PONTYPOOL chief Leigh-ton Jones firmly believes his side have it in them to spring another cup shock when they take a crack at Cardiff tomorrow (kick-off 6.30pm).

Head coach Jones oversaw Pooler’s fantastic 19-11 defeat of knockout kings Llanelli in the first round of the WRU National Cup last month.

And now the Championship leaders are ready to do it all again against another Principality Premiership outfit, with Pontypool fans preparing to flock to the Arms Park.

Jones is expecting a big army of travelling support to make their way to Cardiff for the second round clash, including many from other clubs across Gwent in a show of unity for Pooler.

“We are looking to use the strengths of our game to squeeze Cardiff and put them under pressure,” said Jones.

“If we go about our game plan and do what we are capable of doing then we can win.

“The boys are looking forward to the challenge of playing another Premiership side because that’s where we want to be.”

The Pontypool faithful made their presence felt during the victory at Parc y Scarlets in the previous round, and Jones is expecting more of the same tomorrow.

“Our supporters are fantastic, they will travel anywhere to watch us,” he added.

“With it being an evening kick-off we will probably get more people from the local sides coming to support us.

“It’s pleasing for us that rugby fans from around the area are getting behind us.”

Pooler, 16 points clear with five games left, are running away with the Championship after winning all 17 of their fixtures to date.

They made nine changes for the match that followed the Llanelli triumph, a 40-17 success at Skewen, in a bid to give some players a well-earned rest.

However, it seems that a couple of those with knocks are not going to be fit for the Blue and Blacks showdown this weekend.

On top of that, Jones realises Pooler, with the Llanelli encounter being shown on television, might not be that much of an unknown quantity now.

“Because we’re in a lower league nobody has really taken much notice of us,” he said. “We’ve gone about our business and no-one has taken much of an interest in what we are doing.

“We played Llanelli on television and won so I would imagine that whoever we drew in the next round of the cup would take more notice.”

The Arms Park will bring back fond memories for Pontypool supporters, as it was there in 2009 that a bonus-point win against the league champions helped save the Gwent club from relegation.

Cardiff, sixth in tier two of the Premiership, are coached by former Pooler, Newport and Cross Keys forward Duane Goodfield.