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Cardiff RFC will aim to get their first away win against Aberavon in over six years as they travel to the Talbot Athletic Ground

The Blue and Blacks travel to the Talbot Athletic Ground to face eighth-place Aberavon in the Indigo Premiership as Steve Law’s men aim to increase their chances of a playoff spot this Saturday.

Last time out, The Blue and Blacks put aside Swansea RFC 38-33 in a game that saw 11 tries. The hosts for Saturday’s encounter come into the game on the back of losing 30-16 to Pontypridd at Sardis Road.

The last time Cardiff went head-to-head with The Wizards was at the end of November last year, this saw The Blue and Blacks score 10 tries. Both Joey Tomlinson and Morgan Allen picked up two tries each and Arwel Robson, Dewi Cross, Joe Goodchild, Shaun O’Rourke, Nathan Hudd and Jacob Lloyd all scored as they ran out 64-26 victors.

Cardiff’s last visit to the Talbot Athletic Ground to face The Wizards was back in December 2022, when they lost 30-23. On that day, both Dan Fish and Alex Mann crossed the whitewash for The Blue and Blacks.

The Talbot Athletic Ground has not been the happiest of hunting grounds for The Blue and Blacks as the last time they tasted victory away to Aberavon was back in October 2018. That day, Ben Thomas scored twice; both Mathew Powell and Ioan Davies were also on the scoresheet.

Also, the captain for Saturday’s head-to-head with The Wizards, Morgan Allen, came off the bench and crossed the whitewash, to secure a 39-12 victory.

Players Chat

Cam TylerGrocott joined The Blue and Blacks back at the beginning of the season, where he made his debut in a 19-19 draw at Sardis Road against Pontypridd; later on in the season, the 19-year-old crossed the whitewash for his first try of the season against Neath.

He gave me his thoughts on Saturday’s trip to The Talbot Athletic ground, the win against Swansea Steve Law’s announcement and playoff hopes, Cam stated: “It was great doing the double on Swansea as it is great to get a win against any team.

“Especially when we’re near the end of the season and trying to keep that gap between us and Ponty big to keep our spot in the playoffs.

“The performance as a whole, I felt, was good, especially in attack where we played a good fast game despite not every decision going our way.

“We missed a few opportunities, but as a defence, I felt that we gave Swansea too many easy ins, letting them slip through when we should have managed it better.

“The mood was a lot better than the Carmarthen game being at home. We had a lot more energy and we were ready to go out and play a much quicker game as per the Swansea game plan,” he added.

After the 38-33 win over the All Whites, Cardiff RFC announced that head coach Steve Law will be leaving the club at the end of the season. TylerGrocott said: “For me personally, I have not been with Steve for a huge amount of time as I wasn’t with Cardiff for most of the start of the season, but he always gives great advice.

“He wants the best for each and every player, which helped me in my first few games, giving me more confidence in my own ability.

“I think he will be greatly missed as having been at the club for a good few years, he’s got a lot of experience under his belt,“ he added.

On Saturday’s encounter with The Wizards, the 19-year-old said: “We are always looking forward to any challenge that is ahead of us, especially with a away games never being easy, but I have no doubt in our ability to play some good rugby.

“We are expecting a lot of physicality from Aberavon as well as good set piece, which will be a good challenge for us.

“Aberavon is always a tough fixture with their well-established set piece, and being at their home ground, no doubt that they will turn up on the day to go against us.”

After this, Cardiff will play back-to-back home matches against Carmarthen Quins and Merthyr RFC at the Arms Park, TylerGrocott stated: “These next three games are very important for us as we need to keep the gap to get to the playoffs, giving us another chance to go against teams that we feel may have slipped away from us on the day.

“Also, continue the improvements we are making with the goal of finishing the season on a high.”

On himself and what he wants to achieve before the end of the season, he said: “For my personal goals, they are continuous improvement, making little changes after every game with the goal of each game being better than the last.

“Also having my games more consistent and making a positive impact on the pitch,” he concluded.

