Drovers turn attention to clash with local rivals

LLANDOVERY’S trip to take on Ebbw Vale at Eugene Cross Park had to be called off after some of the Steelmen players were feared to have contracted Covid, writes Huw S Thomas.

The Gwent club issued a statement on Friday to explain their decision to postpone the Indigo Premiership game.

“Due to a mix of people across the club displaying symptoms of Covid positive cases at the Wales U20s training camp, the club have taken medical advice and have reluctantly taken the decision to postpone tomorrow’s fixture against Llandovery,” it read.

There was general disappointment in the Llandovery camp as the Drovers have been in terrific form of late, the most recent victory a 32-3 defeat of RGC.

That win over the North Walians was the first game in the 2021-22 league campaign and it followed a Premiership Cup campaign which saw them win nine of their 10 games in the West Conference.

The Tywi Valley men are due to meet either RGC or Pontypridd at Church Bank in the quarter-finals on January 22.

The Drovers now face local rivals Carmarthen Quins on Sunday, December 26, with a 1pm kick-off.

Llandovery did the double over the Quins in the West Conference, but coach Euros Evans will remind his troops that the Quins won a pre-season friendly at Church Bank 35-14.

There will be at least half a dozen former Drovers in the Quins line-up, including scrumhalf Rhodri Davies, who was one of the Llandovery try-scorers in the Welsh Cup final win over the Quins in 2016.

A great source of encouragement for the Drovers is the number of newcomers who have made very promising starts to their time at the club.

Wings Ashley Evans and Callum Williams and back-rowers Lloyd Pike, Jordan Evans, Griff Evans and Iwan Davies have strengthened the all-round quality of the squad.

Lock Osian Davies is improving by the game, while the return of full-back Will Thomas has added to the potency of the back division.

The likes of the ever-reliable trio of scrum-half Lee Rees, centre Rhodri Jones and wing Aaron Warren are playing some fine rugby, while such has been the form of Kristian Jones at fly-half that the departure of Jack Maynard to Cardiff has largely gone unnoticed.

Warren is top of the try-scoring chart with eight, with Kristian Jones the leading points-scorer with 69.