By Twm Owen
The South Wales Warriors will open their British American Football season away to league newcomers Somerset Wyverns.
The Taunton-based outfit will have a tough introduction to the British American Football Association’s (BAFA) Southern Football Conference Division Two West as they face the Warriors in their first fixture since completing the associate process to gain a place in the league.
Though the Warriors – who are currently training every Sunday at Pontyclun – went winless in 2017 they still proved to be a competitive opponent in the middle tier following their voluntary relegation from the Premiership.
After travelling down the M5 for the April 15 season opener, the Warriors will have a three-week rest before their first home fixture, at Llanharan Rugby Club, when the Jurassic Coast Raptors are the visitors to the Dairy Field.
Though there are five teams in the division, each team will play only eight league fixtures, facing all opponents at least once, in a season stretching from April to August.
BAFA is hoping teams will find room to arrange fixtures against ‘associate’ clubs – who must complete games against league sides to satisfy the governing body they are ready to play a full schedule for next season.
The Warriors will be relieved that they have been spared the long return trip to Dorchester to play the Raptors who only won the one game last season.
But the league’s only Welsh team will still have to journey to the far south west twice with visits to both Torbay and Newquay.
Cornish Sharks, who are based in Newquay, travel to Llanharan a week after the Raptors, on May 13. The Sharks finished second in the division, behind the promoted Bristol Apache, with a seven win and three loss record in 2017.
A five week lay-off then awaits the Warriors before they resume their schedule on June 17 with a visit to the Worcestershire Black Knights. The Worcester-based side, who posted a 2-8 record last year, will arrive in Llanharan on July 1.
The following week the Warriors travel to face one of Britain’s longest established clubs, the Torbay Trojans, who won three and lost seven in 2017. The Trojans must make the trip to Llanharan on July 22.
The regular season will conclude on August 5 when the Warriors face the Sharks on the north coast of Cornwall when both sides will hope to still be in play-off contention.
The three south conference champions, one from the Warriors’ west division, the south division and east division, as well as the three conference runners up and the two best third placed teams, will qualify for the play-offs to crown the South champions.
All fixtures are scheduled for Sundays and will kick-off at 2.30pm.