Team News

Steve Law makes a handful of changes and switches after the Swansea win with Morgan Allen remaining as captain.

After a standout performance in the U20 Six Nations, Lucas de la Rua makes his first return in a Blue and Black shirt since facing RGC at the back end of last year and goes on the open-side.

Ethan Phillips drops onto the bench as Craig Hudd switches from the blind-slide to join Sean Moore in the second row.

Within the backline Tom Habberfield replaces Joe Williams at scrum-half and he will be joined by Arwel Robson to complete the halfbacks.

Dewi Cross makes a return and replaces Matty Young at fullback. Jason Harries reverts from inside centre to the wing in replacement of Joe Goodchild.

After not being available for the Swansea game, Luke Pollock slots back in at outside centre and Arron Pinches comes back into the starting lineup at 12.

Cardiff RFC Starting Lineup

15. Dewi Cross
14. James Beale
13. Luke Pollock
12. Arron Pinches
11. Jason Harries
10. Arwel Robson
9. Tom Habberfield

1. Cam TylerGrocott
2. Alun Rees
3. Freddie Barnes
4. Sean Moore
5. Craig Hudd
6. Nathan Hudd
7. Lucas De La Rua
8. Morgan Allen

Replacements

16. Luke Pearce
17. Eddie Drake
18. Adam Williams
19. Ethan Phillips
20. Evan Rees
21 Joe Williams
22. Harrison James
23. Kodie Stone

Words By Harry Tovey

The Blue and Blacks make it back-to-back wins in an 11-try thriller against Swansea

Tries from Kodie Stone, Craig Hudd, Morgan Allen, Joe Williams, Harrison James and Sean Moore, accompanied by the trusty boot of Arwel Robson, proved to be the difference under the Thursday night lights as Cardiff put aside the All Whites 38-33 at the Cardiff Arms Park.

It was a quick start to proceedings as 18-year-old Kodie Stone crossed for his fourth of the season after some excellent handling skills that got the ball out wide.

It was later followed by what can only be described as five minutes of pure dominance from the All Whites.

Brandon Wood was the first to cross over the whitewash for the visitors and was then involved again two minutes later as the winger drew the last man and offloaded to Harri Houston to touchdown under the posts.

Cai Davies concluded the five minutes of non-stop pressure on The Blue and Blacks as he crossed for Swansea’s third. Rhys Jones successfully added the extras, meaning the visitors were 14 points clear.

On the stroke of half-time, Nathan Hudd crossed over for his second try of the season and with a successful kick from Arwel Robson, the deficit narrowed to just seven points.

HT: Cardiff 12-19 Swansea

Cardiff started the second half like they ended the first, as they carried on applying pressure on the visitor’s defence. Soon after, Morgan Allen was the next man to score for The Blue and Blacks as he powered his way over the try line.

Just like the first half with Swansea’s trio of tries on the bounce, Allen’s try began an onslaught of pressure, which turned into more points. Joe Goodchild broke through the visitor’s defence and then offloaded to Harrison James, who dummied the last man and crossed over to secure the hosts a bonus point.

Going into the final quarter, Cardiff searched for their fifth of the evening, and after a long pass out wide, Joe Williams collected and crossed over for his fourth of the season.

Five minutes later, replacement Gareth J.Rees broke through the host’s defence to cross the whitewash and secured a try bonus point for the visitors. Jacob Symes added the extras to bring proceedings to within five points going into the final 10 minutes.

However, after the restart, Sean Moore charged down the clearance kick and extended Cardiff’s lead further after crossing the line. Swansea’s Gareth J.Rees scored again from close range for his second of the match and gained the visitors an extra point for being within seven of the hosts.

It appeared Cardiff would not allow the visitors the extra point as it looked like they scored their seventh of the match after gathering an overthrow at the lineout, but referee Tom Spurrier brought play back as there was a knock-on at the lineout.

Swansea’s search for a first win at the Cardiff Arms Park since 2017 goes on as Arwel Robson brought an enthralling game of rugby to an end as Cardiff do the double on the All Whites.

