Ystrad are bang on form ahead of a showdown with rivals Treorchy

YSTRAD RHONDDA are sitting pretty at the top of One East Central after recording a five-star 32-5 victory over Heol y Cyw ahead of this weekend’s crunch clash with rivals Treorchy at Geligaled Park.

Chris Clayton bagged himself a trydouble with Ryan Howells, Gerwyn Davies and Adam Lewis also crossing the whitewash in a five-star performance while Corey Shephard added two conversions a penalty.

The result took Ystrad four points above Glamorgan Wanderers at the top of the table in what was the only Division One match to be played at the weekend – with the focus instead turning to the National Plate and Bowl competitions.

Ystrad, Plate winners back in 2015, were already safely through to round three having been handed a walkover against Dolgellau.

They have played the same number of league matches as the Wanderers and also have a four-point advantage over Treorchy – last season’s One East Central winners – ahead of this weekend’s clash.

With six wins out of seven, the only blot on Ystrad’s copybook so far was a surprising 32-30 defeat at bottom side Rumney, as they look to end a run of five runners-up league finishes in a row with the title this term.

On their start, club secretary Alan Sinclair said: “We’re feeling pretty positive; there was just that one glitch against Rumney, which can happen from time to time, and the boys are looking forward to playing Treorchy on Saturday.

“The biggest thing that let us down last year was our lack of bonus points, whereas Treorchy were picking up bonus points virtually every game.

“So we said we needed to be looking at five points virtually every game which, when you look at it, we have done.

“The Rhiwbina game (16-14) is the only one where we didn’t pick up a bonus point win and we got a losing bonus point at Rumney despite losing

“We’ve got a bigger squad this year, a bit more depth and a lot of very good youngsters as part of that squad.”

On who has stood out on the field, Sinclair picked out a certain centre.

“I’d probably have to say the old campaigner Ryan Howells,” he said.

“He’s such a quality player and, in his mid-thirties, is the elder statesman,s with a vast amount of experience.”

The club will also have a keen eye on this week’s National Plate third round draw and will be hoping for a third successive home tie having already seen off Llanishen before getting the walkover against Dolgellau.

“As a club we’d love to get back to the Principality Stadium,” added Sinclair. “What we are pleased about this year is that they’ve incorporated the whole of Wales earlier than they have in previous years, which makes it a bit more a true competition.”