Caerphilly win so vital says coach (From Free Press Series)

Caerphilly win so vital says coach

PONTYPOOL hope to have fly-half Sam Mills back in the team for their tough trip to Bridgend in the Welsh Premiership on Saturday.

Buoyed by their important victory against fellow strugglers Caerphilly and refreshed by their week off due to the Wales v New Zealand international, Pooler coaches are confident they can get something out of the game.

Last season, Pooler put in one of their best performances to beat Bridgend at Pontypool Park but the last time they went to Bridgend, they went down to a bruising 46-0 defeat.

But head coach Steve Jones and defensive coach Kevin Weaver are confident his players will not suffer the same fate again.

Weaver said: "The result against Caerphilly was huge for us. We have a lot of young players and it was important for their character that they came through it with a win under their belts.

"Hopefully we can now take that forward to our next game against Bridgend. I think we can go there with confidence. We should have Sam Mills back from injury and that will be a big plus for us - he is an important cog in the Pooler wheel."

Jones says he is delighted to have centre Neil Lewis back in the team after a lengthy period on the sidelines with a broken arm, and hopes are high that Gavin Lucas will also be back soon.

Pontypool have used the break for the international to regroup and focus on the next stage of the season. Jones said they held an extra training session on Sunday.

Weaver told the Free Press: "It's important that we start getting results. So many of our defeats this season have been by just a handful of points and we need to start turning those around, starting on Saturday.

"We pretty know what to expect at Bridgend. They like to mix it up and have the forwards to lay down a good platform for their backs, some of whom are quite tricky."

Jones added: "In an ideal world, I'd like to have a couple more old heads to help the side, but the youngsters are confident - all we need is a bit of lady luck."

l Pontypool's match against Newport at Pontypool Park has been rescheduled. It will now kick off at 7.15pm on Friday December 3.

l Pontypool RFC revealed this week that arrangements have finally been agreed to move the club's memorabilia from Elm House to Pontypool Museum.

The hundreds of items are currently being catalogued and it is hoped that some sort of permanent display will be on show at the museum next spring.

Keep reading your Free Press for more news on this as it happens.