FT: Cardiff 38-33 Swansea

WWords By Harry Tovey

After three consecutive away games, The Blues and Blacks face Swansea on home soil

After a quick six-day turnaround, Cardiff will aim to increase the gap between themselves and fifth place as they face 10th-place Swansea at the Cardiff Arms Park.

Due to the Wales Women’s Six Nations campaign getting underway on Saturday against Scotland at the Arms Park, this match has been rescheduled to take place two days earlier under the Thursday night lights.

Last time out, The Blue and Blacks returned to winning ways as they put aside a spirited Carmarthen Quins side 28-14 at The Park.

The visitors for Thursday’s clash come into the game on the back of only winning one of their last five matches. The All Whites last win was against the Quins at St Helens, where they edged out a 12-7 victory.

The last time these two met was in mid-November last year, when The Blue and Blacks won 22-12. That day, Joey Tomlinson scored his first try of the season, quickly followed by his second, and Tom Habberfield also crossed the whitewash.

Before that meeting back in November, the last five previous meetings have gone the way of The Blue and Blacks, 29-8, 45-0, 27-20, 17-10 and 24-5.

You have to go back to April 13th 2019, when the All Whites were last victorious over The Blue and Blacks.

The Cardiff Arms Park has not been a happy hunting ground for the All Whites, as the last time they won there was back in February of 2017 when they won 34-33 after a late Jack Wilson conversion.

Players Chat

After winning his club cap last time out against Carmarthen Quins, Craig Hudd gave me his thoughts on the Quins win and also the All Whites, he said: “It was great to get back to winning ways after a couple of tough fixtures against three top teams in Llandovery, Pontypool and Newport.

“We were always expecting a challenging game against a strong Carmarthen side, especially on their home turf, we knew we were going to be in for a battle for 80 minutes.

“I think there was a slight bit of disappointment from the boys that we didn’t convert more of our chances and pick up the bonus point.

“With that being said, it’s a tough place to go, and with us missing a few key players, we knew we just had to get the job done and come away with the win,” he added.

Come Thursday night, it would’ve been 49 days since The Blue and Blacks last played a home game, Hudd said: “We are definitely looking forward to being back at home this week, having played three away games on the bounce, it’s going to be a welcome return to the CAP.

“Swansea are a good side with a lot of threats up front and out wide, we know we are going to be in for a tough test against a good opposition.

“Playing Swansea is always a challenging game, and it was a close game earlier in the season where we managed to win at their place, so we know they will be looking for revenge when they visit on Thursday night.

On the playoffs, Hudd insisted: “The next four games are vital to us.”

“We have had a bit of an up-and-down season, but now we must win these next four and build momentum while hopefully qualifying for the playoffs.

“Where you are only two cup finals away from league winners,” he concluded.

Team News

Head Coach Steve Law makes a handful of changes to his starting XV that faced Carmarthen Quins on Friday night; Arwel Robson returns to the starting XV at 10 as Harrison James relocates to inside centre.

Joe Williams joins Robson in the half-backs as he replaces Tom Habberfield, who went off early at The Park.

Within the forwards, Craig Hudd moves back to the blindside, replacing Evan Rees, who drops onto the bench. Nathan Hudd returns to the side on the openside.

After putting Wales U20s into the lead last Friday against Italy, Kodie Stone returns to the starting XV alongside Matty Young, who also returns after scoring the last try of that encounter with the Azurri. Both replace centurion James Beal and Jacob Lloyd, who drop onto the bench.

Luke Pollock will be unavailable, which means Jason Harries will move to outside centre after an outstanding performance last time out.

How Cardiff RFC lineup:

15 Matty Young

14 Kodie Stone

13 Jason Harries

12 Harrison James

11 Joe Goodchild

10 Arwel Robson

9 Joe Williams

1 Cam TylerGrocott

2 Alun Rees

3 Freddie Barnes

4 Sean Moore

5 Ethan Phillips

6 Craig Hudd

7 Nathan Hudd

8 Morgan Allen (C)

Replacements:

16 Jamie Goldsworthy

17 Eddie Drake

18 Adam Williams

19 Evan Rees

20 Tom Fitzpatrick

21 Tom Habberfield

22 Jacob Lloyd

23 James Beal

Words By Harry Tovey

Cardiff RFC returned to winning ways as they put aside a spirited Quins side 24-18 at The Park as James Beal became a centurion

Two tries from Alun Rees and one from returning Morgan Allen along with on point kicking from Harrison James proved to be the difference under the Friday night lights in Carmarthen.

