South Wales Scorpions and Valley Cougars take on All Golds

South Wales Scorpions will play in their original guise one last time this Saturday when they travel to Gloucestershire All Golds (kick-off 3pm).

For the club, who have rebranded as the Ironmen for 2017, it will be their 154^th first class game, the third longest professional club in Welsh Rugby League history, and just one game behind second placed Ebbw Vale who played professionally from 1907-12.

The club started as a place for up and coming Welsh Rugby League players to continue to develop after the original Celtic Crusaders club moved north and they tasted success straight away beating Workington Town 22-20 just weeks after being formed.

They have given many full Welsh internationals their professional debut, five of whom are set to turn out for the Scorpions in this game.

These include Christiaan Roets, who has gone on to be Wales’ second highest try scorer of all time and is fifth in the all-time appearance chart.

Roets is one of three players who were on the substitute’s bench for Scorpions in their first game in 2010, who will potentially star in Saturday’s encounter. Barrie Phillips, who will also potentially line up against the All Golds is another, whilst Steve Parry, another full Wales international developed by the Scorpions is the third, but he will captain the All Golds against the Scorpions.

Both sides will want to end their season with a win, despite both long being out of contention for the League 1 Shield.

Scorpions’ coach Phil Carleton said: “This is a great way to end the season – a game against our local rivals. Its sure to be a feisty affair I’m sure.

“Both sides have had a tough year and will be keen to end on a win, I just hope for my boys it goes their way. I’ve had a little juggle to the squad to ensure I’ve included as many of my senior boys as possible, for this, the last outing ever as South Wales Scorpions before we take to the field as South Wales Ironmen in 2017.”

Alex Davidson will be missing from the Scorpions’ side this Saturday, his loan spell from the All Golds ending last week, but he will coach All Golds’ second team as they travel to Treharris RFC to face Valley Cougars in the semi-final of Conference League South (kick-off 2.30pm).

The two sides have face each other three times, with the Cougars coming out on top on each occasion, the final one being a 48-0 slamming last month, but the coaches know that it will be a lot different this time around, with a place in the Final at stake.

Valley Cougars have reached the Final for the last two years in a row, beating Sheffield Hallam Eagles in 2014 but lost to Nottingham Outlaws last year.

The Outlaws face last year’s Harry Jepson Trophy winners, London Chargers in this year’s other semi-final.

Cougars’ coach Dafydd Hellard said: “This is a very big game for us. We’ve been in the last two finals and it’s always been our aim to complete the hat-trick.

“We’ve finished top of the table for the past two seasons but we know that this means nothing when it comes to a semi-final knock-out match. I know that Alex will have his players all fired up to go, just like us.

“Two out of three of our games this season has been close with one blow-out. I expect this game to be like the first two and we’ll have a competitive encounter.”

Gloucestershire All Golds:

Dan Poulton

Emmerson Whittel

Harrison Elliot

Harry Kidd

Jack Mitchell

Jack Uren

Jimmy Rowland

James Walter

Joe McClean

Josh Allison

Kadeem Williams
Lamont Bryan

Mike Govin

Mo Agoro

Kieran Hyde

Olly Purslow

Phil Cowburn,

Richard Jones

Steve Parry

---

[donate]	Help keep news FREE for our readers Supporting your local community newspaper/online news outlet is crucial now more than ever. If you believe in independent journalism,then consider making a valuable contribution by making a one-time or monthly donation. We operate in rural areas where providing unbiased news can be challenging. Read More About Supporting The West Wales Chronicle