Ystrad Rhondda RFC v Pontypool RFC

Leighton Jones wants to mark a special day for the local community with a landmark victory in the WRU Championship Cup final at the Principality Stadium on Sunday.

Pontypool will be playing at the home of Welsh rugby for the first time in their history and Jones is hoping to make it a day that lives long in the memory.

Ystrad Rhondda are the team that Jones and the players must overcome if they are to land the first piece of silverware of the season and the head coach understands it will be anything but straight-forward.

The two locked horns at Pontypool Park back in October and only a late penalty try saw Pooler snatch a bonus-point victory that day.

Ystrad currently sit fourth in the table and will be looking for a hat-trick of Gwent scalps after seeing off both Bedwas and Cross Keys on their way to the final.

“I don’t think many people have given Ystrad Rhondda the respect they deserve,” insisted Jones.

“We certainly do. When they came to the Park they were definitely the better team, we were very lucky that day to come away with a win because we didn’t deserve it, they outplayed us.

“I think they have changed their style of play, their coaches have obviously done a great job over there.

“They play some nice rugby and, for me, there is no surprise they are in the top four and that is massive credit to their squad and coaches.

“If we are going to play a team that has as much togetherness as we’ve got it is Ystrad Rhondda, you can see that they are a very close-knit bunch and they do work hard for each other on the field.

“We know for a fact if we are not at our best then we’re not going to be in with a shout.”

Pooler have had a difficult cup run themselves but Jones believes it has only benefitted the squad.

“We’ve had some memorable days in the cup competitions but never managed to get to the final,” he said.

“Speaking to the people in the community and some of their most memorable times over the past 10 years have been these cup runs we have had.

“This year we were down to Narberth, which was tough, then we were at Bargoed and there was a healthy crowd there and then we played Neath at Ebbw Vale and there was another big crowd.

“I don’t think we could have [had a harder run].

“Narberth is always a difficult place [to go].

“Then you look at the league table and we’ve played second and third so we’ve done it the hard way but these boys wouldn’t have wanted to do it any other way.

“All three games we were under pressure, we were down and we came back.

“We’ve built some mental strength and resilience because of that so I don’t think it could have worked out better personally.

“At the start of the season the league was our bread and butter and it’s something we really wanted to achieve. The players wanted to gain promotion to the Premiership.

“When the cup run came, we spoke as a group and identified that this was something we wanted to give to our supporters and families.

“Cardiff in a final is special so this is a present from the players to the fans and families to have that day in Cardiff all together and hopefully we can do them proud on the day.

“It’s definitely something we are proud of, to be in the final. It’s definitely something we look forward to.”

With only 23 spaces available in the matchday squad, Jones admits it has been tough to pick the team and leave some players out.

However, he is confident that the togetherness that has got the team this far will be as strong as ever on Sunday.

“That’s the cruel part of sport,” he admitted.

“We have a squad and I’ve spoken about it time and time again that it’s a very competitive squad, there is no difference between any of the players we have.

“The squad will be massively important on the day and obviously there will be a few boys who will miss out on that squad.

“I think the way the boys are there will be that initial disappointment but there will also be that backing of the squad who goes on that field because the boys have created that environment here and it is a special environment to be in.”