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Premiership in focus: Bridgend & Aberavon

Premiership in focus: Bridgend & Aberavon

Aberavon head coach Simon King is refusing to dismiss the challenge of Bridgend as he prepares his side for a trip to the Brewery Field tomorrow.

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The Wizards have been a formidable outfit at home in the last six months but saw their fortress stormed by Cardiff last weekend. Dan Fish’s hat-trick secured a win for the Blue and Blacks to leave the Wizards in ninth place. 

Looking back on the clash with Cardiff, King said: “It was a good game for the neutral, I think everyone who watched that game enjoyed it.

“Credit to Cardiff. They came down to us with a good team and it was the best I’ve seen them play down here in a number of years.

“It was a tough game and we could have sneaked it but Dan Fish took the game away from us.”

One win and two defeats from their three games so far represents an inconsistent start to the season for Aberavon, the Ravens next up on Saturday. Bridgend have lost all four of their games so far but King says tomorrow’s game is far from a foregone conclusion.

“Every side we’ve played so far this season has improved from last year but we are happy and I think we are moving in the right direction,” he added.

“All the boys are looking forward to tomorrow at the Brewery Field. To their credit, Bridgend play a great brand of rugby and they are a very dangerous side. Results haven’t gone in their favour so far this season but sometimes, they can be deceiving.

“It’s always tough at the Brewery Field and Bridgend will certainly be a real test. It’s a big game for both sets of players as the two of us are in the Ospreys region.”

For the trip to Bridgend, King has gone for Paul Smithson at fly half in place of the experienced Jamie Davies. Sam Williams features at lock.

The home side are hoping a return to the Brewery Field will coincide with an upturn in fortunes. It has been a tough few weeks for the Ravens, their most recent defeat away to Llanelli at Parc y Scarlets.

That said, head coach Ben Rose will be pleased at the amount of tries his side are scoring, the only problem being the need to shore up at the other end.

The two sides have already met once this season, with Aberavon winning a tight encounter in a British & Irish Cup qualifier. Arthur Ellis, who has enjoyed a superb individual campaign so far this year, leads the Ravens this time around.

Bridgend: 15 Jamie Murphy 14 Tom Grabham 13 Nathan Edwards 12 Adam Williams 11 Luke Morgan 10 James Dixon 9 Chris Williams, 1 Marc Thomas 2 Matt Dwyer 3 Daniel Suter 4 Lloyd Peers 5 Owain Lloyd 6 Jac Hopkins 7 Arthur Ellis (c) 8 Scott Hicks.
Replacements: Ash James, Gary Carpenter, Jon Thomas, Shaun O’Rourke, Dai Barry, Sion Hopkins, Steve Winn, Ashley Evans.

Aberavon: 15 Jonathan Phillips 14 Richard Carter 13 Will Price 12 Aaron Jones 11 Kristian Jenkins 10 Paul Smithson 9 Chris Morgans, 1 Rowan Jenkins 2 Evan Yardley 3 Anthony Edwards 4 Ian Moore 5 Sam Williams 6 Lee Purnell 7 Ben Thomas 8 Chris Davies.
Replacements: Dan Davies, Jamie Davies, Richard Thomas, Marc Breeze, Gavin Ronan, Craig Everett, Neil White, Lloyd Howell.

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