Cardiff RFC welcome Llandovery RFC to the Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday afternoon in Super Rygbi Cymru (KO: 2:30pm).
The Blue and Blacks will be looking to build on their success of back-to-back wins over Aberavon and Bridgend Ravens. Whereas for Euros Evans’ side, they will be aiming to gain revenge after losing 52-19 in the pairs last meeting.
It will be the first time since February’s triumph over RGC in the SRC that Dan Fish’s men return to league action at the Cardiff Arms Park. They come into the contest on the back of a hard fought 29-14 victory over Bridgend where the Blue and Blacks crossed the whitewash on five occasions.
Elijah Evans, Matty Young, Joe Goodchild, Jason Harries and Aled Ward all crossed as Cardiff still remain in pole position in the SRC as they head into the penultimate weekend of league action before the playoffs.
Team News:
1. Marc Thomas
2. Alun Rees
3. Tom Harper
4. Mackenzie Martin
5. Sean Moore (c)
6. Aled Ward
7. Nathan Hudd
8. Lucas de la Rua
9. Ethan Lloyd
10. Harri Wilde
11. Dewi Cross
12. Steffan Emanuel
13. Jason Harries
14. Tom Bowen
15. Matty Young
Replacements:
16. Gavin Parry
17. Jared Williams
18. Christian Brooke
19. Ethan Phillips
20. Benji Williams
21. Evan Rees
22. Joe Williams
23. Joe Goodchild
Pre-Match Thoughts:
Speaking ahead of the clash with the Drovers head coach, Dan Fish said: “After a tough couple of days we are looking forward to getting back out on to the Arms Park and representing Cardiff.
“We know what challenge awaits us and are fully focused on being the best version of ourselves. We know the threats Llandovery pose and know we are going to be in a tough battle for 80mins.
“It’s the last home game of the regular season and we are hoping to finish with a bang.”
Remember the last meeting between the pair?
The last time the pair met was at Church Bank back on March 8th, when it saw for the first time since April 2022 Cardiff claiming the spoils as they put aside Llandovery 52-19. Tries from Matty Young, Joe Goodchild and Joe Williams were accompanied by Dewi Cross and Osian Darwin-Lewis, who scored a brace as the Blue and Blacks secured an impressive victory on the road.
Head-to-Head
The first meeting between the pair took place back in 1990 where it finished 52-13 as Cardiff crossed the whitewash ten times. However the two sides wouldn’t lock horns again until Tuesday January 12th 1999, but this time around it was the first time the Blue and Blacks had travelled to Church Bank to play Llandovery.
After that meeting both sides then went head-to-head on a more consistent basis from the 2003-04 season onwards. This has led to a grand total of 47 meetings with Cardiff winning 22 times and there is just one draw which was back in 2018 where the game finished 32-32.
For those unable to make it to the Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday can stay updated via social media channels (X, Facebook, Instagram).