By Rob Carbon
The Indigo Group Premiership returns to a full-blown home and away competition this weekend and it will feature a fascinating father v son battle in its opening round.
There are a round of derby matches to kick-off the new campaign, but all eyes will be glued to the clash at Sardis Road between Pontypridd and reigning champions Cardiff.
A big game in its own right, it will also have a fascinating sub-plot with the home side coached by Justin Burnell and the visitors likely to give his son, Ben, a debut at outside-half.
Wales U20 cap Ben has been on the regional books at the Arms Park since he was 15, but played for Ponty in the Premiership last year until he picked up a shoulder injury at Merthyr in October that forced him to undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
Having returned to his parent club for the new season, he is fit and raring to go.
Heading ‘home’ to Ponty will be an interesting start to the next phase of his career and has led to a bit of friction in the Burnell household.
Good to see 18-year-old Cardiff Academy squad member Ben Burnell taking encouraging first steps in senior rugby with Pontypridd. His dad will be a proud man.https://t.co/p88JXO4i0b
— Simon Thomas (@simonrug) August 21, 2021
“Ben has been given the all-clear to play again. He’s fine and he’s been away with the regional side, so he’s ready to go,” said his father.
“We’ve known for some time this game was coming and we’ll be in separate rooms this week checking the play books on our computers – then I’ll be locking mine away!” joked Justin.
“Ben is a big game player and he relishes matches like these. He may not have played for a while, but he’ll be ready and up for this game.
“It’s going to be his first game for Cardiff RFC and there has been a bit of apprehension in the Burnell household for a week or so.
“His mother is a bag of nerves already and she’ll be piggy in the middle this week keeping us apart.”
Ben Burnell claims this ball out of the sky and starts a counter attack that leads to a Pontypridd try against Newport on Saturday.
The Cardiff Academy fly-half scored 14 points and won man-of-the-match as he led his side to victory. pic.twitter.com/zL8NpfquH7
— Cardiff Rugby Life (@CardiffRugbyWeb) September 20, 2021
Father has coached son at various levels, but the split has finally come as Ben aims to follow in the footsteps of Neil Jenkins, Ceri Sweeney and Jarrod Evans in successfully transferring from Ponty to Cardiff and going on to bigger things.
Meanwhile, his dad will be trying to keep things together at Sardis Road for a sixth season, shorn of his main playmaker.
“Things don’t get any easier at this level. All the talk about 10 teams, 12 teams and 14 teams in the Premiership makes life difficult, but the truth is we have had to scour clubs like Mountain Ash, Rhydyfelin and Treorchy to put a squad together,” added Justin.
“There will be players in our matchday 23 this weekend who won’t be paid a penny. It’s great to know there is still a strong desire from players in our locality to play for Ponty, but it is getting more and more difficult to compete with the better funded and resourced clubs.”
Indigo Prem Round 1 – Saturday, 3 September
Aberavon v Bridgend
Carmarthen Quins v Llandovery
Llanelli v Swansea
Merthyr v RGC
Newport v Ebbw Vale
Pontypridd v Cardiff (5.30pm)