Pontypridd v Cross Keys – Matchday Preview
This Friday 7th February we are under the Sardis lights when Pontypridd RFC welcome Cross Keys RFC to town. The Admiral Premiership match between the two clubs will kick-off at 7:30pm.
It’s very much ‘take two’ against the Keys with this being a rearranged fixture that should have taken place on Saturday 7th December, but Storm Darragh wiped out the vast majority of matches that particular weekend. As well as Premiership matches, the two clubs have had some titanic battles over the years in both Welsh Premiership league finals at Sardis Road and Welsh National Cup finals at the Principality Stadium.
Unfortunately for Keys, they were relegated from the Premiership to the Championship at the end of the 2018/19 season, and the last time the two teams went head-to-head was on Wednesday 8th May 2019 at Pandy Park just prior to the end of their Premiership tenure. Ponty claimed a 24-7 win that evening with Dale Stuckey amongst the scorers with a brace of tries. The last match at Sardis Road between the sides took place on Saturday 27th October 2018, the Valley Commandos ran out winners by a 73-12 scoreline that particular day.

It’s been said many times this season that ‘there are no easy games in the Welsh Premiership,’ and Pontypridd know only too well that statement to be true after their last two matches. Following a bruising win away at Newbridge two Saturday’s ago the team headed to Narberth for their first ever match at the Lewis Lloyd Ground on Saturday just gone. There were many similarities for both matches – heavy pitches, both home teams fighting for their Premiership lives at the bottom end of the table, and both encounters being in the balance when entering the final quarter. But for Ponty, the most important similarity was that they again showed true grit and determination to earn the wins away from home – two wins that has kept them at the top of the league standings.
To once again highlight the competitiveness of this division, when Ponty won at Newbridge the Keys enjoyed a big win over Neath at home. This was before last Saturday when Newbridge backed up their showing against Pontypridd by triumphing at the home of the Keys by 14 points to 8 – it’s a funny old game…

The race for the title really is hotting up now as Pontypridd prepare to play the first of two back-to-back home games starting this Friday against the Pandy Park men. The travelling support over the last couple of weeks has been outstanding and played a huge factor in getting the team over the finish line in both games, so we are looking forward to welcoming you back home this Friday, ole!
SUPPORTER INFORMATION:
Tickets – Admission on Friday will be £12 full, £10 concession access-all-areas and under 16’s free if accompanied by a paying adult. You can purchase tickets on the day or to save time (which is recommended to miss the queues) you can use our online e-Ticket system, here’s the link which includes all our different packages – Pontypridd v Cross Keys – E-tickets – 7/2/2025
Supporter access is via the Clubhouse end of the ground only.
Live Sport In The Clubhouse – Our Clubhouse will be open at 5:30pm and we will be showing live coverage of Italy U20 v Wales U20 in the U20s Six Nations – kick off at 7:15pm. We’ll also have round-ball action when Manchester United play Leicester in the 4th Round of the F.A. Cup, kick off in that will be 8:00pm.
We look forward to welcoming both sets of supporters to Sardis Road this Friday.