VICTORY IN A LOW KEY (200915)
When the final whistle was mercifully blown on Saturday after ninety minutes of forgettable rugby, players and supporters were relieved, disappointed and puzzled. How was it that a side in the Premiership won 22-0, almost got a bonus point but didn’t play well? The scene was set, the cameras were in place, the sun shone on our picturesque ground but the result was a B movie.
There were more penalties than passes taken, almost thirty or one every three minutes, we had most of the ball and territory but the game never took off, it had no shape and although we were by far the best side and our line was never threatened we took twenty minutes to score a try and seventy to get another, both scored by Man of the Match Steffan Jones.
They were examples of what might have been had we taken countless other chances. Both showed what accurate passing can bring and in the 80th minute we got a third with little time left for a fourth but two late runs could and should have brought a bonus point. Not a great performance but a valuable win. It was nothing to write home about, not even on a postcard, but the players know they can do so much better.
If we were low after a patchy win how did South Africans feel four hours later after Japan pulled off the shock result of the century? Flags were half-mast in the Republic, saki sales hit new records in Japan and they showed what quick ball and clean passing can do. And who was their defence coach? Leigh Jones, one of many who once coached us and went on to higher things.
Our supporters have brought technicolour to all the major grounds in Wales except the Millenium Stadium and look forward to strutting their stuff at a Cup Final there one day in May. Whether in red, white, green, purple or pink our all-weather supporters are always on parade come rain or come shine. They did their best to liven things up on Saturday and their “Ebbw, Ebbw” chant will be heard at Llandovery on Saturday. The locals will remember them clad in Hawaiian gear on a cold Boxing Day in 2006 braving the elements and different beer as if they were on Waikiki Beach.
We beat the Drovers twice last season, 30-29 at home and 22-13 away. The former was exciting and both sides produced a spectacular that was not decided until the very last minute. Leading 30-24 and under siege what nerves were left on the newly named Clive Burgess terrace were shattered when the visitor’s wing scored a try wide out. Thanks to our scrum-half Chris Thomas who kept the scorer out wide the conversion was difficult and just failed, we won by a point and collected five.
The week-end World Cup results, apart from the Japanese triumph were expected but consider the difficulties the so-called Second Grade nations face. They play very few internationals, Fiji for example have played twenty-six this century compared to England’s one hundred and seventy-eight. The Fijians did well on Friday and their scrum-half is Man of The Tournament so far.
To get into the quarters Wales need to win on Saturday evening at Twickenham. We shan’t be as naive or as inexperienced as Fiji were but our Six Nations record at the ground is not encouraging, two wins in the last ten visits. Referees are often insulted unfairly, TMOs are often consulted unnecessarily so one can only hope that Saturday’s game will be free of both. With the right result of course.

DRAMA AT GWENT’S HIGH VELDT (140915)
Classy it wasn’t, dramatic it was, a genuine Derby and Ebbw had to work hard to win it. Newport’s attack threatened early on, there was an outbreak of penalties, five yellow cards and a host of chances were missed. We dominated the second half, one 60 metre forward drive deserved an entry in the Guinness Book of Records and carried more with it than Eddie Stobart. A win, which seemed unlikely in the first act of the drama, was not only achieved but we got a bonus point as well.
The Front Row Union were chuffed when Ross Jones was named Man of the Match and the quality of our bench was evident yet again, one of them Ashley Sweet made a welcome return and as a result the lineout flourished. The forwards have a familiar look and the backs are new but there is evidence that everything will fit into place soon. We did not play as well as we can in both opening games but emerged 50-14 on aggregate.
We are home to Neath on Saturday but will be wary of them. We got the double over them last season but at The Gnoll had to make a comeback to win it. Neath led 15-0 after 15 minutes, Vale responded to 15-12, it was 18-18 with the game in the balance and time for Hudd’s Heavies to do the business. A penalty try awarded by a very promising referee named Nigel Owens clinched it and we won 29-18. Job done.
There have been exciting games with Neath and for many years winning at The Gnoll was rare, they were the first winners of the Welsh Cup when it was revived n 1971/2, but we did pip them in a tense tie in 77/78, a game that featured a solo performance by Steve Lewis who was rated No. 3 scrum-half in England at the time.
We had scraped a 10-6 home win over Pyle in Round One and were very lucky to win 12-9 at Llandaff thanks to a Dai Fryer penalty goal in the last minute. If the River Taff had been near Ebbw supporters would have jumped in it until he casually put it over. Then came The Gnoll, a fortress at the time, but Steve dropped three goals, kicked a penalty and we won 16-10.
We are reminded of the quarter-final home to Cardiff in February 1978 every time we look at our membership card which portrays Clive Burgess charging at Gareth Edwards, but the result is best forgotten. Led by Gerald Davies and including internationals galore Cardiff hit back from 10-4 down to win 29-10.
There were several important head-to-heads in the game, Steve Lewis v Gareth Edwards, our skipper Gareth Howls playing his 500th game for us v England cap Barry Nelmes, Clive Burgess v Terry Charles and several more. Gerald Davies, 46 caps for Wales, was Cardiff captain and in the previous round before 15,000 at Pontypool Park won the game single-handed. Cardiff put together only five “worthwhile” attacks in the game and he scored tries from four of them.
That was the Cup that was, full of drama, full of memories.