The Quins did not make it easy for The Blue and Blacks, as two first half tries from Lewys Millin’s and Rhodri Davies and a late penalty conversion from Harri Williams secured the hosts a losing bonus point.

For the first quarter, Cardiff had numerous opportunities within the Quins half but were unable to convert them into points.

The first real attack came from the visitors as they were just a few metres away from the line but were eventually turned over and Harri Williams relieved the pressure off the hosts after a brilliant clearance kick.

On the 18th minute mark Tom Habberfield was taken off injured and was replaced by Joe Williams. Minutes after, The Blue and Blacks opened the scoring after the ball was spread wide for Morgan Allen to cross over for his seventh of the season.

The home side responded accordingly as Lewys Millin’s powered his way through the visitors defence to score the Quins first of the evening.

After referee Rhys Jones awarded The Blue and Blacks a penalty, Cardiff capitalised after successfully gathering at the line-out, Alun Rees was the man to cross the whitewash.

On the stroke of halftime, scrum-half Rhodri Davies took a quick penalty and snuck his way through the visitors defence for the Quins second of the evening.

HT: Carmarthen 12-14 Cardiff

Harrison James scored the first points of the second half as he successfully converted a penalty to extend Cardiff’s lead.

The Blue and Blacks were then penalised at the scrum and flyhalf Harri Williams converted the three and narrowed the scoreboard back to two points going into the final quarter.

However, after yet another driving maul Alun Rees crossed over for his eighth of the season after breaking away from the maul.

It looked like Cardiff secured the bonus point with minutes left on the clock, but referee Jones awarded the hosts a penalty after The Blue and Blacks were penalised for being off their feet on the hosts line.

With the clock in the red, Carmarthen’s stand out performer Harri Williams held his nerve and converted another penalty to secure the hosts a much deserved losing bonus point.

Up next for The Blue and Blacks is another rescheduled fixture as they take on Swansea at the Cardiff Arms Park next Thursday.

FT: Carmarthen 18-24 Cardiff

Words By Harry Tovey

Cardiff RFC travel to West Wales as James Beal becomes a centurion, as a crucial six day period begins at The Park

After a quick turnaround, Steve Law’s men travel to West Wales to face thirteenth place Carmarthen Quins in a rescheduled fixture between the two at Carmarthen Park, before hosting Swansea next Thursday.

The Blue and Blacks were scheduled to travel to the Park at the beginning of December last year but it was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

Cardiff will come into this game on the back of two defeats on the road to Gwent sides Newport and Pontypool. Unlike last week’s third meeting between the Black and Ambers this season, Friday night will be the first time these two will go head-to-head in this year’s Indigo Premiership.

It will be the 36th meeting between the two and Cardiff have won 22 of the 36.

The hosts for tomorrow night come into the game on the back of a strong second-half performance against RGC 1404, where they pulled the game back to within five points after RGC went into a 20-0 lead at halftime.

The Quins were victorious at the Park against Aberavon where they won 56-17 at the beginning of March.

The last time The Blue and Blacks faced Carmarthen at The Park was back in April of last year, when they had to work hard to earn a 23-14 victory.

On that day Alun Rees and Ryan Wilkins both scored with the trusted boot of Harrison James keeping Carmarthen adrift on that occasion.

Carmarthen’s last victory over The Blue and Blacks was back at the start of 2022 when they won 27-25.

Player Chat:

James Beal who joined The Blue and Blacks back in 2016 as a Cardiff Met student will make his 100th appearance tomorrow evening.

