Bargoed RFC v Pontypool RFC

It’s a short trip to Bargoed Park for a mammoth game in the WRU Championship Cup tomorrow afternoon with a place in the semi-finals at stake.

Originally scheduled for last weekend, a frozen pitch meant the game had to be moved to this weekend but the appetite for victory has not been lost in that time.

Pooler have a perfect record this season so far and outside-half Matthew Jarvis wants that run to continue.

“We’re fully aware of how tough a place it is to go, they are a good side and well-coached with some good individual players,” said Jarvis, who won the WRU National Cup in 2018.

“It’s going to be a lot different to the league game with the weather, the pitch and they are going to be flying out the blocks so it’s going to be a tough day on Saturday against them.

“But it’s about ourselves, we’re looking forward to it.

“It’s a big cup game and you can’t ask for a bigger game than Bargoed away and it’s an opportunity for us to build momentum.

“We’ve had a good week of training; we know what we are coming up against.

“It’s a big game in the cup and it’s a one-off game, if we lose, we are out.

“We all know what the light is at the end of the tunnel, we know what’s at stake.”

It has been confirmed that the top two in the WRU Admiral National Championship will gain promotion to the Indigo Premiership and while Pooler boasts a perfect record this season Jarvis insists the club is treating the cup just as seriously as any league game.

“We view every game as important whether that is in the league or the cup,” stated Jarvis.

“As a squad we want to win every game against every opposition and the cup is no different.

“We’re approaching this game to win. We’ve got a strong squad and there is a lot of competition.

“It’s going to be a tough game against Bargoed but, personally, I want to play every week regardless of who we are playing.”

It could prove to be a memorable day for Jarvis on a personal note as he is just one conversion shy of reaching triple figure in two-pointers.

“It’d be great to get it over the line but I’m not one to really look at that right now,” added Jarvis, who has 254 points in 21 games for Pooler.

“It’s about playing well as a team and winning.

“That kind of stuff is probably for the future but it’s not really on my mind right now.”