In the early hours of Friday morning 26-year-old Shakur Stevenson ( 20-0-0) goes toe-to-toe with Edwin Los Santos (16-1-0) in the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas for the vacant WBC Lightweight Championship.
If Stevenson is successful in this bout he will become a three weight World Champion. Sugar has got a 20 fight record and within those wins he has stopped his opponents on 10 occasions.
His opponent on the other hand has had only one defeat in the past which was a split decision loss against William Foster III in Orlando back in 2022. The man from the Dominican Republic is on a three fight winning streak coming into this title clash.
There was no shake of hands in what was a fiery final face-off as words were exchanged. Stevenson weighed in at 133.8 lbs and Los Santos weighed in at 134.3 lbs
At the Final Press Conference on Tuesday, Stevenson said: “ I’ve been grinding so hard for these moments and this would mean the world to me.
“ I know if I come in at my best there’s only going to be one winner.
“He (Los Santos) got a big heart and I’m thankful that he has taken this fight”, he added.
Writers Thoughts:
Call me crazy but I really think Los Santos has got the power in him to really cause a huge upset, against Stevenson who is Top Ranks next big PPV attraction. However if I put my boxing head on, the man from Newark, New Jersey has got the height advantage and will probably end up just outboxing his younger opponent and will end up winning on points in a dominant 12 Round fight.
The last time these two met was back in April this year, it finished 29-8 to the Blue and Blacks. On that occasion, Joe Goodchild and Joe Williams both scored. The last 5 meetings between the two are all in favour 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 Whites were victorious 20-17 after a late try from Swansea’s Ryan Griffiths.
Swansea have only won one game in the last five and that came against West Wales rivals Carmarthen Quins when they ran out a 25-18 victory. The other four losses have been against RGC 1404, Aberavon, Merthyr and Pontypridd.
Cardiff come into this game on the back of back-to-back defeats to Gwent sides Pontypool and Newport but have recorded two bonus point wins as the Blue and Blacks sit in seventh. The Whites on the other hand sit in 10th on the same points as the Welsh Commandos (Pontypridd).
Team News:
Steve Law makes numerous changes to his side that faced The Black and Ambers last time out, Joey Tomlinson captains the side for the first time this season as Morgan Allen is named on the bench. Ollie Evans comes back into the front row and joins Christian Brooke.
In his 60th game for the Blue and Blacks 26-year-old, Sean Moore returns in the second row as Craig Hudd drops onto the blindside. Youngsters Lucas De La Rua and Mackenzie Martin both remain in the back row.
Steve Law makes two changes to the backline with Matty Young making his first start in a Blue and Black shirt replacing Jacob Lloyd at fullback. Former Cornish Pirates and Dragons player Arwel Robson comes into the starting XV at flyhalf with Harrison James moving to inside centre.
Cardiff Starting XV: 15. Matty Young, 14. Joe Goodchild, 13. Luke Pollock, 12. Harrison James, 11. Dewi Cross, 10. Arwel Robson, 9. Tom Habberfield, 1. Ollie Evans, 2. Joey Tomlinson (C), 3. Christian Brooke, 4. Sean Moore, 5. Ethan Phillips, 6. Craig Hudd, 7. Lucas de la Rua, 8. Mackenzie Martin
Replacements: 16. Alun Rees, 17. Brynley Toms, 18. Jack Wiggins, 19. Morgan Allen, 20. Ioan Pascoe, 21. Joe Williams, 22. Jacob Lloyd, 23. Kodie Stone
Antoine Dupont is rumoured to miss out on the 2024 Guinness Six Nations as he switches to the Sevens game in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics Games.
After the ending of the 2023 Rugby World Cup with France just narrowly losing to South Africa 29-28 it left the French skipper frustrated as he was dissatisfied by some of the referee’s decisions.
If the 27-year-old makes the switch to the Sevens circuit it will leave the French Head Coach Fabien Galthie looking for a new captain and also a starting nine ahead of the Six Nations.
