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Page 2 of 2 From WRU : Pontypridd unveil strong squad | | 24 August 2006, 4:38 pm | Konica Minolta Cup holders Pontypridd have unveiled a strong squad for next season's Principality Premiership as they look to go two better than last year's third placed finish.. | Ponty's squad features a healthy mix of youth and experience and coach Simon King believes he has selected a squad worthy of challenging for honours in the coming campaign. He said: "This is a squad that we as coaches can work with, it has a good deal of strength in depth that should see us through a difficult campaign." |
Veteran forward Dale McIntosh, 37 in November, stays on for another season, having been at the club since 1989 and Blues Academy players Dai Flanagan, Nicky Eaves, Adam Powell and Rhys Shellard will also be part of the squad. King added: "  We are still on the look out for new talent, and players will still be given the chance to impress, with the chance of a late call up to the Pontypridd squad. 
We are still on the look out for new talent, and players will still be given the chance to impress, with the chance of a late call up to the Pontypridd squad."Pontypridd have now gone through pre-season unbeaten after wins against a North Wales XV (27-20) and Carmarthen Quins (41-12) were added to with a 47-12 defeat of Llanharan on Tuesday. Ponty led 16-9 at half time, and stamped their authority on the game in the second period, scoring 31 unanswered points, with lock Damien Welch and wing Gareth John were particularly impressing. Ponty's Premiership rivals Aberavon are also set to finalise their squad before their final pre-season match against London Welsh on Saturday. Aberavon, who finished fourth last year, have made three formal signings so far this season, in the form of James Davies, Ricky Richards and Rob Morgan, and coach Keith Hopkins is preparing to add one or two additional players to his
final squad. He said: "We've brought three in, but we've left spaces available for players to impress in the first couple of games pre-season. "I'll be talking to the players later this week, so I don't really want to say too much before then." In early pre-season games, trialists Richard Thomas and Ryan Llewellyn impressed, scoring in Aberavon's 41-17 win over Carmarthen Quins. And in the Wizard's penultimate friendly at home to Doncaster, trialists James Pike, Daniel Bleddyn and Bleddyn Gant all featured as the Knights ran out 17-10 winners. Despite the loss against the English National League One outfit, Hopkins was upbeat about the performance. He said: "It was quite pleasing in many ways, because they were a big physical side and they look as if they're going to be a force up there. "We were slow getting going but we just started getting back into the game before half time, but they were a big side and we couldn't make up the ground we usually do." Former Dragons player Jason Forster scored two of Doncaster's three tries, with Jamie Davies and Matthew Bradley crossing for the home side. Elsewhere, Swansea have signed experienced scrum-half Jonathan Hooper from Caerphilly. Hooper, 31, will compete with Darren Pittard for the number nine jersey following the summer departures of Richie Rees and Rhodri Wells. Centres Jonathan Lewis and Mike Jones have moved from Llanelli to Llandovery, while Cardiff have recruited ex-Carmarthen Quins wing Josh Freeman. Pontypridd have signed up Cardiff University's highly rated 22-year-old centre Laurence Price. The Cowbridge man - a Cardiff RFC product who has represented Wales at youth and university level - takes the squad place of Tom Riley, who has joined the Cardiff Blues. And Cross Keys have signed three-quarter Jonathan Hill from Cardiff and hooker Stuart Volkes from Machen.
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