Rhondda derby kicks off Ponty's pre-season

The close season ends and the pre-season gets underway for Pontypridd on Saturday 4^th August, with neighbouring Valley club Ystrad Rhondda as their first opponents.

The ‘Rhondda Derby’ will be played at Sardis Road, kicking off at 2:30pm with Ystrad coming into the game on a high newly promoted to Division One East as champions.

After a month of intense training the Ponty squad are eager to get back into match action, with a strong line up named for the friendly game.

A number of players are still unavailable, due to a combination of injuries, holidays, and Wales Sevens and Blues training commitments.

With props Scott Roberts (ankle) and Stuart Williams (calf) being late withdrawals from the squad, and Chris Phillips and Pat Palmer already absent, the front row department has been depleted. As a result, following an agreement between both clubs, the match will be played with passive scrums from the onset.

Four players will be making their Ponty debuts, with the exciting centre partnership of Geraint Walsh and Tom Pascoe on show, Gareth James at scrum half and Keiron Jenkins anchoring the scrum as tight head prop.

The Pontypridd team selected to face Ystrad Rhondda is as follows:

15.Matthew Nuthall. 14.Lewis I Williams. 13.Geraint Walsh. 12.Tom Pascoe. 11.Owen Williams. 10.Lewis K Williams. 9.Gareth James.

1.Darran Harris. 2.Huw Dowden. 3.Keiron Jenkins. 4.Craig Locke. 5.Chris Dicomidis – cpt. 6.Wayne O’Connor. 7.Tom Hetherington. 8.Jordan Sieniawski