He gave me his thoughts before Friday’s encounter with the Quins, he said: “We’ve had a tough last month against quality opposition in Llandovery, Pontypool and Newport but we’ve had glimpses of some really good rugby so it puts us in a good position going ahead for these next remaining matches.

“The mood was obviously disappointing but generally the feel was that we were actually the better side against Newport.

“We just weren’t clinical enough in the important part of the pitch, and a bounce here or there going towards Newport favoured them in the end.

“Steve (Law) said he was proud of our effort and endeavour which is the main thing we have as a non-negotiable when we play,” he added.

On tomorrow night’s opposition, Beal said: “Carmarthen is always a tough place to go, particularly being on a Friday night.

“We’re looking forward to building what we did at Newport but just being that little bit more clinical in the important moments.

“We’re expecting a physical match as we usually have against them.

“Weather dependent it could be a good night for running rugby but you never know playing at the Park.

“A win down there would mean a lot for us. All of these final 5 or 6 games are important so a win would put us back on the track,” he concluded.

Team News:

Steve Law makes a handful of changes to his side that faced Newport last time out with James Beal making his hundredth appearance in a Blue and Black shirt as he switches to the right wing.

There is one change in the front row as Alun Rees comes back in for Joey Tomlinson. In the back-row after making his full debut last time out, Evan Rees moves to blind-side as Morgan Allen returns and captains The Blue and Blacks at eight.

Craig Hudd moves to open-side in replacement of brother Nathan Hudd.

Harrison James makes his first start since the Pontypool match and joins Tom Habberfield to complete the halfbacks.

Joe Goodchild returns to the starting XV and replaces Jason Harries who moves to inside centre in replacement of Arron Pinches.

Jacob Lloyd remains in the starting XV as he starts at fullback, as he replaces Dewi Cross who went off injured last weekend.

Cardiff RFC:

15. Jacob Lloyd

14. James Beal (100th appearance)

13. Luke Pollock

12. Jason Harries

11. Joe Goodchild

10. Harrison James

9. Tom Habberfield

1. Cam TylerGrocott

2. Alun Rees

3. Freddie Barnes

4. Sean Moore

5. Ethan Phillips

6. Evan Rees

7. Craig Hudd

8. Morgan Allen (C)

Replacements:

16. Connah Vaughan

17. Ollie Evans

18. Christian Brooke

19. Tom Fitzpatrick

20. Ioan Pascoe

21. Joe Williams

22. Tom Hughes

23. Ben Roberts

Words By Harry Tovey

Jessica McCaskill will step into the dragons den to defend her World Titles against Lauren Price as big time boxing returns to Wales

In just her seventh outing as a professional Ystrad Mynach’s Lauren Price will challenge American Jessica McCaskill for the IBO, WBO and Ring Magazine Welterweight titles at the Utilita Arena, Cardiff on May 11th.

The Welsh Fighter will be stepping in there with the more experienced McCaskill, who has been Undisputed Champion at Welterweight before and has more World Title fights than Price has pro fights.

This will be Price’s first time returning back to Wales as a professional, before that move to the pro ranks Price claimed Gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.

The American was set to travel to Zagreb, Croatia to fight her WBC mandatory challenger Ivana Habazin on April 20th but has opted against that to step in with Lauren Price and therefore has dropped her WBC belt.

McCaskill has fought the likes of Katie Taylor back in 2017 when she suffered a defeat and in 2022 she suffered another defeat to Chantelle Cameron when she attempted to become a two-weight World Champion.

If successful Lauren Price would become the 14th Welsh World Champion and also the first fighter from the GB Olympic squad from the Tokyo games to win a World Title.

Words By Harry Tovey

Cardiff RFC suffered a 28-14 defeat to Newport in the latest instalment of this historic derby.

Tries from Joshua Skinner and Che Hope and two from Chay Foster-Smith, alongside on-point kicking from Matt O’Brien, saw The Black and Ambers pick up their sixteenth win of the season at Rodney Parade.

Tyron Morris’s men were in complete control going in at half-time 14-0 against a fragmented Cardiff.

