The Pandy Park side drew Aberavon in last night’s quarter-final draw for the Konica Minolta Cup, and Rees says the restructuring of Welsh rugby has made the Cup competition more exciting and made a Cup final at the Millennium Stadium a realistic option for club players.
‘There are a few critics of the Cup these days, but it is definitely still a meaningful competition,’ the Wales under-19 coach said.
‘By restructuring Welsh rugby, they’ve opened up the Cup tournament. The professional players are in the Heineken Cup, allowing our players to realise their dream of playing in a Cup final at the Millennium Stadium.
‘Previously, most fans could pick the Cup semi-finalists at the start of the season, but if you look at the quarter-finalists now, you simply couldn’t have done that. The romance of the Cup is back.’
Rees got his wish for a home match on Saturday week, but would have preferred weaker opposition than the in-form Wizards.
‘We’ve had a tough run in this competition,’ he said. ‘We’ve drawn Carmarthen Quins and Newport already, so the Aberavon game means we’ve played three of the top five teams in the League.
‘In between, we played Llanelli, who like this competition, but we wanted a home draw in the quarter-finals and that’s what we’ve got. And we can’t complain too much – we’ve had home draws all the way through.
‘We’ve played Aberavon twice this season and lost both, but they were close matches so we’re not overawed.’
Cross Keys are mid-table in the Welsh Premier League, a position which allows Rees to concentrate on the Cup.
‘We’d like a couple more wins, but it does look like we’ll be above the scrap at the bottom as teams try to avoid relegation. We can concentrate on the Cup matches and get our guys to the Millennium Stadium.
‘Having said that, we lost our No 8 Will Thomas with a broken leg last weekend, which is a big loss. It’s the third broken leg we’ve had this season, so we haven’t had the best of luck.’
The clash of the round is Neath’s home match against Pontypridd, with two of the traditional heavyweights of Welsh rugby go head to head in a game not for the faint-hearted.
In the other matches, Brynmawr, the only Division One side left in the tournament, have a home game against defending League champions Bridgend – the only survivor of last season’s Cup semi-finals – while Caerphilly host the winner of this weekend’s sixth-round tie between Ebbw Vale and Swansea, neither of whom have conceded a point in the Cup rounds so far.
The draw for the quarter-finals (matches to be played on Saturday, March 13): Brynmawr v Bridgend, Neath v Pontypridd, Caerphilly v Ebbw Vale or Swansea, Cross Keys v Aberavon.
Semi-finals: April 17. Final: May 8.
