Two Wales v England clashes in the Southern Conference League this Saturday

There are two big Wales v England clashes in South Wales this Saturday in the RFL Southern Conference as Valley Cougars and Torfaen Tigers both have home games at new grounds.

Valley Cougars host old rivals All Golds at Nelson RFC, whilst Torfaen Tigers face Swindon St George at New Panteg RFC. Both games kick-off at 2.30pm.

For both sides, it’s a venue change from 2018. The Cougars have previously played in Nelson and this is a temporary situation whilst work is being done on their Treharris Bullring pitch, but for the Tigers, it’s a permanent move and they’ve been decorating over the winter months as magnificent artwork now daubs the changing rooms in New Inn.

Tigers chairman Matt Cummins said: “After a good win last Saturday at Cardiff Blue Dragons, we’re really exciting to be hosting our first home game of the season and our first at New Panteg as we welcome Swindon St George for the very first time.

“Our event on Saturday also includes part of the official launch weekend for the WRL charity magazine ‘100 Months of the Rugby League in Wales’ which is dedicated to our former player and coach Scott Bessant, so I’ve no doubt that this will be a very big day for the club.”

Valley Cougars last faced the All Golds from Gloucestershire back in 2016 when the old version of this competition, the Conference League South, was last competed. On that occasion, the Cougars won 26-12 to qualify for the Grand Final, which they eventually lost.

Now, after winning the 2017 and 2018 Welsh Premiership titles with a 100 per cent record, they’ve welcomed the rebooted Southern Conference with their new, albeit temporary, ground, and a new captain in Wales Dragonhearts international player Mike Hurley.

Hurley said: “The club as a whole are looking forward to the step up in competition the new Southern Conference offers. We’ve gone the past two seasons unbeaten and hopefully we can continue that form. Everyone at the club is optimistic that we can go far and hopefully reach another Grand Final.

“We would also like to thank everyone at Nelson RFC for being so accommodating and helping us to get everything in place ready for the new season. We look forward to running out at the famous old ground and hopefully we can make ‘The Parc’ as much of a fortress as The Bullring was in 2018.”

The new charity magazine “100 Months of Rugby League in Wales” will be on sale at both of the Southern Conference League West games this Saturday, as Valley Cougars coach Dafydd Hellard has ordered a box to sell at the All Golds encounter.

Receiving its official launch tomorrow (Friday) at the Welsh Charitables dinner at the Mercure Hotel in Cardiff, the publication that has been produced to raise money for “The Danny Jones Defibrillator Fund” and “Scott’s Angels”, will have its northern launch at the Betfred Championship game between Halifax RLFC and Barrow Raiders on Sunday.

Go to www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/magazine to order online, or to https://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/16623/charity-magazine-launch-and-match-sales-venues for more information on where to buy.