Pontypridd captain and lock Chris Dicomidis has won the Principality Player of the Month award for February
He guided the Sardis Road side to home wins over Llandovery and Newport and an away victory over Bridgend during the month, helping the champions to consolidate their position at the top of the Principality Premiership table.??
An ever present member of the Ponty side for the majority of the past decade, Dicomidis has caught the attentions of watching opposition coaches and knowledgeable observers alike in earning the sponsor’s accolade. ??
“I’m pleased with how I’ve been playing, since Christmas in particular and scored a couple of tries in February to boot which is always nice.
“I have a great team and group of boys around me.
“On the field there are 14 other leaders and the coaching team has been consistently superb with Chief (Dale McIntosh), Johnsey (Paul John) and now Gareth Wyatt having stepped into a management role.
“All three have great experience within the game and the whole club really is like a close family unit,” he said.??
Pontypridd beat Llanelli to win the Principality Premiership Play-Off final last year after losing in the final the previous year. Dicomidis says the club is desperate to hold onto the title.??
“We took a while to get to the top of the table but now that we’re there we want to stay there – each game is like a cup final now.?
“The Cup is massive for us too – we were disappointed with our performance against Cross Keys in the final last year and we feel we owe our supporters a good run in the cup this year, we would love to do the double,” he added.??
While the Principality Premiership is often a stepping stone to regional and international rugby for Welsh rugby’s best young players, the likes of Dicomidis have a vital role to play in Premiership clubs.??
“My focus is now firmly on Ponty and helping the club achieve as much as we can. We have a number of old heads at the club and those players, like Dan Godfrey and Wayne O’Connor help make Ponty a great learning environment for young players coming through.
“The youngsters often turn to us for advice, and however much gym and skill work they’ve done, it’s only on the pitch that they can put it into practice,” he said.