New head coach Steve Law will have a number of Cardiff Blues players in his side once again with Dan Fish and Jack Roberts remaining in the back line. Wales Under 18 star Ben Thomas wears the No 10 shirt
“It’s a relatively happy place to be at the moment, but there is still plenty of work to do. As a group we’ve only been together for nine weeks, so there is still a lot of work to be done,” said Law.
“But the performances are getting better each time and we have been working hard on our tactics over the last few weeks. It’s also great to see players returning to the squad like James Sheekey, Owen Lane and James Murphy.
“The other good thing for a coach is to have options in most positions, and being able to start Ben Thomas at No 10 is a real bonus. We have also drafted in some experience on the bench in Ian Jenkins who was in the opposition side last weekend.”
Cardiff picked up a double over Keys last season, but will meet a team that pushed reigning champkons Merthyr to the brink in round one and picked up a morale boosting first win over Ebbw Vale in the last round.
Former Cardiff hooker Greg Woods has made four changes to his side from the win over the Steelmen.
Barney Nightingale and Joe Goodchild replace Phil Williams and Nathan Trowbridge in the back line, while up front Richard Cornock replaces Nathan Buck at prop and Rob Jones returns at hooker.
Dragons Academy hooker Will Griffiths and back row man Taine Basham, who made his Keys debut coming on as a replacement against Ebbw Vale, are included on the bench. Scrum-half James Leabeater will make his 150th appearance while wing Mathew Powell will bring up his half-century.
Newport got their season up and running with a great home win over Pontypridd last weekend and will be hoping to build on that at Eugene Cross Park in a classic Gwent derby against Ebbw Vale.
Ronny Kynes’ side were beaten 20-12 at Cross Keys last weekend and currently find themselves on the bottom of the East Division. The Steelmen need a boost and Kynes believes his side isn’t far away from getting things right.
“Everybody is writing us off at the moment, but I think we will surprise a few teams if we keep working hard. We were disappointed to lose at Cross Keys, although how we lost I don’t know,” said Kynes.
“We’re not a million miles away, we just didn’t take our chances, like we didn’t against Pontypridd. But we’ve had a good week’s training and we’re looking forward to another derby.”
Newport head coach Craig Warlow has rung the changes despite the win over Pontypridd.
Wales U18 star Lennon Greggains comes in at No 8 to join Rhys Jenkins and Kyle Tayler in the back row, while Morgan Burgess moves up into the second row alongside Joe Bartlett.
Adam Sabri and Chay Smith make up a new centre pairing with Jon Morris moving to his regular wing position.
Haydn Simons keeps the No 15 jersey following his Man of the Match performance against Ponty.
Cypriot international Chris Dicomidis will make his 300th appearance for Pontypridd when they host Merthyr at Sardis Road. The former Wales Under 21 cap and Cardiff Blues player made his Ponty debut in the 2004/05 season.
Now the senior citizen in the home pack, he will have Wales Under 20 caps Corey Domachoski, Shane Lewis-Hughes and Morgan Sieniawski alongside him in a key game for both clubs.
Merthyr, the reigning champions, have lost their last two games, while Ponty have already been beaten by Newport and Bedwas. Garyn Smith returns to the midfield having started last weekend for the Blues in Leinster.
League leaders Bedwas host Bargoed with Ian Gardner warning his side not to rest on their laurels after three successive victories. “It’s important we keep the momentum going,” he said.
Veteran prop Chris Budgen starts at tight head having made a great impact off the bench recently while behind the scrum Mike Hathaway starts at full-back and Lewis Evans comes in for the unavailable Steffan Jones at outside-half.
Teams
Bedwas v Bargoed
Bedwas: Mike Hathaway; George Gasson, Ross Wardle, Adam Williams, Matthew John; Lewis Evans, Luke Crane; Dan Preece, Ellis Shipp, Chris Budgen, Joe Davies, Craig Hudd, James Richards, George Lee (captain), Nathan Hudd
Reps: Brynley Toms, Dale Rogers, Tom Devine, Andrew Waite, Geraint Edmunds, Nicky Griffiths, Oli Halford, Aaron Bramwell
Bargoed: Matthew Lewis; Ashley Norton, Jordan Howells, Darren Humphries, David Evans; Iain Smerdon, James Pizzey; Rhys Morean (captain). Lewys Lippiett, Alex Gardner-Key, Matthew Thomas, Louis Blacker, Adam Coupe, Alex Herbert, Grant Rogers
Reps: Matt Bancroft, Jordan Purcell, Julian Mogg, Luke Dyckhoff, Lewis Weyman, Geraint Clarke, Jack Williams, Keiron Brown
Cardiff v Cross Keys
Cardiff: Dan Fish; Owen Lane, Jack Roberts, Will Rees-Hole, Pat Lewis; Ben Thomas, Lewis Jones; Rhys Carre, Joe Tomlinson (captain), Dillon Lewis, Ben White, James Down, Reuben Tucker, Luke Crocker, James Sheekey
Reps: Rob Lewis, Ian Jenkins, Tom Mably, James Murphy, Tom Wilson, Rhodri Cole, Gareth Thompson, Llywarch Ap Myrddin
Cross Keys: Leon Andrews; Mathew Powell, Lewis Barnett, Barney Nightingale, Joe Goodchild; Josh Prosser, James Leadbeater; Corey Hewlett, Rob Jones, Richard Cornock, Tom Lampard, Josh Skinner, Liam Davies, Joe Thomas, Adam Powell (captain)
Reps: Will Griffiths, Lewis Smout, Gary Carpenter, Max George, Taine Basham, Phil Williams, Ross Pritchard, Nathan Trowbridge
Ebbw Vale v Newport
Ebbw Vale: Dan Haymond; Will Holley, Tom Hoppe, Dom Franchi, Tobey Fricker; Callum Hall, Dai Jones; Joel Harries, Rhys Francis, Rob Sevenoaks, Kristian Parker, Rhys Clarke, Cameron Regan, Ronny Kynes (captain), Jon Davies
Reps: Joe Franchi, Ross Jones, Josh James, Lance Randall, Owen Jones, Carl Lewis, Lewis Dennet, Srdan Majkic
Newport: Haydn Simons; Corey Howells, Chay Smith, Adam Sabri, Jon Morris; Matt O’Brien, Ryan James; John Lavender, Henry Palmer, Garin Harris, Morgan Burgess, Joe Bartlett; Rhys Jenkins (captain), Kyle Tayler, Lennon Greggains
Reps: Evan Whitson, Matt Prosser, Tom Piper, Rhys Cresswell, Alex Everett, Owain Davies, Tom Pascoe, Harri Lang
Pontypridd v Merthyr
Pontypridd: Lloyd Rowlands; Alex Webber, Garyn Smith, Dafydd Lockyer (captain), Dale Stuckey; Diggy Bird, Dane Blacker; Corey Domachowski, Corrie Tarrant, Will Davies-King, Josh Hawkins, Chris Dicomidis, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Rhys Shellard, Morgan Sieniawski
Reps: Wayne Evans, Rhys Morgan, James Lewis, Joe Page, Hemi Barnes, Sean Moore, Chris Phillips, Jon Elley
Merthyr: TBC
