photos by Ian Lovell

Two teams who are desperate for a win meet on Saturday at Abercynon RFC in the Picton Jones and Costley and Partners Premier Welsh Conference East (kick-off 2.30pm).

Hosts Valley Cougars are still to win a match this season while visitors Torfaen Tigers have lost in their last two outings. Both sides know that a defeat on Saturday will leave them with only a slim chance of qualifying for the end of season play-offs that start of August 5th. It will be the teams’ first meeting of the season as their previous fixture, still yet to be re-arranged, was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

Mark Rowley believes that his Cougars side are capable of getting their first win but knows it will be a tough task.

Rowley said: “We’ve near enough a full strength squad for the first time this season which includes Dale McIntosh once again. We haven’t been playing too bad so far this season but it is about time we started winning. This is the game that could kick-start our season but it will be a tough game. Torfaen may have lost their last two matches but I saw them play against Cardiff two weeks ago and thought they played a good game. It could have easily been them that were on the winning side rather than Cardiff so I’ll expect them to play well this week.”

In the other match in the East, Newport Titans host Cardiff Demons. Newport will be riding high after last week’s unbelievable 70-20 win at Torfaen while the Demons are looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the season at Blackwood. Both teams are level at the top of the table with three wins out of four so a victory for either side will lift them closer towards a play-off spot.

Cardiff narrowly defeated Newport 34-28 earlier in the season and know that they will find things tougher at Pil Harriers on Saturday – one of the hardest grounds in the Conference to play at due to the partisan home support, solid pitch and the strong physical nature of the Newport side.

In order to win this match, the Demons must also try to overcome their second

half blues that has dogged them throughout the season. In three out of four of their matches, their opposition have scored more points than them and it is this that could be the deciding factor on Saturday.

The Swansea Valley Miners host the Bridgend Blue Bulls on Saturday, the Miners have travelled to face the reigning Champions twice so far this season conceding over 100 points but Miners player coach Dai Hawkins believes his team will put up a better fight at their home patch saying "we have struggled against them away from home but we'll have a much stronger squad when they come to Ystalyfera, we have already beaten the Fighting Irish up here and very much want to get our first win over Bridgend".

The Bulls meanwhile will give debuts to Bridgend Sports RFC pair Matthew Channel and Simon Hunt while 17 year-old stand-off Ryan Miles also comes in to replace Paul Smithson who has left to play Union in Florida. Miles is a product of the very successful Blue Bulls Junior section and has captained Wales at U16s and U17s. "We have a good strong team but are struggling at half-back" said Bulls Team manager Simon Green "Ryan is a great young player, he is strong and gutsy and will not be afraid to express himself against much older and more experienced players".

The Blue Bulls also welcome back top try scorer Ryan Morgan and Wales International Nathan Strong, while Karl Hocking could also feature if not required by the Celtic Crusaders this weekend.

Also in the West the West Wales Sharks host Aberavon Fighting Irish at the New Dock Stars ground in Llanelli. The newly formed Sharks side have performed well this summer but are yet to record a win and Sharks spokesman Paul Prendiville believes this could be their day. "We've done well at home against Bridgend and the more we play together the better we get" he said. Aberavon however cannot afford to lose if they are to stay in contention with the Blue Bulls at the top of the table and will make life far from easy for the Sharks.

article by Ian Golden and Simon Green