NIGEL Davies knew a thing or two about getting to Swalec Cup finals when he was a player, and he would love to take his tally into double figures as a coach with Ebbw Vale.

The former Wales centre reached the final a record nine times with Llanelli, picking up six winner’s medals along the way, including one in 1998 when the Scarlets beat Ebbw at Ashton Gate in Bristol.

Saturday sees Davies’ side host Llandovery in the quarter-finals of this season’s competition, with Pontypridd waiting for the victors in the last four.

For the Steelmen, this weekend’s tie is their third match in the space of eight days following a 14-12 defeat of Carmarthen Quins and 26-14 Gwent derby loss to Cross Keys.

Despite Tuesday night’s excursions against Keys, when Ebbw saw their 10-match winning run come to an abrupt end, Davies insists the Principality Premiership leaders are still “pretty fresh” going into the showdown with the Drovers.

Davies feels Ebbw deserved more at Pandy Park and believes that if they had taken their chances in the final third then they would have come away with the spoils – something he will be keen to see put right at Eugene Cross Park on Saturday (2.30pm).

Reflecting on the Keys reverse and looking forward to the Llandovery encounter, Davies said: “We’re probably not in as much control of our own destiny in the league now as we’d like to be.

“We gave away two very soft tries in the first half, though in fairness Cross Keys did take them well.

“For the majority of the rest of the game we had them under a lot of pressure but were unable to take advantage of the half-chances we created.

“We were disappointed but the boys put in a big performance, particularly on the back of a three-day turnaround.

“We were a bit frustrated with a couple of key calls but that’s the way it goes, sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t.

“More importantly, from our point of view, we probably had enough opportunities to win the game but just couldn’t capitalise on them.

“We put in a performance that probably deserved to win the game.”

He added: “I’ve got some really fond memories of the cup and I’d love to make it final number 10 with Ebbw Vale.

“We’ve had a couple of tough matches against Llandovery and we know what a quality outfit they are.

“They probably play the most expansive rugby in the league and it will be a big challenge for us.

“In terms of priorities, the league and cup are equal, and we’ve tried to rotate the squad as best we can.”