photo by Mark Harris

It’s play-off weekend in the Co-operative Welsh Conference Premier and six teams will battle it out on Saturday for the right to join the Bridgend Blue Bulls in the Welsh semi finals on July 28th.

After topping the Conference table for the fifth successive year, Bridgend go straight into the semis while bottom team West Wales Sharks drop out of the competition.

Meanwhile Torfaen Tigers (2nd) take on the Neath Port Talbot Steelers (7th), Newport Titans (3rd) play the Cardiff Demons (6th) and the Blackwood Bulldogs (4th) host the Valley Cougars (5th).

At Pontypool, the Tigers will be favourites to progress against the Steelers but the Neath-Port Talbot team travel in confident mood.

“We played the Tigers a fortnight ago,” said Steelers coach James Davies. “And although they beat us there was not that much between the two teams. We have a great team spirit plus we have a few of our big lads back for the game and are

travelling to Pontypool aiming to cause an upset.”

Despite finishing ahead of their opponents, Newport Titans will be wary of the Demons after they lost to the Cardiff side earlier in the summer. The Titans had a superb start to the season winning their opening three games and were expected to challenge the Blue Bulls for top spot, but they then went on a three game losing streak before defeating the Sharks last weekend.

Titans Chairman Paul Cooper said: “It was good to get back to winning ways last weekend and hopefully that will give the boys a boost ahead of the play-off game. We lost three games before that but on each occasion we equalled or bettered the opposition on tries only to lose to goal kicks so we know we capable of matching anyone in this competition.”

At Blackwood the fourth placed Bulldogs take on fifth placed Valley Cougars. The Bulldogs beat the Valleymen last weekend but the Cougars can never be written off and have already beaten the Blue Bulls and Titans this summer. Both sides will be boosted by the return of their Wales A contingent who were in Ireland last week and the match is expected to go to the wire. Cougars Chairman Mark Rowley said: “The players have been brilliant this season and it has been a good campaign, but we don’t want it to end yet and the boys are desperate to get to the semis and have another crack at the Blue Bulls.”

article by Simon Green
19 July 2007