Pontypridd v Neath – Match Preview
On Wednesday evening 30th April Pontypridd RFC welcome Neath RFC to Sardis Road in the Admiral Premiership. Ponty’s last home league match of the season against the Welsh All Blacks will kick-off at 7:30pm.
Ponty won 24-19 when the two sides met earlier this season at The Lextan Gnoll. That match was played on Saturday 30th November 2024. The last time the two sides met at Sardis was earlier in 2024 during the last league campaign, the Valley Commandos won by a more convincing 48-10 scoreline on that occasion.
Both Ponty and Neath are vying for a second-placed finish in this season’s Premiership standings after Merthyr were crowned champions last Saturday. Pontypridd will also be looking to build momentum ahead of the team’s match away at Bargoed on Saturday 10th May – that game at Bargoed Park has shaped up to become a winner-takes-all contest to see who will play Merthyr in the Mid District Premiership Cup Final at Sardis Road on Saturday 17th May.
TEAM NEWS:
Pontypridd have made six changes and two positional switches to the XV that played Ystrad Rhondda three days ago, and there’s a further three new faces on the substitutes bench.
There are three new faces in the backline, two of them coming in the halfbacks with returns for Joel Raikes and Jaydan Pugh. The third change is a third appearance of the season for Ponty for Iwan Griffith on the left wing. Supporters will fondly remember his impressive debut performance bagging a hat-trick of tries and the Golden Bob against Llangennech at Sardis back in January. Iwan is on permit from Bridgend, and his selection on the left wing sees Louis Rochefort-Shugar move to the right wing.
Two of the three changes in the forwards come in the front row with Garyn Daniel and Ben Drew starting at tighthead and loosehead props respectively. The other new face is a return for Will Jameson on the flank, Will’s inclusion sees Kristian Parker move back to lock.
The three new faces in the matchday squad on the bench are Jeffrey Young, Lloyd Riley and Joey Williams.
The Pontypridd team selected to play Neath is as follows:
15. Dale Stuckey. 14. Louis Rochefort-Shugar. 13. Stuart Floyd-Ellis. 12. Garyn Smith. 11. Iwan Griffith. 10. Jaydan Pugh. 9. Joel Raikes.
1. Ben Drew. 2. Rob Jones. 3. Garyn Daniel. 4. Mitch Barnard. 5. Kristian Parker. 6. Will Jameson. 7. Cally James (c). 8. Joe Miles
Subs: 16. Jeffrey Young. 17. Kian Mattravers. 18. Morgan Bosanko. 19. Lloyd Riley. 20. Ethan Evans. 21. Joey Williams. 22. Jacob Symes. 23. Sam Talbot.
SPONSORS OPEN NIGHT –
It’s also our Sponsors Open Night this Wednesday. Whether you’re a current sponsor or you would like to get involved for the 2025/26 season now is the perfect time to connect – and you can pre-match and during half time. Here’s our recently published article regarding this – Sponsors Open Night – This Wednesday 30th April
SUPPORTER INFORMATION:
Tickets – Admission on Wednesday 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 Neath – 30/4/2025
Supporter access is via the Clubhouse end of the ground only.
End Of Season Merchandise Clearance Sale – There will be a pop-up stall situated inside the ground near the burger van selling lots of Club Merch items – Adult and children Rugby shirts £20, T-shirts £10, shorts £5, rugby balls £5, rucksacks £10 plus much much more. The stall will be open from 6:45pm until kick-off and during half time – everything must go so come and grab yourself a bargain or two!
Player(s) Of The Season Voting – For supporters who want to vote for which player(s) have been the team’s stand-out performers during the 2024-25 campaign, paper voting slips will be available in the Clubhouse.
Live Sport In The Clubhouse – Our Clubhouse will be from 5:30pm and we’ll be showing live Champions League semi-final action on the screens – Barcelona v Inter Milan which kicks off at 8:00pm.
