News

With the exception of the game between the ‘big two’, Pontypool and Narberth, every other match in this week’s round of Championship fixtures will have an impact on the relegation area standings.

Nobody can bet against a resurgent Beddau at home to the ‘Met’. A win for the ‘Bulldogs’ could drag them out of the relegation area.

If the three clubs immediately above them lose without a bonus point, then Newcastle Emlyn will move out of the drop zone.

Desperate to maintain their Championship status, Newbridge are pulling out all the stops of late. A win for the ‘Bridge’ over Trebanos will see them breathe a sigh of relief. Tata Steel need to avoid defeat to ensure they are not dragged onto the enlarged trap-door.

Saturday’s biggest match in the quest of relegation avoidance and mid-table respectability, is between Rhydyfelin and Maesteg Quins. This game has a ‘must-win’ cup final feel to it.

At South Parade the Quins inexplicably failed to turn up for the entire eighty minutes. Disappointment at the surrender by the Maesteg men was palpable, from players and supporters alike.

This has to change for the return fixture at the Taff valley village. Nothing but the complete, total and utter commitment that everyone who follows the coal blacks and blood reds know they are capable of producing is required if, the Quins are to ensure they are not in the relegation area on Saturday night. It will also be a big step to ensuring the same can be said in May.

It was one of the three games Rhydyfelin have won this year and with a bonus point to boot. Additionally, having had their game called off, Rhydyfelin representatives watched a similar performance when the Quins played Beddau in the last game of 2018. Indeed, they have not witnessed a determined, tenacious Quins so will undoubtedly earmark this match as a ‘double’ especially on their own patch.

On their own patch is something Rhydyfelin has not experienced as much as they would have liked. Both clubs have played the least number of fixtures in the league, with the Quins ten and ‘Rhyd’ one more. Both clubs carried out extensive work on their pitches in the close season. For the Quins it seemed to have worked, but much to the disbelief of the ‘Village’, they have had games called off by the local authority.

After two alarming performances, to their credit the Quins didn’t shrink, they worked hard in training to claim the spoils against Newbridge. There were some decisive three-quarter movements and running. However, hard running at defenders instead of passes that merely shovel the problem of a defensive wall onto someone else, plus accurate passing to deeper aligned runners would further improve attacking potency.

A win for the hosts will see Rhydyfelin overtake the Quins and record what could be a telling double over the relegation rivals. A win for the Quins would go a little way in exorcising the ghosts of the South Parade defeat. It would push them slightly further away from the relegation pack, depending on the other results.

This week’s Quins selection is as near as naming an unchanged side as you could get. Lewis Tutt starts instead of Josh Mines. There is no truth in the rumour that Mines is going to release a cover single of Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘I Bruise Easily’, after all he did sustain a broken thumb in last week’s match. Talking of broken thumbs, coming onto the bench is another thumb cracking expert – Matthew Tidball, for what looks like his first appearance since the Newbridge victory in September.

With both clubs desperate and determined to win in equal measure, it is all set to be a cracking encounter, with all eyes desperately glancing at the 'All Wales Sport' site for results of the days important action. This match will exemplify the pleasure and pain people feel when playing and watching their team on a Saturday. How eighty minutes can dictate a weekend.