Captain's Blog no. 2

If someone had said to me during pre-season that we would be top of the league having won all our games so far, I would've bitten their arm off.

The month of September has been good for us but we are keeping our feet firmly on the ground as trophies are not won in the opening month of the season. Although some of our performances have not been up to the standard we expect from ourselves, we are winning ugly and that is a great habit to have. Very soon the 50/50 passes are going to stick and the moves we practice in training are going to come off.

The league this season is very unpredictable with many results going against the form book and I think this trend is going to continue until the last few games of the season. As a team we got off to a decent, yet scrappy, start against a much improved Cross Keys side who have recruited very well during the summer months. Our trip to the Memorial Ground was again another frustrating first sixty minutes and it took a right rollicking from Chief at half time for us to realise we needed to up our game dramatically. Eventually we managed to pull away from the Wanderers and gain the bonus point we aimed for.

Quins were next up at Sardis, and again this was a missed opportunity to gain the bonus point. We were well in control of the game and took our foot off the gas in the last 20 minutes and nearly let Carmarthen back into the game. By far our best performance of the season was down in Aberavon. We performed for the full eighty minutes against a good team and finally got the bonus point we had aimed for in the previous three games. Everything in the game seemed to go our way and we scored some great tries. It was also very pleasing to get one over on our ex coach and my old PE teacher Simon King.

Wanderers midweek at Sardis saw the bonus point wrapped up by half time and in the second half we were able to show glimpses of the running rugby we want to play each week. Finally a tough week was complete with another unconvincing win against Pontypool, who in all fairness defended for their lives and frustrated us, but a win is a win.

The month ahead promises to be very tough, with a number of games against the so called "big hitters". It doesn't get much tougher than a trip down to the Gnoll to face last season's champions Neath. If we as a team though have any aspirations to win the league we need to believe we can go to these places and come away with the spoils. After the Neath game we have more tough games against regional rivals Cardiff, a tricky away game against a good Tonmawr team and a trip to Rodney Parade to face Newport. After these league games I think we will know more about ourselves as a team and where we really stand in the table.

In between these league games we have the re-introduction of the BIC. A trip away to Llandovery is always a tough ask but for us to reach the quarter finals this year we need to start well and pick up the points on the road. With the draw this year and two teams qualifying from each group we have to target a place in the quarter finals and then take the competition from there.

On the injury front a bit of bad news was sustained after the last game with Ryan Harford breaking his arm. Ryan will be sorely missed as he has been playing out of his skin so far this season. Owen "Mika" Williams will also be missed with a hamstring tear although the severity of the tear is not yet known. This gives other members in the squad their chance to stake a claim for a starting jersey in the upcoming fixtures.

Better news is that Chris Clayton, Chris Martenko and Gavin Dacey are responding well to treatment after their operations and all should be back playing within the next month. This will give the squad added depth and competition for places which has been a key factor this season. You only have to look at the current flanker situation with 6 or 7 quality players competing for two places in the starting line up.

On a personal note, I am enjoying playing No.8 although the position is very new to me. I am learning on the job, so to speak, but the extra bit of training with Chief I am doing is paying off and I am slowly getting more confident at the back of the scrum.

The support we have had this year, as with every year I have been at the club, has been phenomenal. The crowds seem to be growing each week which is great for the club and a huge boost to us boys when we are playing. Even now, running out onto the pitch and hearing you chant sends a shiver down the spine and you are definitely, depending on which way you look at it, our 16^th or 23^rd man. I just hope we continue winning and playing the rugby you deserve to view each week. We are definitely going to need the best supporters in the world over the next month giving us a huge boost each game.

I would like to offer my congratulations to Chris and Melanie Martenko on the birth of their daughter Lilly. Also belated congratulations to two of the current squad, Stuart Williams and Matthew Nuthall who wed Vicky and Jemma respectively over the summer months.

Finally a special mention to Simon Humberstone and Garyn Lucas who after a team night out on Saturday, decided to ring a number of the boys at 5 o'clock in the morning and leave prank voicemails pretending to be regional coaches etc! I hear they are the new "Ant and Dec" of Ponty and open to comedy road show offers!!! Book them early as they will be very busy over the Xmas period!

Here's to the next tough month of rugby!

Chris Dicomidis
29/09/10