WHATEVER THE POINTS SYSTEM A WIN IS WHAT MATTERS (070915)
When the value of a drop goal was reduced from four to three in 1948 it was considered a revolutionary move but long overdue. The try was only worth three points and did not rise to four until 1971/72, this season in the Premiership it increases from five to six. The bonus point incentive has always encouraged tries not penalty kicks but in rugby’s showpiece, the World Cup, finals have been dominated by penalty goals. In seven World Cup finals there have been 11 tries, 6 conversions, 5 drop goals and 42 penalty goals. Winning is what matters in competitions and why not if the prize is so important. Losing a thriller is not an option.

The temptation under pressure to concede two points through a penalty will be closely watched but in a League or a Cup game only the final score matters. Combine desire to win by playing fifteen man rugby has been the policy of Ebbw Vale and Bridgend from the three-point try era through the Floodlit Alliance which was decided on tries only. Saturday’s game was not enthralling and our three tries were products of the coal-face but it was the first serious game of the season and both sides will take a lot from it.

At Bridgend it seems that only the scoreboard operator was affected by the experiment and there was only one penalty kick at goal. Our 20-8 victory, or in old money 17-7, was very acceptable although there was disappointment on both sides at not getting a bonus point. The innovation has not been welcomed by everyone but it is an experiment for this season only and might be binned after that. Everyone looks for improvements so perhaps attention should then be directed to achieving consistency in the interpretation of the Laws.

We are home to Newport on Saturday and remember the exciting game at Rodney Parade last season when their enclosure was packed with red, white and green clad men, women, boys and girls. In the middle was a local lad whose T shirt read “Newport For Ever,” which in this bi-lingual world should be “Casnewydd Am Byth,” but despite seeing his team pipped at the post he enjoyed being surrounded by visiting addicts at his own ground.

Those who had left early to get a pint missed an end only matched by an Indiana Jones adventure. One Ebbw Valian remained seated and when it sank in got up and shouted “We’ve won, we’ve won!” He didn’t know but he was repeating what the WRU Secretary said in 1893 after the second Welsh win over England and the first in Wales which didn’t go down well with the Twickers rugger chappies. Can’t see the WRU President shouting that at Twickenham on October 31 when Wales beat New Zealand can you?

On Saturday the voice of our announcer will be heard at the top of Newtown and Beaufort Hill as he introduces Damien and his men with “The St e e e l Men.’ Just another day at the office for PA operators throughout Wales but spare a thought for the man with the mike at the Millie when Uruguay and Fiji trot out in the World Cup. He’s probably practising already and so is the band which has to play anthems which often sound like losers in the Eurovision Song Contest.

THE REHEARSALS ARE OVER (300815)
This year’s pre-season fixtures were the toughest Ebbw Vale took on for some time, two of them against fully professional English Championship sides. Two features were our attack at Moseley which brought five tries and our defence against London Welsh which kept us within ten points until we conceded a last minute interception try. In both games our spirit and fitness stood out and the purpose of such games was achieved. The coach learned a lot and so did the players who are now rarin’ to go on Saturday when the season kicks-off.

London Welsh, who played in the Aviva Premiership last season, had to work hard for their win. They were big, strong and fast but had it not been for unforced errors the score would have been closer. The changes made by both sides contributed to a scrappy encounter but Vale can take a lot of positives out of it. Steve Lewis, former Steelman and now Director of Rugby at Old Deer Park, praised his old club. “Ebbw Vale did very well, “ he said, “they defended superbly; we thought they would crack but they didn’t.” The Lewis twins came home and it was nice to see them playing on our ground again as it was to greet a great of the past, John Dawes.

The three August friendlies brought challenges and opportunities for players and coaches and some good rugby was played against varied and strong opponents. It was a change to play teams in the English Championship which is fully professional with promotion to the Aviva Premiership a major incentive. As one supporter said, it’s more rewarding to play a side of the calibre of London Welsh than easier opposition. As usual the team was well supported at the three games and Friday’s crowd would have made many Premiership club treasurers very happy.

In our first year in Division One East the Premiership was not ring-fenced and promotion was a possibility. To get it we had to win Division One East which we did, then beat the bottom club in the Premiership, Glamorgan Wanderers which we did not. The Wanderers met winners of Division West, Bridgend, in a final play-off won by the Ravens who had earlier beaten us 27-6 in the Cup. We were not quite ready for the big time then but it didn’t take long before we were.

Doubles over Bridgend have been rare, we did it in 1977/78 and 1996/7 but hopes of another were far from our minds on a rainy night last November. It was a cracking game and with four minutes left we trailed 20-15. A month before we were in the same perilous situation at Newport but made a comeback and won by two points very late. At the Brewery Field, inspiringly led by Damien Hudd, we first drew level and, with seconds to spare, got the winner. We emerged shaken and stirred with a 27-20 result. Those watching Ebbw always get eighty minutes’ worth.

Having lost our three previous games we needed a win over Bridgend at ECP in March and recorded our highest score over them, 45-3, bettered a few games later at an almost deserted (well, deserted by home supporters) Parc y Scarlets where we strolled to a comfortable 51-0 win. The double over Bridgend was an achievement because they were the only side to beat Pontypridd in the Premiership and went one better by defeating them in the Swalec Cup Final.

