CROSS Keys aim to secure back-to-back Championship victories tomorrow – but they won’t have the services of forwards coach Saul Nelson following his departure to RGC 1404.

Former Cardiff, Exeter and London Welsh hooker Nelson only arrived at Pandy Park in the summer after stepping down as head coach of Bristol club Old Redcliffians.

Nelson joined Keys as the Pandy Park outfit made the transition from Premiership to Championship, with a big turnover in players contributing to a poor start to the season.

But, after losing their first five Championship fixtures, Keys finally got off the mark last Saturday thanks to a nervy 27-24 defeat of Tata Steel on home turf.

They have home advantage again tomorrow when bottom side Beddau are the opponents (kick-off 2.30pm).

Keys are currently looking for a replacement for Nelson, who will still be head of rugby at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, and hope to have a new face in place early next week.

And while sad to see him go, head coach Morgan Stoddart knows the chance to become RGC’s senior academy coach and first XV assistant coach was too good to turn down for Nelson.

“My time at Cross Keys was fantastic and I would like to publicly thank them for their understanding and wish them the very best moving forward,” said Nelson.

Reflecting on last weekend’s long overdue success, he added: “It was a win that had been coming for a few weeks.

“The players have worked exceptionally hard, both physically and mentally, since July and put some very good rugby together in parts of each game.

“Saturday was nice to see them build their performance through the game and show huge mental strength to come back from two tries down to win.”

On Nelson, Stoddart said: “The job was an opportunity for him that he couldn’t turn down.

“It’s a shame he had to go, but this is sport, and opportunities sometimes crop up that you’ve got to go for.

“We’ll be speaking to a few people this week and hopefully getting it sorted early next week.”

Stoddart continued: “It was nice to get a win last weekend after so much hard work in pre-season and having a difficult time with results and injuries at the start of the season.

“The toughest thing for us has been adapting to the big turnover in players after our relegation and getting a lot of younger players up to speed.

“We’ve got Beddau this weekend and we’re looking to build on the last result.”

Meanwhile, Pontypool will look to consolidate their position at the top of the Championship with a seventh successive win tomorrow.

Pooler, who lead Bargoed, at home to Ystalyfera, by three points, travel west to Tata Steel, while Bedwas entertain Ystrad Rhondda.

Fixtures: Bargoed v Ystalyfera, Bedwas v Ystrad Rhondda, Cardiff Met v Trebanos, Cross Keys v Beddau, Glamorgan Wanderers v Neath, Maesteg Quins v Narberth, Tata Steel v Pontypool.