However, it will not come as a shock to many as he is not the first 15-a-side player to make this move as former All-Black International Sonny Bill Williams made the switch in 2016 as he was looking for a piece of gold.
Also after being left out of Eddie Jones Wallabies squad for the 2023 World Cup, former Aussie skipper Michael Hooper will join the bid for gold as he attempts to do the double after winning the Webb Ellis Trophy back in 2015.
France’s sevens team have not had the best of luck at recent Olympic games as they failed to qualify for the last games in Tokyo. When it debuted back in 2016 in Rio, Les Bleus were knocked out in the last eight by Japan 12-7.
The tournament itself will be held at the Stade de France between the 24-30th of July, where reigning two-time champions Fiji will be hoping to make it a third consecutive win at the games.
19-year-old Harrison James states that Newport are “going to look for revenge” as Cardiff welcome the Black and Ambers back to the capital this Saturday.
Last time out, the Blue and Blacks lost to Pontypool in a dramatic ending with a late Pooler try.
James thoughts on the Pontypool defeat.
He said: “Obviously last week we were very disappointed with the result.”
“Throughout the week we have looked at where we went wrong and have tried to rectify it in training.”
“However our main focus is the next job with Newport and how we can bounce back from the defeat”, he added.
The last time they met it finished 38-15 in favour of the Blue and Blacks and in that game James scored 15 out of the 38 points in a bonus point win.
He added: “Newport are a really strong team with some real mavericks in the back line, however I feel if we can stick to what the coaches have delivered we will be a serious threat on Saturday“
“We know Newport are going to want revenge from the cup, however we are also coming in really excited with it being a derby and a real chance for us to kickstart our season to get a opportunity at the playoffs at the end of the year”, he added.
Meetings between both sides date back to 1876 when Cardiff played their first competitive game against Newport at Wentloog Marshes on the 2nd December of that year. The most recent meeting between the two sides was only 6 weeks ago in the Premiership Cup, where Cardiff won 38-15 and advanced to the second round.
On that occasion, captain Morgan Allen, Alun Rees, Dewi Cross and Luke Pollock all scored in what was a good day for Steve Law’s men.
The Blue and Blacks met Newport four times last season, with Cardiff running out victorious three times. The last time Newport were successful in the Capital was back in January, with a late drop goal coming from Newport’s Matt O’Brien.
The Blue and Blacks are hoping to narrow the gap between fifth place and the top four with another win over the Black and Ambers. Last time out the Blue and Blacks fell just short after a late try from Pontypool’s Amosa Nove which meant it finished 16-9 in favour of the visitors. Whereas last time out Newport thumped Pontypridd with a bonus point 54-3 win.
Team News:
Steve Law makes numerous changes to his starting XV that faced Pooler two weeks ago.
It’s an entirely new front row with Rhys Barratt and Christian Brooke coming in to replace Ollie Evans and Adam Williams. Alun Rees will make his 60th appearance in a Blue and Black shirt as he replaces Evan Lloyd.
Craig Hudd drops from openside into the second row to replace Sean Moore and after dropping out at the last minute last time out 20-year-old Mackenzie Martin comes back in on the blindside. 19-year-old Lucas De La Rua gets his first start of the season for Cardiff on the openside.
Law makes only one change in the Blue and Blacks backline as Dewi Cross returns on the wing. Newport born Joe Goodchild drops to outside centre, Luke Pollock moves to inside centre replacing Jason Harries.
Pontypool made it seven consecutive wins in a row as they put aside fellow Gwent side Ebbw Vale 25-20 in an enthralling game at Pontypool Park.
The last time Pooler had faced The Steelmen was back in August 2015 when Ebbw Vale won convincingly 33-0.
Tries from Pooler’s Joel Mahoney, Dylan Keller-Griffiths and Joel Mahoney were accompanied by two penalties and a trio of conversions by Matthew Jarvis proved to be the difference.