Organising a knees-up in a Brewery is one thing, winning at the Brewery Field is another and opening the League season there is a real challenge but every game we play in this campaign will be the same. We kick-off at 1:30 on Saturday and expect a few more changes of time while the World Cup is on. Will this be the winter of content for Wales? Will we make the quarters? The first game is against all-amateur Uruguay who draw their players from 28 local clubs which will boost the game in a soccer-mad nation. Their supporters will enjoy watching their players in the national team, something we in Wales have not experienced since 2003. And it’s likely we never will again.

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THE ANGLO-WELSH CONNECTION (230815)
New faces, new combinations and a useful tester at Pontypool Park where once forwards reigned, that was the scenario for the second pre-season friendly. Pontypool away was always a tough one, local pride and sheer determination still remains but sheer pace produced an amazing 33-0 win for Ebbw whose defensive form was much improved from that at Moseley a week before.

Amazing because no Ebbw Vale side has ever won by such a margin at The Park and for Ponty to fail to score a point was unusual to say the least. Pooler showed spirit and endeavour but their breaks were met by crunching tackles. Their pack will serve them well in what should be a competitive Championship this season while Nigel Davies will be satisfied with the strength in depth Ebbw posseses. There was a good crowd, one which several Premiership clubs would like to draw and all is set for Friday’s visit of London Welsh, a game not to be missed.

Gone are the days when the three Exile London clubs, Welsh, Scottish and Irish, were filled with players from those countries. There’s hardly an O’ in London Irish but we know for certain that there are two Welshmen named Lewis in the London Welsh side.

In the late 70s London Welsh recruited an English outside-half, Neil Bennett, from Bedford which upset members who believed that only Welshmen should play for the club. Bennett won seven English caps between 1975 and 1979 and played once against Wales who won 27-3 but according to one journalist he “often lacked confidence in the Welshmen around him and overdid the kicking.” How strange, but maybe his team-mates spoke Welsh.

A problem Welsh sides had in England was local interpretation of the rules but only one referee worried us. When he took a game in the Midlands one of our lads did a Bogart and said “Of all the games in all the world he has to referee ours.” We had no problems at The Stoop in March 1979 when we beat Harlequins 8-4, the ref was Paul Russell from Rassau well known in English rugby. His brother Marcus became well known when he discovered Oasis in a Manchester pub.

English players in Wales also had to adapt to local customs and vociferous crowds but our referees did not meet with everyone’s approval, the 1926 touring Maoris refused to play under Welsh referees in Wales, probably because they lost here. The more gentlemanly attitude over the border was typified by a famous English referee Cyril Gadney who scolded Leicester and Northampton players engaged in tribal conflict by saying, “Gentlemen, when you have quite finished there is a lineout that needs your attention and a game of football to complete.”

The last time the Welsh played at Ebbw Vale was on Saint David’s Day 1969 when they won 6-0 and took our ground record. Wales won the Championship and the Triple Crown in 68/9 and London Welsh were the top side in London. Wales beat England 30-9, winger Maurice Richards scoring four tries and Denzil Williams scored one against Ireland. It was a time of off-field change, Wales became the first Home Union to adopt a squad system and national coaching, all founded on club rugby which was the final stepping stone to international selection.

Those were the days my friends, those were the days.

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PLAYING IN THE PARK (160815)
Four Gwent sides played English opposition on the weekend: the Dragons and Ebbw Vale played Championship sides Nottingham and Moseley while Newport and Bedwas played Division One Rosslyn Park and Henley. In the Rhondda another English Championship side Ealing won at Sardis Road 40-11.

We were in with a shout at Moseley right to the end but two late tries by the home side clinched a deserved 49-31 win. Eighty points provided the entertainment while the performance of their players provided the coaches with plenty to think about. Nigel Davies and his assistants were encouraged by what they saw and the five tries we scored, two of them by Ryan Gardiner and Patric Lewis on their debut. There were positive signs in our attack although half a dozen missed tackles cost us dearly. All in all a positive exercise, played in excellent conditions.

Pontypool’s return to the top flight in 2016/17 is assured wherever they finish in the Championship, they have an A certificate and will be included in the enlarged Premiership. We last played them in The Park in October 2013 in a Championship game and won 19-13 but it was too close for comfort. We led 12-0 after 10 minutes but in the second half Pooler hit back and went 13-12 ahead. Two tries and Meyer’s goal-kicking decided the result and while it was not a great performance, those with long memories of games there were quite satisfied. We go there again on Saturday and although it’s a friendly it will not be a stroll in the Park.

The preliminaries will soon be over and the season proper will start. There has been much activity within the club in what is laughingly called summer, more season tickets sold then ever, the new merchandise came early and was quickly grabbed by the patriotic and we even have a list of mascots.

Supporters have enjoyed watching the training sessions on French’s Field which some may remember as a mudheap in Grammar School days. Competition for places will be keen and fulfils the club motto “Iach Gorff Iach Feddwl” which for those south of Beaufort means “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind.” We can be assured that the bodies of our players are very healthy indeed. And no doubt so are their minds.

In the World Cup Wales will play their Pool A games at Twickenham and Cardiff. In the summer the Welsh squad trained at altitude in the Alps but we resisted the temptation to follow suit and train on the Domen. The players did everything in the Alps but yodel, and Welsh captain Sam Warburton called the experience ‘horrendous’ and the toughest he had known. But he hasn’t experienced training on Cae Canol on a wet January night.

