Cross Keys head coach Greg Woods has promised there will be a warm welcome for former Pandy Park favourite Rob Nash when he returns to his old stamping ground at the head of an unbeaten Pontypool side for the WRU National Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
Nash was captain of the Keys side that made history in 2012 by winning the Cup for the first time, with current Pontypool scrum half Rhys Dyer alongside him. He also picked up the Man of the Match award.
A week after losing to Munster A in the British & Irish Cup final in Cork, Keys marched on the Millennium Stadium and beat reigning champions Pontypridd 32-19. Now he will have to inspire another giant-killing act to reach the last four.
Runaway Championship leaders Pontypool are unbeaten in 19 games this season and have already dumped Premiership sides Llanelli and Cardiff out of the Cup with stunning away performances. Nash was one of the try scorers in the 43-32 triumph over the Blue & Blacks at the Arms Park in Round 2.
“Pontypool have done brilliantly this season and they’ve beaten Premiership sides to get to this stage. We know all about them, that they’ve got a very physical pack and that we’ll have to match them there,” said Woods.
“We’re confident we can do that. We understand the challenge they will pose us and you only have to look at their win over Cardiff to see how dangerous they are.
“But we’ve got a great record in the cup and it is always a priority for us at when we approach the start of the season. We’ve been lucky to go to Principality Stadium for the final a few times in the last couple of years.
“They are big days at the end of the campaign and they’re the ones you want to be involved in as a Premiership club. That’s the target again for us, but we know we’ve got a tough task to get there, starting with a huge Gwent derby this weekend.
“It will be an interesting game because they have a number of our former players in their side. Rob Nash, who was my captain when we beat Pontypridd in the final in 2012.
“Now he is with Pontypool and he’s a fantastic player. He might be a close friend of mine, but we’ll have to wait until after the game to have a chat.”
A Championship team has never made it to the final and Pontypool are going to have to do it the hard way this season if they are to stay on track with their quarter-final being their third successive away game. They may lead the series of matches against Keys with 117 wins and 23 draws to 53 defeats in 193 clashes, but they haven’t triumphed over their Gwent rivals since 2011.
The home side are currently on a run of six successive victories in all tournaments, including their cup wins over Glynneath (49-3) and Neath (29-10). Both of those wins came at Pandy Park.
