Pontypool RFC v Cardiff RFC

On Saturday, it will have been 280 days and 19 games since Mathew Powell last took to the field for Pontypool.

After a gruelling rehabilitation, the winger is back and will don the famous red, white and black jersey once again as he prepares for a return to action.

But this won’t just be his 23rd appearance for the club, it will be a lot bigger than that.

This will fulfil a dream of representing his hometown club at the highest level in front of a packed-out Pontypool Park to face a former club after more than 9 months out injured.

The fact he has been made to wait so long has only fuelled his appetite and the first whistle cannot come quick enough for the tricky wide man.

“I tried to play in the Newport game and we fell out with the physios,” joked Powell.

“I tried to play Aberavon and we fell out again.

“I thought I could play against Carmarthen Quins so then we fell out again.

“I wasn’t going to risk playing Pontypridd on the 4G but if that was at home we probably would have fallen out again.

“We’re friends for now, I think they’ve had enough of me in the physio room but it’s all worth it now.

“In the few weeks we’ve had off, I’ve done some live sessions and tested my knee a bit.

“I’ve done what I needed to do, I feel confident with it and I’m just excited to get out there now.

“Being a local boy at this club I’ve had loads of messages, which has spurred me on a bit.

“Being at home for my first game back is awesome and we are playing against Cardiff, one of my old clubs.

“But the main thing is that I’ll be playing in a Premiership game for my hometown team at Pontypool Park, it will be emotional for me and one of my greatest achievements so far.”

Powell is hoping to play a part at the business end of the season and is confident the team can turn the form around and cement a place in the play-offs.

Today’s opponents occupy fourth place in the table and sit 12 points ahead of Pooler having played a game more.

“At the start of the season I think we shocked a lot of people,” he said.

“The boys were awesome. I think a couple of niggles and injuries came in and we picked up a couple of losses but the break we’ve had has been good.

“We’ve done a lot of analysis and changed our game plan a little bit.

“We are looking to throw the ball wide, which we haven’t done in the last few weeks.

“We’ve reflected on recent results and I think you’ll see a different team come out.

“The display against Pontypridd was something we worked on and I think we played a lot better so hopefully with another two weeks we have had off we should be more polished.”