It’s the biggest game of the season for both West Wales Raiders and Valley Cougars this Saturday as they meet at Stebonheath Park in Llanelli in what could be a Conference League South semi-final dress rehearsal (kick-off 2.30pm).
The Cougars have already sealed a top two place following last week’s crushing 48-0 win over All Golds’ second string, and a home tie in the semi-finals on Saturday 10th September, but they’ll want to avoid last year’s winners Nottingham Outlaws, who look set to finish third.
A win for the Cougars will guarantee them top spot whilst a win for the Raiders will seal fourth place, ahead of Welsh rivals Torfaen Tigers who they edged 38-36 last week in Cwmbran, and an away match in the semi-finals.
Should this happen, then all eye will be on London Chargers, who will need to be Coventry Bears at home on Saturday 3rd September to set up the possibility of a potential all-Welsh Grand Final.
If Cougars win on Saturday, it gives Torfaen Tigers, and the second string sides from Coventry Bears and Gloucestershire All Golds, hope of still making the semi-finals but if table propping All Golds lose to Coventry on Saturday, they’ll be officially out of contention.
Raiders’ coach Jon Ellis said: “This weekend is probably the biggest we will have as we face top of the table and in form Valley Cougars. The last outing we had against them was a really good game for the neutrals in the crowd with the scoreline being close. We have a few lads coming back from injury so hopefully we will get the result to seal the last play-off space.”
Cougars’ coach Dafydd Hellard said: “We know we already have a home tie in the semi-final but we want to finish top for the second year in a row. It means a lot to everyone at the club. A Welsh derby is one we always take seriously and as Raiders have professional coaching, we know they’ll always be dangerous. We’re looking forward to Saturday and can’t wait for kick-off.”
THE FINAL FIVE FIXTURES
August 20th
West Wales Raiders vs. Valley Cougars
All Golds CLS vs. Coventry Bears
September 3rd
West Wales Raiders vs. Nottingham Outlaws
All Golds CLS vs. Torfaen Tigers
London Chargers vs. Coventry Bears
CONFERENCE LEAGUE SOUTH TABLE |
|||||||||||||||
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | DIFF | PTS | ||||||||
| 1 | Valley Cougars | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 466 | 241 | 225 | 20 | ||||||
| 2 | London Chargers | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 477 | 208 | 269 | 19 | ||||||
| 3 | Nottingham Outlaws | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 468 | 258 | 210 | 17 | ||||||
| 4 | West Wales Raiders RL | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 352 | 473 | -121 | 9 | ||||||
| 5 | Torfaen Tigers | 13 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 344 | 562 | -218 | 8 | ||||||
| 6 | Coventry Bears | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 285 | 492 | -207 | 7 | ||||||
| 7 | All Golds CLS | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 266 | 424 | -158 | 6 | ||||||
- West Wales Raiders and Coventry Bears were both deducted one point for non-fulfilment of a fixture.
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