The glory of Brecon Beacons National Park attracts thousands of tourists annually. On Tuesday 6th, October Americans will experience it when the California Bald Eagles Veterans team on their World Cup tour play at Gwernyfed, a club with strong Ebbw Vale connections. Some of our best players started there and are active in coaching and management. Robert Stephens, Des Parry, Alan Phillips, Chay Billen and others are still honoured and highly regarded by Ebbw Valians.Playing in the Brecon Beacons National Park will be rather different from playing in the Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, but knowing Rob, Des, Chay, Alan and their club, the Eagles will leave their hearts in Gwernyfed.

THE INS AND OUTS OF WELSH RUGBY (110815)
“Ring-fencing” is not a term we speak of in polite company; we suffered from it a few seasons ago as we faced a barrier to the Promised Land like potential escapees contemplating the Iron Curtain. It’s back again, but with an important difference. In the season about to begin instead of barring the entrance to the Premiership, it will bar a club from getting out of it.

There was no relegation last season because the winners of the Championship, Bargoed, did not have an A Licence, so no one was promoted and there will be no drop-out in 2015/16 because in 2016/17 the division will be enlarged to sixteen clubs. It might be fifteen because as I tap the keys only Swansea, RGC 1404 and Pontypool qualify on criteria. For three seasons of the 16-club Premiership there will be no relegation, i.e. ring-fencing.

As we quickly discovered, but soon avoided, there are banana skins in Premiership games and having surprised everyone but ourselves last term we will be targeted from Day One. However we will tread familiar grounds against familiar clubs. Last season the new kids on the block who not long before were piling on the points in the Championship and Division 1 East, whilst not wearing out scoreboards so much – our highest score was 45-3 against Bridgend – surprised the cynics and came near to taking the spoils.

We still take an interest in the Championship and note with pleasure the promotion to it of Beddau and Newcastle Emlyn. We always enjoyed our time at Beddau, before, during and after the game and although we won all the eight League and two Cup games against them found them honest, gallant opponents. We are pleased they have returned to the Championship. In 1996/7 we journeyed into the unknown for a cup tie at Newcastle Emlyn which we won 43-0. The hospitality in a huge marquee was outstanding and the beer was good too, a genuine rugby club who deserve their elevation.

Birmingham is a major city but there is only one major rugby club in it and we play them on Saturday. Moseley RFC was formed in 1874 and for most of its history played at The Reddings where the amazing points scorer Sam Doble once reigned supreme – he scored 581 points in 1971/2. The club went through very difficult times at the turn of the century and only avoided a move to Oxford by a narrow margin at a special meeting. Since 2004 it has played at Billesley Common with 1300 seats and plenty of standing room. We can expect a warm welcome and a tough game; it’s England v Wales in miniature after all. Regular fixtures with Moseley were once very popular and there were several Welsh exiles on their committee including a team-mate of Alan Foster in the same Wales Secondary Schools side. Moseley chairman and Secretary Alun Evans was centre and captain of the schools team that in 1953 beat Scotland at Cardiff and England at Twickenham. Denzil Williams also played in those games and eight years later Alan Foster played at Twickenham again for the RAF in the Inter-Services Championship and it pains me to say this but they beat The Army. Brylcreem Boys 19 Squaddies 11.

WARMING UP IN AUGUST (040815)
Pre-season games have not always been friendly or encouraging. In the 50s in a trial match on our ground a local referee sent a player off and the culprit spent September kicking his heels, grumbling about officials in general and one in particular. In August 2009 we played Barking at Brynmawr, their coach Alex Codling was welcomed back but we lost 20-5 to an Essex side not highly rated. We did much better a week later at Worcester losing by one point but the season that followed was disastrous. Last August we played Moseley at Abertillery and lost 21-18. We checked their results throughout the season that followed and to our surprise they finished 11th out of 12 in the English Championship, which is a fully pro competition heavily funded by the RFU. They won the friendly but finished next to bottom in their league, we lost but finished next to top in ours. Moseley however are a very ambitious and well organised club and we face a real challenge when we go there for the first time in seven years.

Among the personal battles fought in games against Moseley was that between two renowned backrow forwards, Clive Burgess and Nick Jeavons, thirteen times capped for England. They faced each once internationally, at Twickenham in 1982 when England won 17-7, a game influenced by the shoulder injury to Terry Holmes in the 46th minute. The end of season tour of South Wales by the Barbarians brought rivals together and at Easter 1981 Clive and Nick Jeavons were on the same side that played Cardiff.

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Budgie and Nick Jeavons

On August 22nd we play at Pontypool Park where a warm reception awaits us. Last season Pooler’s expectations were not realised and they finished 5thin the Championship. But they have an A Licence and with the prospect of the Premiership increasing to sixteen clubs in 2016 are gearing up for a return.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES (220715)
Prop forwards are not jumpers, leaping to great heights is not their forte. They might take a short throw now and then but their duty in the lineout melee is to support and when necessary lift one of the tall men and generally be a nuisance. They also handle the ball a lot, run with it, score occasionally and when in possession turn into human bull-dozers thus causing havoc. Props love causing havoc.