It was the visitors that got off the better, as after five minutes, Ryan Jenkins drove his way over Ponty’s line to open up proceedings. Shortly afterwards Matthew Jarvis got the first points of the evening for the home side after slotting a conversion.
Hooker Sam Scarfe made a powerful run and offloaded the ball quickly for outside centre Joel Mahoney to cross for his fourth of the season, and put Pooler in front.
On the stroke of half-time, the visitors were applying huge amounts of pressure on Ponty’s line and when Ebbw spread the ball wide, winger Walker Price accidentally knocked the ball on.
Referee Craig Evans deemed it to be a deliberate knock-on and awarded the visitors a penalty try with Price getting sent off for 10 minutes.
HT: Pontypool 10-17 Ebbw Vale
After struggling to start the first-half on the front foot, 14-man Pooler created huge amounts of pressure on The Steelmens defence at the start of the second half. It soon paid off as replacement hooker Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths crossed for his second try of the season.
However, Jarvis slipped when trying to convert the extras and this meant his shot diverted just shy of the posts and Ebbw Vale remained two points in front with plenty of time left on the clock.
On the hour mark the visitors had an opportunity to go eight points clear, however Evan Lloyd’s shot went wide and it remained a five-point game going into the final 10 minutes.
What a final 10 minutes it was, as replacement Alex Grey was only on for around a minute and impacted the game sincerely scoring his first try of the season. This time around Matthew Jarvis held his nerve as Ponty went in front for only the second time in the match.
It was a nail-biter of a finish at Pontypool Park, but up stepped Matthew Jarvis yet again and he put his side five points clear with 3 minutes remaining on the clock.
There was one last big push from the visitors but with the lineout not going straight Ponty regained possession with seconds left on the clock.
Former Ebbw Vale player Matthew Flanagan kicked the ball dead and with this win Pontypool are joint second with The Steelmen in the Premiership with fellow Gwent side Newport just sitting above them.
FT: Pontypool 25-20 Ebbw Vale
Pontypool XV
15. Matt Bancroft, 14. Pat Lewis, 13. Joel Mahoney, 12. Amosa Nove, 11. Walker Price, 10. Matthew Jarvis, 9. Morgan Lloyd, 1. Sam Cochrane, 2. Sam Scarfe 3. Kelvyn Williams, 4. Lance Randall, 5. Ashley Sweet, 6. Mike Herbert, 7. Callum Davies, Scott Matthews (C).
Tries: 18’ Joel Mahoney, 48’ Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, 70’ Alex Grey
Conversions: Matthew Jarvis x 3
Penalties: Matthew Jarvis x 2
Yellow Card: 40’ Walker Price
Replacements: 16. Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, 17. Peter Lloyd, 18. Ollie Drake, 19. Lewis Johnson, 20. Alex Grey, 21. Mathew Flanagan, 22. Josh Malson, 23. Ben Moa, 24. Adam Stratton, 25. Marcus Jones
Ebbw Vale XV
15. Morgan Richards, 14. Carrick McDonough, 13. Ethan Phillips, 12. Dom Franchi, 11. Jordan Thomas, 10. Evan Lloyd, 9. Jon Evans, 1. Morgan Davies, 2. Rhys Francis (C), 3. Harry Drane, 4. Dylan Bartlett, 5. Jakub Malecki, 6. Cameron Regan, 7. Lewis Young, 8. Ryan Jenkins
Replacements: 16. Ieuan Morris, 17. Luke Garrett, 18. Adam Court, 19. Curtis Gregory, 20. Chad Thomas, 21. Rory Harries, 22. Kieran Meek, 23. Gethin Williams.
Pontypridd got off to the better as they took an early lead from Ben Burnell after referee Ben Breakspear awarded a penalty with not even a minute on the clock.
