Gerwyn Price is hoping to come out breathing fire on Thursday night after a spell with the Dragons rugby squad ahead of his next Premier League Darts night.
Price, who famously played semi-professional rugby for Cross Keys and had a brief full-time stint with Glasgow, went back to his rugby roots on Tuesday.
He returned to Gwent rugby with a training session at the Dragons and also had time to put on a darts demonstration for the players as well.
They would have seen an in-form Ice Man who should really have beaten Michael van Gerwen last week in Night Four of the Premier League Darts in Dublin.
Price had stormed through to the final against the Dutch master by overcoming Dmitri van den Bergh in the quarter-final and then destroying world champion Michael Smith in the semi-final, 6-1.
In the final, the Welsh marksman had chances to win his second PLD victory of the season, following his triumph in Cardiff, but just couldn’t land his doubles when it mattered.
That allowed Van Gerwen to come from 5-2 down to win 6-5 and claim his place at the top of the eight-man Premier League table.
All of which sets up a tasty battle between Price and Van Gerwen in the opening quarter-final round on Night Five of the tournament at the Westpoint in Exeter.
Price’s fellow Welshman, Jonny Clayton, faces a quarter-final clash against Peter Wright, while the other two ties see Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith battle it out in a rematch of November’s Grand Slam showpiece and Dimitri Van den Bergh against Chris Dobey.
Price is currently third in the table behind leader Van Gerwen and second-placed Smith, but the Dutchman admits Price was at the top of his game at times in Dublin.
“Gezzy was phenomenal in the first rounds and I was really struggling all day in the final,” said Van Gerwen.
“I had to keep fighting, but when you can come through like that it gives you relief and it gives you confidence.
“You are playing against a top, world class player so you have to keep believing in your own ability. The crowd were on his back. He has so many times when the crowd is against him.
“The pressure is high. When you miss, the people are booing you. You need to hit those doubles, but there is pressure. To win and be at the top of the table, without your best performance is quite a good thing.”
Price is yet to make the Play-Offs in four previous Premier League appearances, but his form in Dublin and Cardiff suggests he’s a likely contender for the finals in May.
But Clayton needs a sharp improvement if he’s to be there for the business end of the campaign.
So far, The Ferret has only won two matches and is bottom but one of the table with only Peter Wright beneath him.
Night Five – Thursday March 2 | Westpoint Exeter | Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen v Gerwyn Price
Nathan Aspinall v Michael Smith
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chris Dobey
Jonny Clayton v Peter Wright
