PONTYPOOL aim to add to their fixture congestion with a Swalec Cup victory against UWIC at Cyncoed tomorrow afternoon.

Pooler are facing something of a fixture nightmare as they prepare to take on the Division One outfit.

They have played just 13 Premiership fixtures and must fit in the rest before the season cut-off date of April 23.

Pulling further clear of Premiership basement dwellers Glamorgan Wanderers is target number one but a good Swalec Cup run isn’t far behind.

Assistant coach Wayne Jones said: “We wanted to secure our top flight status as soon as we could so that we could have a real go at the cup, that hasn’t quite happened.

“But we’ve discussed it as a coaching team and we will still look to go as far as we can in the cup.

“We have got to back ourselves and we feel that we can get to Premiership safety soon and then concentrate on the cup.”

UWIC romped to the Division One East title last year but have now aligned themselves with the Scarlets and shifted over to the west.

They lost a number of key figures over the summer – notably talented fly-half Simon Humberstone, who plumped for Pontypridd after being chased by most of the Premiership – but they are still the nearest rivals for runaway leaders Bridgend.

“We are making some changes to our team for this game but there is no danger of us taking them lightly,” said Jones.

“They may have lost some important players from last season but they are certainly not duds.

“UWIC are second in the table and are going well in the British University Sports Association Cup, so are still a force to be reckoned with.

“They have a lot of third-year players and have an expansive game. They can damage you wide if you are loose with your kicking.

“We will look to take them on up front and feel we can have some joy there and we are looking for some big performances from players who have been patiently waiting for their chance.”

Two such players – back row forward Luke Dyckhoff and prop Dan Barlow – are up against their former club.

Hooker Craig Attwell gets the chance to impress in place of Rhys Buckley, who spent the week training with the Dragons.

Pooler: N Wakley, D Robinson, P Price, C Macey, G Williams, T Hancock, C Morgan, D Barlow, C Attwell, N Blake, S Pailor, D Critchley, R Bowen, C Trayhern, L Dyckhoff. Replacements: R Buckley, J Jeune, L Davies, T Organ, S Connor, M Burke, G O’Driscoll.