THE British and Irish Cup may be an unwelcome distraction for Bedwas but the Premiership leaders still have the desire for victory.

The Bridge Field outfit are going great guns in the league and are looking well set for the end-of-season playoffs.

Qualification hopes in the British and Irish Cup, meanwhile, are long gone.

Bedford are cruising to Pool Two success, leaving Bedwas and Neath with little to play at Bridge Field tomorrow.

But head coach Steve Law has insisted the dead rubber still serves a purpose ahead of more important battles.

“It’s an opportunity to express ourselves and try out a few things away from the pressure of the league,” he said.

“In this situation we don’t have to go with the tried and tested and there will be some different combinations and some things that we have been thinking about.

“You can do all the training you want with plenty of scenarios but you never know if what you are working on will work in a match situation.

“But that doesn’t change our desire to win – we want the supporters to be happy and our players are an honest bunch who are always competitive.”

Being down to the “bare bones” because of injury and unavailability doesn’t help that bid for victory.

Fly-half remains a problem with Richard Powell out for another three to four weeks with a broken arm and Ethan Davies resting for two weeks because of a groin problem.

There are no Dragons available to any of the Premiership clubs and that not only leaves Bedwas short of some regulars but it means that they cannot rely on near neighbours to help them out with permits because everyone is stretched for numbers.

Nonetheless, Law and his clubmates will be determined to maintain the feelgood factor at Bridge Field.

Last weekend’s five-point haul against Aberavon put them six clear of the chasing pack – a world away from a troubled 2011/12 when they finished bottom but one.

“Last season was the toughest since the start of the Premiership so to turn it around in this manner is great,” said long-serving Law.

“It’s been a real team effort from a new set of players and coaches – everybody has played their part.

“The challenge now is to stay up there and if we can achieve that then perhaps we will get a bit more credit from some quarters.”