Llandovery RFC v Pontypool RFC

Joel Mahoney says the confidence has been building from the very first week as they prepare to face champions Llandovery in west Wales.

Pooler come into the game on the back of a morale-boosting Gwent derby victory over Ebbw Vale that saw their winning run in the league extend to seven matches.

Pontypool haven’t tasted defeat in the Indigo Premiership since the opening weekend of the season but Mahoney insists the players still took plenty of positives from that game that has helped them in the following weeks.

“I can’t fault it, we’ve won seven on the bounce,” said centre Mahoney.

“Newport away could have gone either way but from that game we took a lot of learnings and brought that into the next seven weeks.

“Coming off that pitch we felt really confident and that was a game we could have won.

“From that first week the confidence grew and every week we’ve built on it and we believe we can beat anyone.

“We have kept the core squad together for the last few years, we only signed a few players.

“This group has been together for years and we all know what we are about.”

Mahoney has taken the change of competition in his stride as he has bagged four tries, including a superb score against Ebbw Vale, in eight appearances – the club’s top scorer so far this season.

He will be looking to add to that tally when they put their title credentials to the test at Church Bank.

“I’m just enjoying taking the chances, the work is all done for me,” he explained.

“It’s been really good and I’m really enjoying it.

“The pace is a lot quicker, everyone is a lot more skilful and if you make a mistake more often that not you will get punished.

“It’s going to be a tough game and it’s a long drive down there.

“It’s a game we look forward to, we want to play in these sort of games.

“We prefer these to the 50 or 60-point wins.

“Llandovery are a very good team but it is a challenge we are looking forward to.”