The Black and Ambers caught Ponty’s defence sleeping after being awarded a penalty and 20-year-old Che Hope took it quickly and offloaded to Elliot Frewen to cross for the evening’s first try.
It was the same old story yet again as referee Breakspear awarded Newport a penalty 5 meters out from Ponty’s line and Matt O’Brien quickly tapped and scored his first try of the season and the homeside’s second.
Newport yet again found themselves inside Ponty’s 22 and after pressurizing the line Che Hope lobbed the ball out wide for Oli Andrew to power his way over in the corner for the Black and Ambers third. Minutes later hooker Henry Palmer was yellow-carded after an incident.
Just on the stroke of half-time Newport’s flyhalf Carwyn Penny secured the homeside a bonus point after some brilliant footballing skills from the Black and Ambers attack.
HT: Newport 28-3 Pontypridd
After it being one-way traffic in the first half The Welsh Commandos started the second half really positively. With the weather changing Carwyn Penny got the game back underway and Ponty found themselves in the homeside 22 for the best part of 10 minutes.
Numerous penalties were awarded to the visiting side, but once the ball finally got out wide an handling error from Ponty caused Newport to turn the ball over and aloud them to relieve pressure after an impressive defensive display from the home team.
After end-to-end rugby for the best part of 30 minutes, and after being yellow carded in the first half Henry Palmer drove his way over Ponty’s line to score two tries in the space of three minutes.
It didn’t end there for the home side as replacements Dafydd Buckland and Chay Foster-Smith scored late on in the game to finish what was an enthralling last 10 minutes of rugby.
This win means the Black and Amber’s go top of the table for the time being and Ponty go without scoring a try for the very first time this season.
FT: Newport 54-3 Pontypridd
Up next for Newport is an away trip to the Cardiff Arms Park to face old rivals Cardiff and for Pontypridd it’s a home game against Swansea.
The visitors have had a rather strong start back in the Welsh Premiership as they have won 6 out of 7 so far. However, after the Blue and Blacks got their first away win of the season the home team will enter this top 5 clash with a lot of confidence.
Team News:
Steve Law makes two changes and a positional change to his side that faced Bridgend last time out. 19-year-old Mackenzie Martin returns to the back row in replacement of still-injured Nathan Hudd.
Law makes two changes to the backline as Jacob Lloyd comes in at fullback after starting on the bench last time out at the Brewery Field. After starting his second game last weekend Joe Goodchild remains in the starting XV and switches to the wing.
Last meetings between the two sides:
Skipper Morgan Allen comes up against his former club that he played for when playing for the Gwent region in 2009 and 2010. Allen started that game, and interestingly that was the last time Cardiff beat Pooler at Pontypool Park in the Welsh Premiership.
The last time Cardiff had beaten the Gwent side at home was back in January 2011 when it finished 24-12 to the Blue and Blacks with scrum-half Owen Ruttley scoring the only try of the game. Earlier on in the season, Cardiff drew with Pontypool 19-19 after a late try from Pontypool’s Gareth Williams.
The Blue and Blacks have also crossed paths with Pooler in the National Cup back in the 2016-17 season where Cardiff lost 43-32.
I caught up with Morgan Allen in the week as he gave his thoughts on his side’s performance last time out against Bridgend and also previews the big game this Saturday,
Allen’s thoughts on the Bridgend game:
Allen said: “It’s always a tough place to go and they always make it difficult for us by keeping going for 80 minutes”.
“We did well to pick up a bonus point but we’ve spoken about taking our foot off the gas and letting them back into games”.
“It’s a well deserved 5 points away from home, we’ve obviously spoken about some things we need to work on ahead of another tough game against Pontypool this week”, said Allen.
Allen’s thoughts ahead of the Pontypool encounter:
“Obviously they have achieved a lot over the last couple of seasons and have made a great start to life back in the Prem”.
“They’ve had some good results both home and away from home so far”, Allen said.