Ceri Jones our forwards coach has done all that and occasionally still does because he still has “a few run outs for Usk but is getting old and slow.” You don’t have to believe that if you don’t want to. His father Lyn was one of the tall men, known as The Leap due to his lineout dominance. He played superbly for Ebbw Vale and Newport in the 60s and 70s, also for the Barbarians and was worthy of even greater honours.

Lyn was one of three Ebbw Vale players who played for the Baa Baas in 1970/71, Arthur Lewis and Denzil Williams were the others and they captained the Easter tourists who played four games in five days. Lyn played against Newport who were beaten 16-11 in front of a packed house on Easter Tuesday.

Ceri was born in Newport in June 1977, played for Newport High School Old Boys most of whom were young, Usk mostly farmers and 98 games for Newport mostly players from the Western and Eastern Valleys. After playing 98 games for Newport he went to Harlequins and became a cult figure there. This is not an exaggeration, after his 232nd and last game for Quins he was given a standing ovation from the crowd at The Stoop. Not only did he prop against the best in the game he scored twenty-four tries for Quins so being a prop who spends a lot of the game bending one might say he “Stooped to conquer.”

He was capped twice for Wales when with Quins, playing in two Tests in Australia in 2007. In the first he eagerly went off the bench to replaced Iestyn Thomas and dejectedly left it after Wales led 17-0, then 23-22 with 52 seconds remaining but lost 29-23. That was in Sydney, a week later the starting Welsh front row was Iestyn Thomas, Mefin Davies and Ceri but a 31-0 Aussie win says it all.

Aged 19 he once played for an Ebbw Vale Development XV and against us several times, notably in the 2001 Cup semi-final under the captaincy of Gary Teichman. One report said that Ebbw had Newport on the ropes for a while but four penalty goals and a conversion by another import Howarth against four penalty goals by Jason Strange did the trick and Newport won 19-12.

Ceri played before huge crowds at the Stoop and then Worcester Six Ways and appreciates the importance of support on the terraces and in the stands. In 2007 he became the 74th Jones to be capped for Wales and the clan still dominates the Welsh international’s list.

The Jones family are farmers in Usk and on a family farm everyone chips in. In these days of sports science, lifting weights instead of pints, physios and diets even City gents are big, strong and powerful, but combine a forward with a farmer and you still get somebody special.

When the last orders are taken, when it’s time to call it a day and the nostalgic indulge in picking their dream Ebbw side one certain choice at lock is Lyn Jones, a legend and someone to look up to. Literally.

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FROM SCARLET TO STEELMAN (050715)
(But it all began in Trimsaran)
Over sixty of the Davies clan have played for Wales. One of them, Jonathan was raised in Trimsaran and another, Nigel was born there. They played in the same Welsh team twice, against New Zealand in Auckland in 1988 and in the last international played at the Arms Park against England in 1997. The scores are best forgotten. Nigel had the toughest international debut, against the All-Blacks in New Zealand, in the same game Ebbw Vale’s Ian Watkins didn’t find it easy either, he faced Sean Fitzpatrick.

Few play 500 times for their clubs, Nigel was two short for Llanelli a tremendous achievement in itself bearing in mind his representative commitments. He played on our ground many times generally on the winning side, and once against us on foreign soil in the 1998 Swalec Cup Final.

The Severn Bridge trembled under the weight of cars and buses from Ebbw Vale and Llanelli heading for Ashton Gate in Bristol. The final could not be played in Cardiff as the new stadium was being built, a pity because the narrow pitch and the unusual surroundings did not encourage the right atmosphere. The Llanelli centres were Nigel and Neil Boobyer, opposing them were Jonathan Hawker and John Funnell. At half-back Craig Warlow and Rupert Moon faced Byron Hayward and David Llewellyn and Jason Strange went on to replace Hawker.

Injuries hit the Llanelli prop department so Matthew Madden of Penzance-Newlyn was pirated in “on loan.” He must be the only borrowed player to appear in a Cup Final but he earned his fee by scoring the only try of the afternoon which was inspired by Rupert Moon, now Laird of Colwyn Bay who must be noting the changes to the Premier Division with great interest.

16,000 saw the game won by the Scarlets 19-12, our only compensation was Josh Taumalolo being named Man of the Match, unusual because very few won that award in a losing team. It was 12-12 for a long time before Madden touched down and Craig Warlow converted from the touchline. We had an off day, Llanelli didn’t.

In the match report in the Rugby Annual for Wales, Nigel Davies was described as an “Old general in his eighth final, always thinking of ways to worry the opposition.” He played in nine, winning six of them, and when he graduated to coaching stood on countless touchlines. We look forward to him worrying the opposition for us.

Trimsaran is a rugby village, from it came internationals Les Williams, Derek Quinnell, Garan Evans and the two Davies boys. If they had a church bell it would have rung twice in March 1965, one for the arrival of Nigel and the other to celebrate Wales winning the Triple Crown for the first time in thirteen years.

The decision to add four clubs to the Premiership will also affect the divisions below it. Our local clubs will be affected, they cultivate the grass roots of the national game as they always did. There are many in Gwent, especially in our Borough, and in the west are clubs like Trimsaran where as we now know future Welsh internationals were born and bred. It is rugby country through and through, and the presence of Felinfoel Brewery helps as well.

