At last. At last. We are back into serious action as Llanelli RFC, who I still call ‘The Scarlets’, are here to begin what was once called The Welsh Cup.
I believe that it would be the 50th season of such Cup rugby, though it is very hard to be sure of that fact, what with the pandemic, etc.
Personally, I will be glad to see such good rugby men as coach Paul Fisher and Anthony Buchanan.
I don’t know what the role of ‘Buks’ will be, but Llanelli are lucky to have this pair and most probably we will see Gareth Jenkins here as well.
A huge amount of players have turned out for both of the clubs and of course, the splendid Aberavon fly half Aled Thomas is one of those.
No doubt we will see the accent on Academy players in the Llanelli ranks, which means that they will be a fast, fit side and we should see a feast of running rugby.
I have made it clear that I don’t like big scores, as in Basketball, and that I do like real rugby and hopefully that is how it will be this afternoon.
Today’s referee is Gareth Newman, who did his level best to keep our friendly with Ebbw Vale moving, while applying the new laws. It was no easy job, but he came out with it well. I wish him a good match.
There will no doubt be debutants appearing for both sides, but two Aberavon players who will not be on the pitch are wing Jay Baker and skipper Joe Tomalin-Reeves. We wish both well on the road to recovery from their injuries.
Also missing from the backroom team is John Nightingale, who has stepped down after giving many years of good service. Thanks John.
Now, let the serious business begin.