However, The Blue and Blacks came close to leaving Rodney Parade with a losing bonus point as tries from Sean Moore and Luke Pollock made the scoreline more respectable for the visitors.

Matt O’Brien got proceedings underway at a very cold Rodney Parade, as the home side started the better and put pressure on Cardiff’s defence.

After four minutes, The Black and Ambers crossed the whitewash first as Jac Lloyd broke through Cardiff’s defence and then offloaded to Chay Foster-Smith, who crossed for his fifth try of the season.

Despite the quick start from the home side, Cardiff tried their best to build momentum with the ball in hand, but Newport’s defence being like a brick wall at times made proceedings difficult for The Blue and Blacks.

Opportunities arose for both sides, but the home side capitalised on it the most. Miscommunication between Jason Harries and Jacob Lloyd meant Joshua Skinner gathered the ball and crossed over for the afternoon’s second try for The Black and Ambers.

Just before half-time, it seemed Cardiff’s fortunes were changing, as they had a lineout five metres from Newport’s line. After successfully gathering at the lineout, a powerful driving maul followed but was stopped abruptly due to Rynard Landman deliberately collapsing the maul.

This resulted in referee, Keith David awarding the former Dragons player a yellow card, which meant Newport finished the first-half with 14 men.

HT: Newport 14-0 Cardiff

With the one man advantage, Cardiff started the second half and searched for their first try of the afternoon, but this was soon halted due to Chay Foster-Smith.

From inside his own 22, the 28-year-old intercepted the ball and nearly scored one of the tries of the season before he offloaded to Che Hope, who crossed for Newport’s third.

Referee Keith David awarded another yellow card; this time around, Arron Pinches was sent off for a deliberate knock-on. With Pinches in the bin just before the 60-minute mark, The Blue and Blacks scored their first try of the afternoon.

This came from Sean Moore, who charged down a clearance kick to score his first of the season. Later in the second half, Jac Lloyd was the next man to score for the home side as he powered his way through the visitor’s defence to claim the bonus point.

The Black and Ambers ended this dominant performance with 14 men, as Elliot Frewen was shown a yellow card for deliberately knocking the ball on.

This boosted Cardiff’s attack as Luke Pollock crossed the whitewash for his sixth try of the season. Despite a valiant effort in the second half, it was heartbreak for Cardiff as Newport claimed the victory.

Cardiff now face an away trip to West Wales to face Carmarthen Quins next Friday evening, where they aim to bounce back from this defeat.

Words By Harry Tovey

Joey Tomlinson returns and captains his side as they face rivals Newport at Rodney Parade

Cardiff RFC will aim to increase the gap between themselves and fifth place as they return to Indigo Premiership action where they travel to Rodney Parade to face second-place Newport.

It will be three weeks on Saturday since The Blue and Blacks last played, whereas the hosts had an away trip to Sardis Road, where they put aside Pontypridd 45-10. On the other hand, Cardiff lost to Pontypool 20-13 last time out.

This will be the third meeting between the two this season and coming into the match on Saturday, it is one win each.

The Black and Ambers won 26-15 the last time these two met. On that occasion both Luke Pollock and Harrison James scored for Cardiff, but tries from Ioan Lloyd, Lloyd Lewis and on-point kicking from Carwyn Penny, meant Newport cruised to victory.

However, in September, The Blue and Blacks recorded a 38-15 bonus point win as they knocked out their old rivals in the Indigo Premiership Cup.

That time around, Morgan Allen, Dewi Cross, Luke Pollock and Alun Rees scored, as they recorded an empathic victory over The Black and Ambers.

The previous five meetings favour The Blue and Blacks, who have won three of the last five. However, the last time Cardiff RFC travelled to Rodney Parade, Newport ran out 36-8 victors.

You have to go back to the 7th of December 2019, when the Blue and Blacks were last victorious at Rodney Parade. That day, James Beal, Evan Yardley, Sam Pailor, and James Thomas scored as Cardiff cruised to a 29-7 bonus-point victory.