Pontypool has had a strong start to the season with the visitors sitting in third place in the table, only losing 1 game in the league against Newport. Pooler has recorded two bonus point wins against Camarthen Quinn’s and Pontypridd.
“We know what’s coming from them this week and know we can’t underestimate them”.
“The coaches this week have been really on it and identified a few things we need to work on to make sure we come away with the right result at home ahead of a break next week and finish this mini block of games on a high, ready for an attritional block from November to February now”, said Allen.
Steve Law will be looking for his side to build momentum as the Blue and Blacks travel to Dunraven Brewery Field to face Bridgend.
After their bonus point win over Neath last time out, Head Coach Law said: “ Very happy with getting five points in the league, however, it was bittersweet really because we let them back in and didn’t finish the game on the front foot.”
Try scorer’s from this game: Alun Rees crossed the Neath line three times, Morgan Allen scored on his 100th appearance, and Dewi Cross showed off his footballing skills to get his fourth of the season.
Cardiff have won three out of their four home games but have been unable to win away from home this season, Law said:
“ I know we haven’t won on the road this season and we very much hope that Saturday we change that, but it’s not a given as Bridgend are a very competitive side.”
“ Conditions are going to be a challenge and will probably have a bearing on how we play the game as we are not playing on an artificial surface so we have to be technically astute with our game management, but we are looking to get a result.”
Injuries have been a massive problem this season for the Blue and Blacks and Law updated me on the latest injury news Law said:
“Nathan Hudd is out with damage to his shoulder and Arron Pinches is out injured as well, they will be a big loss but we’ve got quality players stepping up.”
Joey Tomlinson after starting at Hooker against Llandovery is on the openside like what Alun Rees did at Church Bank, Jason Harries came back from injury last week and the winger starts at inside centre.
Law said: “ We’ve got a strong starting lineup as we have been boasted a bit with Will Davies-King coming in on the tighthead, so with Ollie and Evan this should definitely shore the scrum up.”
“ Listen injuries do hurt us, but as we haven’t got depth, it means more players are going to be playing out of position”, said Law.
Last season the Blue and Blacks got the better of the Ravens at the Brewery Field, winning with a bonus point 43-16.
“ We are most certainly not looking ahead to future fixtures as just because Bridgend wasn’t up there last season doesn’t mean they will be up there this season as they have vastly improved, but it is important that we get results.”
“Here at Cardiff RFC we don’t set goals we set standards, and our ambition is to win every game we go into”, said Law.
After last week’s bonus point win against Neath, Head Coach Steve Law has made four changes to his starting XV.
21-year-old Evan Lloyd replaces Alun Rees at hooker and Will Davies King replaces Adam Williams at tighthead. Joey Tomlinson replaces the injured Nathan Hudd at blindside.
Law has made only 1 change in the backs as Joe Goodchild comes in for Jacob Lloyd. Goodchild gets his first start since the opening game of the season against Pontypridd.
Image taken from Bridgend Ravens Website.
After, being on the sidelines for a couple of weeks, Jason Harries returned to action against Neath and I caught up with him in the week to discuss Saturday’s game.
Harries said: “After a mixed start from our point of view, we look forward to going to the Brewery Field this weekend and putting a big performance in. We have to build on the game last weekend and implement our game plan on Bridgend”.
“It will be a tough contest down there, but I’m sure if we have our house in order and put a big performance in then we’ll be on the right side of the scoreboard”.
“We have to start building momentum and doing that requires a performance and attitude to go and win”.
Cardiff have won the last 5 meetings against the Ravens winning 3 out of 5 with a bonus point, 43-16, 34-12, and 41-12.
Cardiff sit rather comfortably in fifth spot in the table and another bonus point win could catapult the Blue and Blacks into title contention position, whereas for Bridgend they lost last time out to Pontypridd and sit ninth in the Indigo Premiership table.
HTSPORTSNEWS 