REES HOPING TO GO ONE BETTER WITH DROVERS
IESTYN Rees tasted semi-final rugby with the Scarlets in the EPCR Challenge Cup final at the end of last month and ended up on the wrong side of the scoreline. Now the 23-year-old former Wales U20 cap is hoping to make up for the defeat to Glasgow Warriors by helping Llandovery reach the play-off final of the Indigo Premiership.
The Drovers finished second in the league campaign to earn the right to host third placed Merthyr at Church Bank today (kick-off 5.15pm).
Rees is picked at No 8 and will have another Scarlets player from this season, Griff Evans, ahead of him in the second row.
Drovers head coach Euros Evans has also been able to inlcude Harri Doel in his back line after the exWorcester Warriors players made a couple of appearances for Ospreys
“All we need now is for the weather to hold and it has all the makings of a great game. It is 1-1 between us and Merthyr this season and it is almost impossible tro call how either semifinal is going to go,” said Evans.
A fast track is certainly going to boost the home side’s chances of reaching a first Premiership final against either Cardiff or Newport – two teams they have already beaten this season.
“The club has been to two WRU Challenge Cup finals and won them both (2007, 2016) and I was fortunate enough to play in one of them.
“They were great days, but winning the Premiership would be an even bigger achievement,” added Evans.
“It has been a really competitive and exciting season and there were three teams who could have taken top spot going into the last round of matches.
“Merthyr beat us at Church Bank when they came last, so we know we’ve got to be at our best to get the result we want.”
Evans is also hoping that the old adage that a bad dress rehearsal means everything will be alright on the night applies to his team this weekend.
A week ago they went to Rodney Parade and were beaten 52-33 by Newport despite scoring five tries.
Merthyr also fell at the final hurdle, going down to Cardiff at the Arms Park, but head coach Rowland Phillips isn’t ready to change much ahead of the semi-final.
Phillips won four league titles when he was in charge at Neath and is pleased to have influential outside half Gareth Thompson fully fit again, although his side will be without three key forwards, in props Rhys and Callum Lewis, as well as back row man Paddy McBride.
“We had a slow start to the season before we built some momentum in the middle of the season. That sluggish start included a 36-12 home defeat to Llandovery before we went there and won 26-16,” said Phillips.
“It was a big achievement for us to reach the play-offs and it will be another big achievement if we can make the final.”
LLANDOVERY: Jack Maynard, Harri Doel, Adam Warren, Rhodri Jones, Aaron Warren; Ioan Hughes, Lee
Rees; Jamie Hughes, Craig Thomas,
Berian Watkins, Jack Jones (captain), Griff Evans, Osian Davies, Stuart Worrall, Iestyn Rees
REPS: Ricky Guest, Dino Dallavalle, Llyr Green, Lloyd Pike, Jordan Evans, Rhodri Wall, Kris Jones, Dafydd Land MERTHYR: Ben Jones; Terri Gee, Morgan Sieniawski, Josh Lewis, Dafydd Thomas; Gareth Thompson, James Soanes; Louis Jones, Rhys Williams, Dave Whiting, Craig Locke (captain), Callum Bradbury, Jack Perkins, Osian Davies, Tom Daley REPS: Dan Wall, Ross Jones, Jordan Rogers, Lloyd Ashley, Phil Rees, Tavis Knoyle, Morgan Meaclem, Rhys Davies