By Rob Cole
Morgan Stoddart will get his first taste of action as the new head coach at Cross Keys when they Gwent side host Championship outfit Bedlinog at Pandy Park in the second round of the WRU National Cup this weekend.
Keys put in a mighty performance to topple last season’s runners-up Pontypridd at home in the opening round in a game that provided Greg Woods with the perfect send-off after eight years in charge. He has now headed to Ebbw Vale, who travel to Bridgend having seen off the cup holders RGC 1404 in the opening round.
Former Scarlets and Wales full back Stoddart has recruited Ian Evans, the ex-Ospreys, Wales and British & Irish Lions lock, as his forwards coach from Treorchy and will have Aled James acting as backs coach.
The football cameras will be at Rodney Parade hoping to catch an FA Cup upset when Newport County welcome Premier League giants Tottenham for a fourth round tie, while S4C will be at Pontypool Park for the meeting between the Championship leaders and Carmarthen Quins.
Last season Pooler went to Parc Y Scarlets and Cardiff Arms Park and beat both Llanelli and Cardiff before finally going down to Cross Keys on a quagmire pitch at Pandy Park in the quarter-finals. Prior to that the Gwent side had lost their opening game in the previous five seasons.
Pontypool comfortably beat Tata Steel 55-14 at home in the first round this season, while Carmarthen Quins, currently in fifth in the Principality Premiership, received a bye. The two clubs have met once before in the cup, on 3 December, 2005, when the Quins won 28-14 at Carmarthen Park.
The only other Championship side to have a home draw is Beddau, who host Bedwas, while Rhydyfelin travel to another Premiership club, Bargoed. The rest of the matches are all-Premiership affairs.
Cardiff will be hoping to repeat their home win over reigning Premiership champions Merthyr when they host them at the Arms Park. It is 1-1 between the two clubs to date this season, with the cup game preceding their final league fixture in the Welsh capital on 9 February.
The cup tie will be the first game at the Arms Park for the Blue & Blacks since 1 December following three away games and the break for the British & Irish Cup break. International demands at Sevens and Under 20 levels, allied to the Blues Anglo-Welsh Cup campaign, mean the home side will be missing a number of players.
“It is going to be a really tough challenge against a side who are sitting at the top of the Premiership table. But it is a game we are very much looking forward to, especially as it has been three weeks since our last game,” said Cardiff head coach Steve Law.
Having beaten Llanelli twice in the Premiership West competition already this season, 2016 cup winners Llandovery will start as firm favourites to reach the next round when they welcome their Scarlets regional rivals to Church Bank.
Newport will host Aberavon at Rodney Parade on Sunday, in the wake of Newport County’s FA Cup fourth round clash with Tottenham, and will be without centre Chay Smith, who is away on Wales Sevens duty. The Wizards comfortably beat Skewen 71-3 in the first round, but were beaten 11-10 the last time the two sides met in the cup three years ago. Geraint O’Driscoll kept his nerve to kick the winning penalty for the Black & Ambers on that occasion and he figures at centre.
WRU NATIONAL CUP ROUND 2
Saturday, 27 January
Bargoed v Rhydyfelin
Beddau v Bedwas
Bridgend v Ebbw Vale
Cardiff v Merthyr
Cross Keys v Bedlinog
Llandovery v Llanelli
Sunday, 28 January
Newport v Aberavon
