PONTYPOOL aim to provide the biggest tribute to the work of absent boss Leighton Jones by stunning high-flying Carmarthen Quins in the WRU National Cup quarter-finals this evening (kick-off 5.15pm).
Pooler entertain the Quins without their inspirational head coach, who was admitted to hospital on Tuesday.
The 41-year-old former hooker, son of the legendary Steve 'Junna' Jones, is in a stable condition and is expected to remain over the coming days.
The players were told at training on Thursday night that they will be without Jones while he recovers with the reins being held by backs coach Tom Hancock, defence coach Andrew Quick and head of performance Rhys Dyer.
Pooler, who have put themselves in prime position for promotion with 15 Championship wins from 15, now attempt to provide their boss with some cheer by claiming another Premiership scalp in the cup.
In recent years Jones' men have beaten Llanelli, Cardiff, Cross Keys, Bridgend, Swansea and the Quins, who they beat 23-8 at the Park two years ago.
"It was a big shock to hear about Leighton," said captain Scott Matthews. "Now it's important that we try to stay focused and the other coaches have stepped up.
"As senior players we had a chat about making sure the standards don't drop and the biggest way to compliment Leighton is to make it business as usual, win it for him and give him a bit of a lift.
"He has set us up so that there are lots of people driving standards and he wouldn't want anything to change. We can't have any excuses."
Flanker Matthews and his fellow forwards will have to be on their game against a powerful Quins side that demolished Newport at Rodney Parade in round one with their impressive driving lineout.
The west Walians are second in the Premiership and chasing the double thanks to last weekend's superb 29-7 win against leaders Cardiff.
"They have built a very good squad with some old heads like Haydn Pugh, who is a quality player and has been a real servant to Carmarthen," said Matthews, a member of the Cross Keys side that lost at Principality Stadium in 2014.
"They are a hard team to beat, they are confrontational and have big threats throughout the team. They are very good at what they do and their half-backs put them in good positions.
"Our discipline needs to be good to stop them building into their game, but we had a big learning curve in the league game against Bargoed.
"We need to play the way that we want to rather than going into our shells. It's corny but we have to express ourselves – you have to play (expansively) to beat Carmarthen.
"It's at the Park, so anything can happen. We are the underdogs for a change, there is no pressure on us and we will enjoy it."
The coaches make two changes to the team that hammered Neath at the Gnoll last weekend.
Aaron Quick comes in for scrum-half Owain Leonard and Adam Stratton, a hit since making the move from Pontypool United last summer, gets the nod ahead of Mike Herbert in the back row.
Pontypool: G Walsh, L Lewis, P Lewis, K Meek, J Thomas, R Powell, A Quick, A Coundley, D Hughes, C Price, C Gregory, R Clarke, S Matthews (captain), A Stratton, I Jones. Replacements: S Cochrane, L Ball, S Evans, B Sparks, M Herbert, O Leonard, L Barnett, A Nove.
- The other remaining Championship side in the cup, Neath, face a tough tie at Premiership champions Merthyr.
Holders Cardiff head to Llanelli while Aberavon entertain Llandovery.
Cup quarter-finals: Aberavon v Llandovery, Llanelli v Cardiff, Merthyr v Neath, Pontypool v Carmarthen Quins
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