Ponty need home recovery against Bridgend

Pontypridd will require a home recovery service as they seek to re-ignite their Premiership campaign against Bridgend on Friday evening 16^th March, the game kicking off at 7:15pm.

This will be a first competitive fixture for Ponty at Sardis Road since 7^th January, and in the meantime some inconsistent form has seen the club slip to seventh position in the table. Bridgend lie one position and eight points behind, but with the bragging rights of having already claimed a league win over Ponty at the Brewery Field by the narrowest of margins – 16pts to 15.

Preparing the Ponty squad physically and mentally to overcome recent setbacks such as the Bridgend loss has been one task for team manager Richard Langmead, who said:

“We need now to start putting things right and that recovery has got to get underway against Bridgend. We need to set ourselves up for what will be a very difficult run in to the end of the season.

Our destiny is still in our hands, but we can not afford to perform as we have done, we need to knuckle down and get back to winning ways to have any chance of claiming honours this season.”

Pontypridd will be without centre Adam Thomas and wing Owen Williams, both called up to the Wales Sevens squad, and scrum half Rhys Downes who has suffered a reaction to his recent ankle injury. Carl Thomas is drafted in on permit from Llantwit Fardre to cover at number 9.

The Pontypridd team selected to face Bridgend is as follows:

15.Harley Thomson. 14.Chris Clayton. 13.Gavin Dacey. 12.Dafydd Lockyer. 11.Matthew Nuthall. 10.Simon Humberstone. 9.Lewis Jones.

1.Stuart Williams. 2.Huw Dowden. 3.Pat Palmer. 4.Craig Locke. 5.Ryan Savage. 6.Chris Dicomidis – cpt. 7.Wayne O’Connor. 8.Owen Sheppeard.

Subs: Carl Thomas; Lewis K Williams; Gary Williams; Tom Hetherington; Jake Thomas; Dan Godfrey; Ryan Harford.