The South Wales Warriors are breaking with tradition by playing on a Saturday. But Twm Owen wonders whether or not they can break another recent habit – losing.

 

In America the tradition of Sunday afternoons being for NFL football is followed with almost religious observance.

It is perhaps no surprise that with the game in Britain, and Wales, owing its existence to the pioneering coverage of the NFL on Channel 4/S4C in the 1980s that the Sabbath is also the day set aside for most ‘Britball’ fixtures.

But when the South Wales Warriors return to home action in their British American Football Association (BAFA) National League Division One Central campaign, against division champions the Sussex Thunder, they will do so in a rare Saturday evening clash.

The reason for staging the game on Saturday night (6pm) however is due to the practicalities of the long journeys involved in the BAFA league. The Warriors’ only other Saturday fixture this season was their hard-fought 17-6 defeat to the Thunder, in Brighton, in May, which was also an early evening kick-off.

“There’s no particular reason for the Saturday kick off apart from we agreed to host respective home and away games on Saturdays at six o’clock to help each other with travel. We’ve also done the same when we played each other in previous years,” said Warriors head coach Geraint Roberts.

While the Thunder can enjoy a later start to their more than three hour, 200-mile journey Roberts said his charges, who’ve yet to win all season, would also be pleased if the promise of Saturday night football draws some more spectators to Llanharan Rugby Club.

Entrance to the Dairy Field is free while the club house is also open and burgers and hot dogs are available from pitch side snack bar.

A small band of supporters attend most home games at the village ground, that has seating for 400 and a covered terrace, and will be hoping the Warriors can avenge an 8-14 home defeat to the Thunder in their last home fixture before the run of five away games that ended with a painful 42-0 defeat at the hands of the Oxford Saints almost a fortnight ago.

“I don’t think the Saturday evening kick off will have a big impact on attendance, but you never know,” said Roberts whose side are doomed to finish bottom of the division, just a year after opting for voluntary relegation from the top tier Premiership.

“I know the guys would really appreciate the local support in what has been a tough season. Five away games have proved a real struggle and we’re glad to be playing at home again.”

Relegation to the third tier is only likely to be confirmed during the off-season but Roberts says his young side will hold their heads high as they complete their season with two home games.

“We’ll approach these games like we approach any other. I’m positive, as I still feel the guys have not played to their potential all year. If we’re going down, we’re going down fighting.”

Apart from the lackluster display at Oxford no-one has denied the Warriors have fought hard all season, as their close encounters with the unbeaten Thunder have shown.

Other than the 42-0 blowout against the Saints, and a 20-0 away loss to the Solent Thrashers, the Warriors have only lost by a double figure margin once, away to the Thunder, and have lost five games by seven points or less.

Thunder head coach Ian Ellis credited the Warriors as the toughest opponents his team had faced in the early stages of the season. His team have been barely troubled since, apart from a one-point home win over the Saints, in early June.

They wrapped up the division title on Sunday with a 35-9 win, at home, over the Solent Thrashers – who are the Warriors final opponents later in July.

After winning the division title on Sunday Ellis told the Thunder’s YouTube channel his focus would now be on the play-offs which start in August.

“That was probably our best performance of the year,” said Ellis of the victory that saw the Thunder score five touchdowns, including two from star running back Ben Chukwu-Onu, in a threatening offensive performance led by former Great Britain quarterback Eber Kington.

“I would love to end the season on a perfect note but I’ve got some players who’ve got to get ready for play-off football, that is our focus.”