It was from Trimsaran that Nigel Davies joined the original Scarlets in Stradey Parc of happy memory. He has disproved Rudyard Kipling’s claim that “east is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet,” and is now a Steelman. Welcome to the club.

LOCAL BOY MAKES VERY GOOD (280615)
We are used to our coaches moving on to higher places, Mike Ruddock, Richard Hill, Kingsley Jones and Byron Hayward spring to mind. But it is with mixed feelings that we say goodbye to Jason Strange who moves up two levels from club rugby to join the WRU. Max Boyce sang of the Welsh outside-half factory, we have one for coaches but Jason’s era was different, it followed relegation and we had to fight our way back to the top flight and revive the entire club on and off the field. Those coaching and playing joined with those administering, working and supporting and between them the tide was turned. The on-field combination of Jason and Damien Hudd led the way and the club got back where it belonged.

Jason was born in Tredegar almost 42 years ago and was an influential – meaning he won matches – player for Ebbw. The pupils of Ebbw Fawr Learning Community have also benefited from his coaching and he has been part of a crusade to bring back the glory schools rugby once enjoyed. Experience? He has loads of it as a player for us, Pontypridd and Newport in Wales and Rotherham, Leeds and Bristol in the top English division. He’s been there, done that and has an attic full of jerseys and tracksuits to prove it.

Jason the Coach is well known, Jason the Outside-half should not be forgotten. Here is a typical Ebbw Vale side he played in during the 1999/2000 season – Jonathan Williams; Rhys Shorney, Josh Taumalolo, Jonathan Hawker, Stephen John; Jason Strange, Richard Smith; Iestyn Thomas, Leighton Phillips, Andrew Metcalf; Lee Banks, Kuli Faletau; Chay Billen, Brad Clark, Mark Jones (captain). And take note of the bench – Damien Pencini, Andrew Peacock, Gareth Green, Paul Williams, Guy Easterby, Shaun Connor, Jon Harrison.

In 1999/20 we played in the Welsh/Scottish League and European Shield in which we got the double over Toulon 21-19 away and a massive 56-26 at home. Shaun Connor kicked all the points in France, Jason kicked 33 at home when Richard Smith crossed twice and Andrew Wagstaff once. Coaches Leigh Jones and Richard Hill were over several moons as Toulon met their Waterloo.

It’s a long way from kicking a ball around back lanes in Brynmawr, playing bowls for the town’s first team when a teenager (which got him his first mention on a sports page) and at the highest level of club rugby to the elite WRU coaching staff and it could not have come at a better time with the World Cup approaching. Perhaps for some it will mark the end of an era, for Jason it will be the beginning of a distinguished rugby career at international level. He has been recognised by those that matter, but after all he is Premiership Coach of the Year.

Successfully climbing the ladder of Welsh rugby calls for talent, experience and hard work. Not all coaches and players in Wales get the recognition they deserve, but Jason’s CV tells it all, from club coaching to the Wales Under 20s and now the top of the heap. To adapt a song by Ol’ Blue Eyes if you can make it in Ebbw you can make it anywhere.

Jason was Ebbw’s answer to the Sphinx, not that he lacked emotion but unlike football coaches he didn’t rampage along touchlines. Among countless memories of Jason is that hint of a smile on his face when he walked down from his eyrie in the grandstand after another win. With an 87% success League record as head coach he had plenty to smile about, but I suspect that immediately one game ended he was planning the next one.

Congratulations on your appointment Jason, and thanks for the memory.

BRING THE SPARKLE BACK TO RUGBY WRITING (21/06/15)
On a week-end in May there were six live telecasts of rugby matches. We didn’t need a newspaper to tell us what happened, we had seen the games, listened to an army of pundits and made our own minds up. Indirectly “we were there” which is in total contrast to the days when the only sport on the box was Racing From Kempton Park and we relied on the verbal reports of those who had gone to Murrayfield, Twickers and Dublin. Otherwise we turned, literally, to the back pages of Monday’s Western Mail and the South Wales Argus.

Newspaper reports were well written, to the point and there were no flashy headlines. After the England-Wales game at Twickenham in 1950 the Sunday Times article was headed “How Wales Beat England.” The reports were also witty and the master of that style was the Western Mail’s John Billot who added sparkle to his reports and whose death six years ago was mourned by all who follow the game in Wales.

Has the fun gone out of rugby writing? Are the pundits taking the game too seriously? Can they combine humour with hard facts as he did? Only those who still buy newspapers know but we should realise that modern journalists have to find something different to write about a game that millions have already seen.

John was born in Brecon and enjoyed his many visits to Ebbw Vale. He it was who called Clive Burgess ‘Steelclaw,’ Phil Gardner ‘Grey Wolf’ and prop Peter Morgan ‘Buffalo.’ He lived in Cardiff but unlike his successors knew the game outside the capital.

In 1950 when Wales won the Grand Slam for the first time since 1911 he described the Golden Boy of the time, Lewis Jones, as a full back “who ran when everyone especially his own team expected him to kick.” Three years later at the Arms Park when Wales played New Zealand the final drama which brought us a win he wrote, “One of the most astonishing strokes of inspiration by a forward playing for Wales brought victory yet again over the All-Blacks. From the touchline on the south stand side, Clem Thomas, hemmed in by hostile New Zealanders, kicked the ball far across into midfield. It bounced. And there was wing Ken Jones, scooping up his gift from the ground and sending a mighty roar to the skies from the 56,000 crowd as he raced over at the river end with the winning try.” Note “yet again,” we had beaten the Blacks in 1905 and 1935 but since 1953 we have lost to them 26 times on the run.

