19 Aug Squad for pre-season friendly at the Wern

Bridgend Ravens finally get their on field pre-season action underway this Saturday with a trip to the Wern to face Merthyr (2:30pm).

Bridgend’s scheduled pre-season opener against Llantwit Major last weekend was called off in light of the Amber weather warning for heat, with that fixture likely to be arranged for later in the current season.

Merthyr got their preparation for the new campaign started with an impressive win against English side Coventry by 36pts to 29, last Saturday. The Ironmen have continued their impressive recruitment drive of recent seasons, with notable acquisitions such as Tavis Knoyle, Josh Lewis, both formerly of Dragons RFC and former Raven Lloyd Ashley who joined Rowland Phillips’ side from the Ospreys.

Tom Smith has been pleased with what he’s seen so far on the training field, but he’ll be looking to see how that shapes up on the field, with Merthyr posing the first challenge this Saturday before the Ravens round of preparations with a home derby against Maesteg Quins next Friday evening at the Brewery Field. For Saturday, he names a strong squad to challenge the Three time Indigo Premiership champions.

Smith has named a wider travelling squad for Saturday’s game, with a number of changes expected to be made throughout the 80 minutes. A starting XV will be announced tomorrow afternoon

Bridgend Ravens Squad:

Forwards; Rhodri Apsee, Owen Jordan, Gareth Harvey, Evan Yardley, Liam Tobias, Ben Uphill, Jack Pope, Kieran Martin, Bowen Davies, Mark Davey, Zac O’Driscoll (capt), Iestyn Merriman, Jordan Collier, Aled Evans, Dafi Davies

Backs; Dylan Davies, Jak Robbins, Luke Price, Paul Short, Stuart Floyd Ellis, Iwan Griffith, Joseph Gatt, Ryan Edwards, Edd Howley & Tyler Williams.