PONTYPOOL director of rugby Alun Carter knows his charges will have to cope with the onslaught up front when they attempt to cause a Swalec Cup upset at Bedwas on Saturday afternoon.

Pooler were beaten in comprehensive fashion on their own turf by runaway Swalec Championship leaders Bargoed last weekend.

The Rhymney Valley side, who face a humdinger of a tie with Principality Premiership pacesetters Pontypridd, made it 14 wins on the spin with a five-try, 39-7 demolition job.

Pooler had been in pretty good form before that setback and Carter is looking for a response from his charges.

“I was really disappointed and we have to cleanse ourselves of that performance,” said the former Wales analyst, who took the reins at Pooler when Mike Hook left for Bridgend last summer.

“Bargoed have a formula that works and it is based around a strong scrum, reminiscent of Pontypool sides of old. They have an outstanding defence that puts the pressure on their opposition and we made far too many individual errors and were inaccurate.

“We will certainly face a similar challenge at the set piece against Bedwas and we will have to cope with being up against a big, heavy pack again.

“We are the Championship side so we are underdogs and the pressure is on Bedwas. If the boys put the effort in and clear up the mistakes from last week then we will certainly give them a game.”

Bedwas sit seventh in the Premiership and suffered yet another narrow loss when beaten 15-14 by Neath at the Gnoll last weekend. Six of their seven league defeats have come with bonus points but a plucky loss is not an option against Pooler.

“We were poor last week and need to be much more accurate against Pontypool because they will bring plenty of energy and desire,” said head coach Steve Law.

“But that should be a given for any side and we just need to play in the right areas and put the pressure on them.

“It’s a game that has the potential to be messy, because there are no assistant referees so there is more scope to play the game on the edge.”