When Wales lost 3-0 to the Springboks at the Arms Park in December 1960 it coincided with a typhonic downpour and the mail reported “a sea of mud and a fierce gale swept icy stinging rain across the Arms Park.” Pre-war Welsh full-back Vivien Jenkins wrote in the Sunday Times, “the Welsh crowd supported their team and sang every hymn except the one that mattered, ‘For Those In Peril On the Sea.’” In 1997 Wales lost 42-7 to New Zealand in Wembley and John wrote, “The twin towers stared down stonily as Wales met their inevitable doom.” But he was in jubilant mood two years later when we beat England 32-31 at the same stadium with a tribute to a great centre, “Next time a volunteer is required to storm an impregnable fortress call for Scott Gibbs.”

Words cannot express our pleasure watching Jason Strange among the coaches and Harrison Keddy on the field during the Under 20s Championships in Italy. The team’s coaching co-ordinator Allan Lewis commented “The young coaches encouraged the players to play with ball in hand,” no problem to one of the “young” coaches Jason Strange.

Very soon they will be training on their own ground and as usual will draw more watchers than some clubs have on their terraces.

A COLLEGE OF RUGBY KNOWLEDGE (15/06/15)
Where once steel was made education now rules. In Coleg Gwent is Lewis Roberts a former Steelman who hung on to his boots when he finished playing. Born in Newport raised in Pontypool, studied at UWIC he is Rugby Development Officer at the college and Fitness Coach for our club where his brief career as inside-half ended through injury. He played three years with Pontypool United, one with Newbridge and then after joining Ebbw dislocated a knee cap in training but it did not end his involvement with rugby.

Working with budding youngsters by day and seniors by night keeps Lewis busy and fit, a quality he shares with Rhys Shorney who looks as nimble now as he was with Ponty and Ebbw, two of an elite coaching team whose efforts, expertise and belief took us to second place last season. Total fitness contributed to the success of a team mainly consisting of men who work for a living.

Lewis had his first taste of competitive rugby with Pontypool Under 11s in the 1999 D C Thomas Cup Final at Ninian Park. They lost 20-5 to Bridgend but the try of the match was scored by Pontypool No.8 Owain Fisher who finished off a spectacular 60 yard move. 1999 brought mixed fortunes for Graham Henry’s Wales, they lost in Scotland and in the final game played at the Arms Park to an Irish team coached by Warren Gatland, won in Paris and Rome and in our second game at Wembley beat England 32-31. English coach Clive Woodward said “I still won’t believe we lost this game until I wake up in the morning.” Scott Gibbs believed it.

Lewis’s ambition is to develop schools rugby and get the Coleg Gwent team recognised. They played and won ten games last season and are the Region’s champions. Those of us who have long memories bemoan the apparent demise of schools rugby, some say it ended with grammar schools, but there are genuine efforts in our Borough to encourage the game at youth level.

We enjoy reliving 2014/15 but we did have two brief periods when we slipped up temporarily. Lessons were learnt says Lewis, “every game must be considered important, the desire and motivation to win must be 100% every time.” Is home advantage what it used to be? “Yes,” says Lewis, “but even when playing away we get such great support we always feel at home, the roar from the supporters when we take the field is a great boost to the players.”

He admires Jonny Wilkinson, who he once met in an airport’s passport control, for his coolness under pressure as he showed in extra time of the 2013 World Cup Final by dropping the winning goal. That dramatic victory was not only due to Wilko, Martin Johnson’s calm leadership of the drive that set up the position was a great example of controlling a game when it was most needed. Lewis recalls Damien Hudd doing the same at Bridgend last season.

The emphasis in Welsh rugby is naturally on the national team but the development of the young is of equal importance. Lewis Roberts believes colleges like his could be “junior academies” which would widen the scope and opportunities for youngsters. There’s no doubt about it, Ebbw Vale is becoming a Mecca for ambitious rugby players of all ages and at the same site where we once turned out quality steel we now produce quality rugby talent.

The passing of Ivor Parry our groundsman at Eugene Cross Park for many years will be mourned by all who knew him. Caring for our sports complex calls for expertise, hard work and total dedication involving as it does rugby, football and cricket pitches and two bowling greens. Those who play or watch appreciate its spaciousness and on a sunny day it is a sight to behold. It was created many years ago by local volunteers and has been nurtured and lovingly maintained by groundsmen of great character. Ivor’s contribution will long be remembered.

HONOURING A LEGEND (06/06/15)
The Welsh Championship of the 50s and 60s was not a perfect competition and bears no comparison to the 21st Century Premiership. Clubs arranged their own fixtures and did not play the same number of games, there were no Cup ties and not even a Merit Table which came later. That, too, was decided on average and only games against “first class” teams counted.

To win the Championship though was difficult, it called for consistency over at least forty games and when floodlights were installed, the first in Wales was at Pandy Park, more games were arranged and training in winter was made easier. In the 1980/81 season Ebbw Vale played 52 and Breconian Des Parry played in 50 of them!

