Having been pipped 27-24 in the final play by Cardiff University in the first meeting of the Welsh capital rivals at the same venue in October, Joe Cowell’s men will be turning up seeking an early Christmas present.
Another crowd of around 4,000 is expected to watch the game and both side’s will be hoping to recover from their defeats in the last round. Met were beaten 36-17 by Swansea University on their own patch at Cyncoed, while Cardiff Uni went down to a 27-21 defeat at home against Bath University.
Both teams have enjoyed spells at the top of the table in the first half of the season, but now find themselves in fourth and sixth respectively. Met currently lead the way by a point and the game is being streamed live on the BUCS Super Rugby You Tube Channel.
Cardiff Clash 🎬2️⃣
Tonight at the Cardiff Arms Park, @CardiffMetRFC look for revenge💪If you haven’t got tickets, you can still watch live on the @BUCSSuperRugby YouTube📺
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Heno ym Mharc yr Arfau Caerdydd, mae ein tîm rwgbi eisiau dial💪#ArcherFamily | #MaroonAndGold pic.twitter.com/iU1x8dKZKR— Cardiff Met Sport (@CMetSport) December 14, 2022
“This is a great lead into Christmas for us and it comes after what has been a tough opening to the campaign with so many big fixtures. But to finish with the Cardiff Clash is great for both of us,” said Cardiff Met director of rugby, Danny Milton.
“We’re both looking to get our shows back on the road after some disappointing results. We’ll have to get our processes right and bring our ‘A’ game.”
Cardiff University will be missing Ireland U20 squad member George Shaw from their back row, but will have Wales U20 prop Theo Bavacqua and Hong Hong international Greg Ramage back in their side for a crucial game.
“We’ve been hit by injuries and unavailabilities in recent weeks but we’ve still managed to pick up points in most games. Winning the first ‘Cardiff Clash’ got rid of a monkey off our backs and we feel confident that when we can field out best team we can match any team in the league,” said Alan Flowers, Cardiff Uni’s director of rugby.
Swansea University have completed a notable Welsh double in their last two games, downing Cardiff Uni 29-27 at St Helen’s before heading to Cyncoed to make it back-to-back wins there against Met. Unfortunately, their home game with Nottingham has been postponed.
Cardiff Met: Ethan Morgan; Jake Thomas, Dafydd Tiueti, Brad Morgan, Roma Zheng; Brad Roderick-Evans, Rory Morgan; Joe Cowell (captain), Tyler Olding, Math I-Scott, Brandon Harvey, Barny Langton, Jake Bond, Ewan Guy, Bertie Taylor
Reps: Connor Chapman, Ben Murphy, Eliot Salt, Barnaby Wadell, Benji Williams, Ali Stacey, Gus Patterson, Ewan Bowden
Cardiff Uni: Felix Gilbert; Ben Verbicas, Luke Pollock (captain), Cam Scott, Rhydian Williams; Ed Dunford, Dai Jones; Theo Bavacqua, Ben Chapman, Adam Williams, Ethan Phillips, Alex Ashton, Greg Ramage, Tim Moon, James Roberts
Reps: Toby Peach, Ed Thompson, Alfie Goater, Seth Butler, Owen Popple, Mikel Davies, Tom Kilmartin, Max Ashton
