Carmarthen Quins RFC v Pontypool RFC

Kyan Best believes the team have to take confidence from their second-half performance against Aberavon when they travel to Carmarthen Quins.

Following a poor first 40 minutes against the Wizards, Pooler regrouped at the break and came out firing in the second half, scoring two tries in quick succession.

Pontypool enjoyed large spells of possession and territory as they looked to complete the comeback but the final pass continued to elude them as Aberavon held on for the win.

However, front row Best has urged his teammates to take inspiration from the second half, which they outscored Aberavon 21-6, as they look to respond against the Quins in front of the S4C cameras.

“I think it was a good second half at the weekend against Aberavon,” said Best.

“The boys got a bit of confidence from the second half.

“We have to show what kind of group we are, we are a tight unit, we will have to put a shift in and work for each other.

“We’ve just got to start well, we can’t afford to give any points away this week.

“We’ve got to go out the way we started in the second half against Aberavon.

“Get a couple of tries and points on the board rather than being in at half time thinking how we are going to turn the game around.”

Best has had a stop-start season so far in this campaign due to injuries but has enjoyed testing himself against top-level opposition.

And he is expecting another tough test at The Park against a Quins, who will be full of confidence after securing a hard-fought victory over Bridgend Ravens at the weekend.

“It’s a big step,” admitted Best.

“It’s a lot more physical, the skill and pace of the game is a lot higher but we’ve done well considering we are the new team on the block.

“When you look at our cup runs in the last couple of years we have been challenging the top teams so we expected to do well.

“It was whether we could perform week in, week out at that level, which we have proved we can.

“They are going to be backing themselves.

“It’s a home game for them and we’ve got a long journey so they are going to fancy their chances but we’ve just got to back ourselves.

“We are still fifth in the table, we know on our day we have the ability to beat them.”