This weekend they return to Tier 1 action with a very welcome home match against Pontypridd. Right now, they are bottom but one and 11 points off league leaders Merthyr.
Those are the facts, but the figures don’t tell the whole story. The Wizards have played two less games than the top five teams and only need two wins to be right back in the title picture.
“We’ve got five successive weeks of league action coming up having not played a competitive game since 25 February. But we’ve used that time well and we are ready to go.”
Hyatt used the month of March to put in some extra fitness work and his squad have also played three friendly fixtures. They were the team to beat in January and Hyatt intends to return them to that status over the coming weeks.
“We are fully focused on delivering a performance against Pontypridd this weekend. That is all that is in the minds of the players and coaches,” added Hyatt.
“Even though we didn’t play any league games in March I think we used our time extremely well. We are fit and healthy, and excited about what is ahead of us.
“The beauty about the new format of the Premiership this season is that any team in Tier 1 can beat anyone else. There is a real intensity to every game and that means you have to prepare well and be at your very best for every minute of every game.
“We played some great rugby in the first half of the season and we’re looking to get back to recapture that form, especially with some decent weather and good pitches on the horizon. All the teams in Tier 1 have great attacking ability and we are going to have some fantastic games from now on.
“The Premiership sometimes gets a bad press, but the ball in play time in some of our games this season has reached 40 minutes. We’re working hard on skill levels and fitness and we are producing players for the regional game.
“Jay Baker and Rowan Jenkins are two classic examples for Aberavon. They have both been given two-year contracts at the Ospreys and are developing well.
“And just look at the current Wales squad. Justin Tipuric started his senior career at Aberavon, Alun Wyn Jones began at Swansea, Gareth Davies, Scott Baldwin, Taulupe Faletau and many other also began with Premiership clubs.”
The Premiership is the breeding ground, rather than the finishing school, for professional players in Wales and is living many of the Wales Under 18 and Under 20 squad members their chance to shine. However, it is also about winning a title.
“We were pretty unstoppable in some games before the split and that’s the level we want to get back to. We’ve got some great backs and, as we showed with our win in our last game against RGC, we also have a power game,” said Hyatt.
“There are five great weeks of action left to go for every team before we get into the play-offs. Let’s hope the weather holds and we don’t see any snow!”
Top of the table Merthyr host Carmarthen Quins in their penultimate home game and they will be looking for a little bit of revenge following their Foster’s Cup semi-final defeat in Carmarthen. Third placed Bedwas are also at home, against Llandovery, while National Cup finalist RGC 1404 entertain Ebbw Vale.
Principality Premiership Tier 1 – 8 April
Aberavon v Pontypridd
Bedwas v Llandovery
Merthyr v Carmarthen Quins
RGC 1404 v Ebbw Vale