Players Chat:

Second-row Sean Moore will be making his 69th appearance in a Blue and Black shirt, and he gave me his thoughts on this weeks encounter.

Moore said: “It’s been alright, we’ve had three weeks between the Pooler and Newport games, so we’ve managed to get some productive sessions leading up to the game against Newport.

“It was a really frustrating game.

“As a whole team, we know we didn’t perform to the standard we expected from ourselves, and we made too many errors, which cost us.

“We were lucky to manage to get the try in the last play to come away with a losing bonus point.

On Saturday’s big game, Moore added: “It’s always a big game when it comes to playing Newport.

“We’ve had a lot of good games over the last 2/3 seasons, and it’s always a big fixture.

“We are looking to write some wrongs from the defeat at the Arms Park earlier this season and hopefully keep pushing to stay in the top four for the playoffs.

“They’re a good, skilful team, and they are going to come to play.

“It will be a physical, high-tempo game, and I know all the boys are looking forward to it.

“After them coming to the Arms Park and beating us earlier in the season, we are looking forward to doing the same at Rodney Parade,” he insisted.

Team News:

Steve Law makes numerous changes to his starting XV, which faced Pontypool last time out. Joey Tomlinson makes his return and will captain the side as he replaces Alun Rees. At tighthead, Freddie Barnes replaces Christian Brooke, who drops to the bench.

Evan Rees makes his full debut as he replaces Morgan Allen at number eight. After winning his club cap against Pontypool, Jacob Lloyd switches with Harrison James, who drops to the bench and will join scrum-half Tom Habberfield in the half-backs.

Jason Harries returns to the starting XV and replaces James Beal, who switches to the left wing. Dewi Cross moves from the wing and replaces Joe Goodchild at fullback, and 23-year-old Jo Hole comes in on the bench.

How the Blue and Blacks line-up

Backs:

15. Dewi Cross

14. Jason Harries

13. Luke Pollock

12. Arron Pinches

11. James Beal

10. Jacob Lloyd

9. Tom Habberfield

Forwards:

1. Cam TylerGrocott

2. Joey Tomlinson (C)

3. Freddie Barnes

4. Sean Moore

5. Ethan Phillips

6. Craig Hudd

7. Nathan Hudd

8. Evan Rees

Replacements:

16. Alun Rees

17. Eddie Drake

18. Christian Brooke

19. Jo Hole

20. Ioan Pascoe

21. Joe Williams

22. Harrison James

23. Kodie Stone

Words By Harry Tovey

Welsh Boxing is back at the Vale Sports Arena with a lineup stacked with local fighters

With the disappointment of the Super Middleweight clash between Ryan Pocock and Ethan George for the vacant Welsh title being cancelled, Port Talbot’s Conor McIntosh (6-1-0) will now headline at the Vale Sports Arena.

After beating Nathan Howells last time out for the Welsh Super Featherweight championship, Conor McIntosh will take on Nicaraguan Brayan Mairena (15-39-1) over six rounds.

Also on the card “The Native”, Moses Jolly (7-0) makes his return to the ring as he takes on Milen Paunov (5-13) in a four round Heavyweight contest.

Image of Moses Jolly courtesy of KO Cymru

In his last four fights the Bulgarian Paunov has gone the distance, whereas Jolly has had back-to-back stoppages.

Opening the night, Light Featherweight Jimmy Gilheaney returns to the Vale Sports Arena for his second pro fight as he takes on former WBA Fedecentro Champion Eliecer Quezada (24-20-3)

The tough Nicaraguan has only been stopped twice since 2019, but in his last fight he dropped Nohman Hussain in the last round whereas Gilheaney in his pro debut dropped his last opponent in the very first round.

Up and coming star Haaris Khan moves from Super Middleweight up to Light Heavyweight as he looks to improve his 1-0 professional record.

The 23-year-old goes toe-to-toe with Poland’s Tomasz Felsz who is also 1-0 after making his debut at the back end of last year.

Tomorrow night will also see the battle of the Davies’s as Caerphilly’s Mark Davies (3-0) looks to extend his undefeated record as he comes up against Steve Davies (0-11) in a four round Super Middleweight contest.

