Kingstone Press Championship Preview: South Wales Scorpions v Hemel Stags
Looking back on the 56-10 defeat in the Welsh derby, South Wales Scorpions coach Mike Grady felt his team had started well.
“We were Ok for the first 25 minutes, as we were in the fixture at our place, but they are a lot better opposition and are going for the league so we’ve got to take the positives out of that first 25 minutes and go into the next game with them,” he said.
“People will say it’s a game that both teams need to win. I feel if we can perform and do the right things then we could be close to a result. I never put any pressure on winning but to get a performance would be good.”
Hooker Connor Farrer and half-back Paul Emanuelli are struggling after picking up knocks last week but forward Neil Dallimore is likely to be back
Hemel Stags coach Troy Perkins said: “I was pretty happy with how we played in patches up at Newcastle but disappointed at other times. After the game the players were very disappointed they didn’t come away with a win.
“The first 15 minutes were probably the best we’ve played all season and at 12-6 just a couple of basic errors put us under pressure – it’s a common theme with us. It lets other teams back into the game, which is what happened against Newcastle.
“Sunday is a great opportunity to play some good rugby and play to our potential. I’ve no doubt we can get a result but South Wales are a real gritty team. They’re improving week by week.
“They beat Skolars, who the following week beat us, so if you read into that form they’ve got to fancy themselves. I’ve got no doubt that they’ll target the games against the bottom teams and we’re one of those teams.
“South Wales is always a tough place to go. We can’t rest on our laurels and think that a 60-minute performance against one of the better teams in the comp is going to get us a result this week.
“We need to work hard and hopefully learn from our lapses in concentration last week.”
Centre Chris Monamara is very doubtful with ankle ligament damage.