TWO Gwent teams heading in opposite directions clash in the Swalec Championship this afternoon with Blackwood attempting to halt their slide and Newbridge looking to stay on the up.

It has been a challenging campaign for today’s hosts second-from-bottom Blackwood, who have lost 12 games on the spin and have been struggling for numbers.

Their last win came against Newbridge, triumphing 21-7 when the sides met in October, but there were signs of encouragement at Tondu last week.

A spirited display against fellow strugglers saw them emerge with a pair of bonus points from a 36-29 defeat and more of the same will be needed against in-form Newbridge.

The men from the Welfare Ground have been in the groove since the turn of the year and last weekend’s hard-fought 29-26 success against Bridgend Athletic was their fifth win in six games.

They have climbed from rock bottom to tenth in the space of two months and a win against their Gwent rivals would stretch their buffer to the teams in the dogfight.

Pontypool need to go on a strong run until the end of the season if they are to finish third behind champions-elect Bargoed and Swansea, who they lost to 17-8 last weekend.

Pooler still have fixtures against third-placed RGC 1404 and fifth-placed Merthyr to play so can still win bronze.

They can ill afford a slip at Tata Steel, who are eighth, and are looking for another double against their hosts, who they edged out 36-34 when the sides met in Gwent last October.

Other fixtures: Bridgend Athletic v Merthyr, Cardiff Met v Bargoed, Glynneath v Llanharan, Narberth v Tondu, Swansea v RGC 1404.