EBBW Vale coach Mike Ruddock is looking to see his side slash the number of missed tackles against Neath at the Gnoll tonight as the Steelmen look to make amends for their 'horror show'.

Vale were torn to shreds by the Welsh All Blacks at the end of September as they scored four tries in a clinical first 40 minutes and had the game virtually wrapped up with a 29-7 interval score.

The final score may have been 34-7, but the match was wrapped up long before the final whistle as tackles were missed left, right and centre.

The statistics told the real tale - 38 missed tackles allowed Neath to use their strike runners to devastating effect as they ran Vale ragged in what Ruddock agreed was the lowest point of their season so far.

After the match fly-half Mark Meenan said that he felt the players were fighting for their jobs after such a poor performance and the players responded.

The number of missed tackles dropped to 15 against Edinburgh, 13 against Montauban, 12 against Swansea and just six in Ebbw Vale's last league run out when they lost 7-6 at home to Bridgend.

Granted the heavy conditions against Bridgend also kept the tackling down, but Ruddock will be left bitterly disappointed by anything other than a major improvement from the Neath game.

Ruddock said: "We are significantly reducing the number of missed tackles, but then again we conceeded a try through one of our six missed tackles against Bridgend.

"We watched the video of the game against Neath to show the guys again how bad it was.

"The last time we played down there we were missing people like Martin Jones, Leyton Phillips and Ockert Booyse, which will boost our pack.

"And our last visit was the first time we have gone out and not fronted up to the opposition and this is something we'll do this time.

"If we don't, I'll be very disappointed."

Vale's back row is boosted by the presence of Kingsley Jones former captain of both Wales and Ebbw, who is playing on permit from Pontypridd.

Ruddock said: "Kingsley has been on stand-by for us since Tyron Morris was sent off (against Caerphilly at the start of the season) and we have been looking to give him a game and I must thank Pontypridd for letting us play him.

"It will be good to see Kingsley in an Ebbw Vale shirt again."

Ebbw Vale: R Davies, R Shorney, N Wakely, M Ridley, A Takarangi, M Meenan, B Shelbourne, A Black, L Phillips, M Jones, O Booyse, P Sidoli, R Williams, K Jones, K Tuipulotu.