IT'S not often that Cross Keys head coach Greg Woods quietly goes about his business.

Anyone that has been to Pandy Park over the past few seasons will be familiar with his foghorn voice that booms out orders from his specially-made viewing platform by the side of the stand.

But Woods was happy to let others do the talking on the club's biggest day.

It was backs coach Mark Ring that was interviewed before, during and after the thrilling British and Irish Cup semi-final win against Cornish Pirates.

In breaks of play the cameras cut to the former Wales fly-half next to a smartly-dressed director of rugby Jonathan Westwood.

To the casual viewer it might have appeared that he was the one pulling the strings.

There is no doubt that Ring has played a big part in Keys' dream campaign but it's Woods who brings it all together and gives a clear sense of direction to the club.

On the Thursday before the Pirates game Dragons head coach Darren Edwards accepted an invitation to come to training.

“I was massively impressed with the way that Greg structured their build-up,” said Edwards, who watched from the Pandy Park terrace last weekend. “They are clearly a very well coached team and he is doing a fantastic job.”

It's no surprise that the Dragons are keen to send their young Academy tight forwards down to Keys to learn the dark arts (scrum first, scrum second seems to be the Pandy Park front row's motto).

Woods, who has worked his way up through the Keys ranks after injury curtailed his playing career, heads a tight coaching team. They are building wisely while retaining a club ethos.

But they will be hammering home the need to put at least one pot in the Pandy Park clubhouse from a treble-chasing season.

With the daunting task of Munster on their own turf standing between them and BIC glory, the Swalec Cup remains their best shot.

And another club that are extremely well led – Ebbw Vale under Neil Edwards and Jason Strange – will be keen to thrown a spanner in the works in this weekend's semi-final.

Whatever the outcome, Keys are a club with a clear direction while one of their nearest Premiership rivals are being denied that luxury.

Whatever the rights and wrongs about how Pontypool have acted in a bid to save themselves from being jettisoned from a revamped 12-team top flight and it is an unfortunate situation.

They are in no man's land; clinging onto the hope of remaining a Premiership club while unable to plan for probable life in the Championship.

Plenty of their players have already penned deals elsewhere, others will soon follow while changes are afoot off the field.

Pooler are uncertain of their budget and unable to recruit players of Premiership, or even top-level Division One, standard.

Whether they somehow remain in the top flight or if they are in the Championship it's surely going to be hard to build a squad that carry on the work put in over the past couple of seasons.

That must be heartbreaking for those that have put in that hard graft.