Pontypridd v Newbridge – Matchday Preview

This Saturday 11th October Pontypridd RFC welcome Newbridge RFC to Sardis Road for an Admiral Premiership clash, kick-off will be the usual time of 2:30pm.

This week’s match will be Ponty’s first at Sardis for a month, and just the team’s second overall so far this season when the men from the Welfare Ground come to town. Matches between Ponty and Newbridge go back over many decades, but prior to last season it was nearly 20 years since this week’s visitors played at Sardis Road.

The Valley Commandos did the ‘league double’ over Newbridge during the 2024/25 campaign, however, both encounters were closely fought. On Saturday 28th September 2024 tries from Cai James, Louis Rochefort-Shugar and Kristian Parker earned Ponty a tough 22-0 win. The return fixture on Newbridge’s patch could have gone either way, but Pontypridd showed their resolve to claim a 30 points to 22 win despite being outscored four tries to three on Saturday 25th January earlier this year.

The two clubs then met on St. David’s Day at The Gnoll in the Welsh Cup semi-final where Ponty claimed a hat-trick of season wins against Newbridge with a superb 53-14 victory to book their place in the 2025 Welsh Cup Final.

 

To the here and now, last Saturday Pontypridd travelled to Bargoed Park and came away with a fine 28-11 bonus-point win. The Valley Commandos laid the foundations in a tight first half playing against the elements before showing their class in the second period when all four tries were scored. The win kept Ponty at the top of the standings and actually extended the team’s lead, albeit by just a single point, following Beddau’s win which was achieved without a bonus-point. 

Newbridge have had a tough start to the new season and have also only played three league matches to date. They have lost against Beddau and Merthyr but did claim a 17-16 win at home against Cardiff Met last month.

 

It feels like plenty has happened in rugby terms since Ponty’s last match at Sardis Road, and to be fair there has! Since then there has been league wins, a cup exit and the return of Gavin Dacey to the club following his appointment as our new backs coach – there’s no doubt there’ll be a warm welcome for both the team and Gav as they return to The House Of Pain this weekend, we’ll see you there!

SUPPORTER INFORMATION:

Tickets – Admission on Saturday will be £12 full, £10 concession access-all-areas and under 16’s free if accompanied by a paying adult. You can purchase tickets on the day or to save time (which is recommended to miss the queues) you can use our online e-Ticket system, here’s the link which includes all our different packages – Pontypridd v Newbridge – e-Tickets

Supporter access is via the Clubhouse end of the ground only – the ground and bars will be open from midday onwards.

 

 

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