Image of Mark Davies courtesy of Tapology

This will be Steve’s 12th fight in the last 18 months whereas Mark makes his return back to the Vale Sports Arena for the first time since his pro debut.

James Atkins (5-0) fights his fourth fight in the Welsh Capital as he takes on Llanelli’s Stefan Vincent (2-12) in a six round contest. Both fighters have something in common as they have both put aside Naeem Ali who was Atkins’s last opponent.

Aberdare’s Joe Morgan (6-0) makes his return for the first time since February of last year as he takes on Bulgarian Georgi Velichkov (4-20-1).

Velichkov has already fought once in 2024, this came in Sofia where he won via majority decision, the 23-year-old has also fought 14 times since the Welshmen last entered the ring.

After just losing last time out against Brad Stund for the vacant European Super Bantamweight title at the York Hall, Joshua John (8-2) makes his return.

Image of Joshua John courtesy of KO Cymru

The 29-year-old orthodox fighter will take on former WBC Latino Super Flyweight Champion Marvin Solano (24-11) over six rounds. This will also be the Nicaraguan’s first fight in the UK after fighting back-to-back in America.

Tir-y-Berth’s Kyran Jones (8-0) returns back to Wales after fighting at the York Hall last time out as he goes head-to-head with Mike Byles (8-6). Byles makes his in-ring return for the first time since 2017.

Words By Harry Tovey

A Liverpudlian takes on a Welshmen for the British Flyweight Championships in a clash that’s got everything.

Connor Butler (11-0-1) puts his undefeated record on the line as he takes on the vastly more experienced Welshmen Jay Harris (20-3-0), up for grabs will be the British, Commonwealth and European titles. It takes place at the Olympia in Liverpool.

Home favourite Butler will defend both his Commonwealth and European titles and will be fighting in his home city for the tenth time. His last fight was against Matt Windle (7-4-1) and this is where “Top Dog” captured the European title after winning via unanimous decision.

The 26-year-old claimed the Commonwealth title at the Hilton Hotel Portomaso, St Julian’s in Malta where he put aside Craig Derbyshire (8-28-4) to win the title via unanimous decision.

Butler has only been a professional since 2018 whereas his opponent Harris has been a professional for over a decade.

Out of the two it’s Harris who’s been in there with the bigger names. The Welshmen traveled to Frisco, Texas and took on Julio Cesar Martinez for the vacant WBC flyweight title and went the distance.

In his last fight the man from Swansea claimed the British title at the Magna Centre, Rotherham after Tommy Frank’s corner threw the towel in.

If Jay Harris wins tonight, he will be the first Welshman to win two European titles for over 100 years. The last man to do it was Newport’s Johnny Basham who is the only other Welshman to do it.

Earlier in the week this huge Anglo-Welsh clash was not being televised on a mainstream channel, but was later bought by broadcaster DAZN and will now be streamed Worldwide instead of being a small hall event where only a few hundred people can watch.

Writers Thoughts:

This is definitely a step up for the man from Liverpool as Harris has been to the very top of the sport and fought for a world title, whereas Butler has yet to face an opponent that hasn’t got a defeat on their record.

I believe that Harris will be too experienced in this fight, but I believe the Welshmen will need to not leave it up to the judges if he wants any chance of winning the fight.

Winner: Jay Harris, TKO-Rnd 9

Full card:

Connor Butler vs. Jay Harris; For the British, Commonwealth and European Flyweight titles
Jack Turner vs. Kassim Mfaume; Bantamweight
Joe McGrail vs. TBA; Featherweight
Daylan Gonzalez vs. TBA; Featherweight
Kurt Wiggins vs. Nabil Ahmed; Bantamweight
Hakeem Palmer vs. Vasif Mamedov; Middleweight
Paul Ryan vs. Octavian Gratii; Light Middleweight
Ethan Brown vs. Stefan Vincent; Super Lightweight
Rio Pierre vs. Ricky Leach; Super Featherweight

Words By Harry Tovey