Neath open their British & Irish Cup campaign with a trip to Bristol on Sunday (kick off 3.00pm).
Following their 33-33 draw at Swansea last week, Neath make five changes. Only one of those is behind the scrum where Jamie Davies comes in on the wing while up front there is a fresh front row of Owain Ford, Andy Littlehales and Tom Price. Flanker Adam Whitney returns to the back row while the young replacements’ bench will pick up valuable experience.
Neath’s selection is still hampered by injuries but coach Patrick Horgan, now working minus the assistance of Richard Webster who stepped down earlier this week, is looking for those coming in to make a statement and stake a claim for future selection.
Patrick Horgan said, “As we again showed at Swansea last week, our squad is made up of strong characters who all play for each other especially when the chips are down.
“Had it not been for a strange flurry of yellow cards yhat reduced us to 12 men when we were leading by 19 points, I am certain that we would have gone on to win comfortably against what was a very strong Swansea side that contained 11 full-time Osprey players.
“Bristol and Munster are, of course, all full-time so only our best will do. We have taken a lot of encouragement from the British & Irish Cup in the past and have produced some outstanding displays at places like Nottingham, Heriot’s and Ulster. We hope that this year’s campaign will kick us on again.”
Neath v Bristol (Away)
A.Jenkins; K.James, A.Bramwell, G.McCarthy, J.Davies; D.Langdon, C.Morgans; O.Ford, A.Littlehales, T.Price; E.Evans, A.Powell; G.Gravell (captain), L.Evans, A.Whitney
Replacements – N.Downs, R.Clancy, J.Reeves, T.Herdman, L.Ward, C.Clement, T.Barry
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