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