The Drovers went all the way last season by beating Ebbw Vale in the final on home soil and they now face another Gwent hurdle as they bid for back-to-back finals.
“It’s the first game of real jeopardy for us this season and we have to be aware of what’s at stake.
We won the cup last year and we want to hold onto it,” said Llandovery head coach Euros Evans.
“At this stage of the competition things change and your get the best of teams facing you. Pontypool have used the cup to gather momentum in their season and they are going to present us with a big challenge.
“We’ve only got one drop down from the Scarlets in Tiaan Sparrow, so we will be relying on the core of our tried and trusted squad. There are only two titles to win in the season and this is the first of them.”
Llandovery qualified for the final after hitting back from 14-0 at the Arms Park to beat Cardiff 31-19 and squeeze past RGC into the top four. That will have given them a huge boost and if they can bring similar firepower up front then an upset could be on the cards.
The other semi-final is an all-Gwent affair at Rodney Parade on Sunday – and a repeat of last season’s SRC Grand Final between Newport and Ebbw Vale. The Black & Ambers were the first of only two teams to beat the Steelmen in the league this season and that came on home soil.
As Newport head coach Ty Morris admitted in the build up “we are very difficult to beat at home.”
That has certainly been the case for the last few seasons with Ebbw Vale at Eugene Cross Park and both defeats, to Newport and Cardiff, have come on the road this winter.
Ebbw’s game against Llandovery in their final pool outing last weekend fell foul of the weather, so Jason Strange’s side haven’t played since 14 February. It is a similar story with Newport, who are unbeaten in their last eight league and cup matches, yet haven’t played for two weeks.
There are also Plate semi finals with RGC hosting Bridgend and Swansea welcoming Carmarthen Quins on Saturday.
