By Twm Owen
A confident South Wales Warriors will look to claim their fourth win of the British American Football season this weekend against the lowly Cornish Sharks.
The Cornishmen finished second in Division Two South West of the British American Football Association (BAFA) league last year behind promoted Bristol Apache but are winless this term having shipped a massive 104 points and scored just 24 in three games.
The Warriors meanwhile, in as many outings, have scored 106 points and conceded a measly six – all in the final seconds of their first game when they allowed league newcomers the Somerset Wyverns to score in a narrow 6-8 victory for the Welshmen.
It has been plain sailing since for the South Wales side who last Sunday registered a 0-48 victory away to the Worcestershire Black Knights.
The game was the Warriors’ first in six weeks, since a 50-0 home victory over the Jurassic Coast Raptors, after the struggling Sharks asked that their May 13 trip to Llanharan be postponed due to injuries and a player shortage.
The rearranged fixture takes place at Llanharan RFC’s Dairy Field on Sunday (2.30pm) between two teams that find themselves experiencing complete turn arounds from last summer.
The Sharks look like fish out of water this year having lost a number of players to the 4-0 Torbay Trojans who appear to be the Warriors’ main rivals for the division title.
This Sunday the Warriors play their rescheduled game at home against @Cornish_Sharks
The game kicks off at 2:30pm at @LLANHARANRUGBY
Entry is free and the clubhouse will be open for use, what more could you want? #GoWarriors #SundayFunday #BritBall #BAFANL pic.twitter.com/8sEy77fVrQ
— South Wales Warriors (@swwarriors) June 20, 2018
A sluggish season opener in Somerset and the long gap between fixtures had seen questions asked whether the Warriors would turn in another rusty performance at Worcester but any doubts were blown away by their powerful running game, led by stocky running back Joshua Hughes.
Worcestershire had been enjoying an impressive season with victories over bottom side the Jurassic Coast Raptors, the Wyverns and a massive 50-6 home victory over the Sharks before hosting the Warriors.
But two touchdowns on the ground in the opening quarter for the Warriors, who added the two point conversion each time to underline head coach Geraint Roberts’ aggressive approach to Division Two football, set the tone for the day.
Quarterbacks Dean Jackson and Max Ayoul continue to share the snaps and kept the offense ticking over in Worcester, adding scores in the three remaining quarters, before the defense returned an interception for a touchdown late in the fourth. The two-point conversion sealed the victory which would have been a second consecutive half century had the second quarter TD been successfully converted.
Victory in the midlands underlined the strength of the squad relegated from the second tier last summer and that had been playing in the Premiership just two years ago.
The Sharks, who travelled with a small squad to Worcester, had last weekend off and will hope their young squad show their teeth and aren’t daunted by the prospect of facing what is turning out to be high scoring Warriors offense and mean defense.