The players worked for a living and in industrial Ebbw Vale that could mean one of three shifts, days, afternoons or nights and they got to the ground on foot or by bus. It might seem to be an unlikely environment to create good players or play great rugby but the clubs produced Welsh internationals and Lions and often played against All-Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies.

There are very few survivors of the Ebbw Vale teams that won four Welsh Championships between 1951 and 1960 a great period with an average success rate of 80%, but last month one of them celebrated his 90th birthday in his home village of Cwm. Horace Matthews is one of eight in his family who wore the Ebbw Vale jersey and he had a special cake baked for him showing a rugby player in the narrow striped red, white and green of his club.

As a tribute to a living legend of the club an autographed photograph of the 2014/15 Ebbw Vale team was presented to Horace by Ross Jones on behalf of the modern generation of Steelmen. It was a link between the old and the new, something that current players enjoy. In the season just over several former Ebbw players have attended matches to support those who followed in their footsteps wearing what Horace & Co would describe as “daps.” Different days, different boots but the same loyalties.

It’s nice to end a season with a party and meeting Horace Matthews at his birthday tea was a treat, He has a wonderful memory and told many stories including one of his first game at Stradey Parc when an opponent “sledged” him in Welsh, playing for Ebbw Vale & Abertillery against the 1953 All-Blacks and encounters of the close kind which wing-forwards revelled in.

Watching Ross presenting Horace with the photograph was special, not only did it connect the past with the present but it’s not often a prop forward gets the chance to speak publicly to anyone except the referee. Ross the Prop was the perfect modern Steelmen to honour one of the legends of the past and he and Horace share something in common, they have both worn Ebbw’s jersey of narrow red, white and green stripes.

I am looking forward to the pre-season friendlies and have the feeling this year’s might be particularly interesting. The squad increases weekly, now we have twins for the first time since the Lewis boys were with us. Our webmaster goes one better, he claims he played in Blaina’s cricket team that included triplets! If you believe that you’ll believe anything. (Except it’s genuinely true – Ed)

And finally a little bird has told me that one of our experienced hookers, no names no pack drill, is a workmate of a well known referee. Which explains why he rarely gets whistled at.

HONOURS GALORE (280515)
When great film actors retire their achievements and contributions to the industry are recognised by the award of a special ‘Oscar.’ One of our great captains, Damien Hudd, will lead the side for the sixth successive season in September but when he does retire – and I hope to be still around to attend the party – his contribution to the Club should be recognised by the award of a ‘Damien.’

At our Awards night he received the Captain’s and Clubman of the Year trophies and was congratulated on being one of three players nominated for Premiership Player of the Year. To cap it all he and Ashley Sweet, Dai Langdon and John Lavender will play for Crawshay’s Welsh in Georgia, the one near Russia not the one in America’s Deep South. If it was there I would go as a supporter as I still have Georgia on my mind.

In pre-League days Crawshay’s Welsh were our answer to the Barbarians. It was a touring side formed in the 20s in the Guards Depot by a Welsh Guards officer, Captain Geoffrey Crawshay, a Monmouthshire man who was asked to send a team to the West Country to play Devonport Services. A great tradition was started and we know the Steelmen in the party will uphold it, after a long season they are ready for Georgia. But is Georgia ready for them?

The Player of the Year is the inimitable Cameron Reagan (Player’s Player last year) and Harrison Keddie as the Most Promising has promised to return from the Wales Under 20s World Cup in Italy in the same condition he went. To win the Player’s Player award is a particular honour because a man is judged by his mates and Dan Haymond was an inspired choice.

England have a Twelvetrees, we have a Sevenoaks called Rob or Robert and other names by opponents. He won the coveted Man of Steel Award named after Clive Burgess and those who watch Rob and his front row mates from the Clive Burgess Terrace were chuffed when a member of the Union won it. A new award was made on a happy night and it was decided by supporters and given to one of their own. The Ebbw Vale Addicts Volunteer of the Year award went to Angharad Simpson. It was richly deserved, modestly received and was one of the highlights of the night. Perhaps there should be another presentation to Ryan Shepherd as Caterer of the Year who together with his wonderful staff did a great job.

More honours followed. The Principality Building Society Premiership Awards Night was held in the Millenium Stadium and as expected the Premiership Coach of the Year is Jason Strange, another boost for inland Gwent club rugby because the other two nominees were Greg Woods of Cross Keys and Steve Law of Bedwas both strong challengers.

There are two other special Steelmen to be mentioned in an immediate post-season Honours List that is the biggest ever. Ron Taylor is one of the Famous Four along with John Williams, Dilwyn Snelgrove and Alan Hancock who in all weathers are on duty for training or at matches and without whom the machine would not tick over. Ron won the Premiership ‘Unsung Hero’ award at the Millie bash, and mercifully he did not celebrate by singing.

Let us not forget the Premiership is sponsored by the Principality Building Society whose Ebbw Vale branch office is modern, efficient and has a very helpful staff. The Premiership Player of the Month in May was our centre Jordan Howells who was photographed with the photogenic staff and is now certain of a mortgage when he wants one.

I would like to list all the players who have signed for next season but it’s so long I would run out of ink.

A TALE OF TWO SEASONS (230515)
Was our 2014/15 season the best ever? The game has changed so much that we should only judge it on 21st Century results which were varied to say the least. The season just ended was the most dramatic because we rose from the ashes of 2010 and it took four seasons before we were “allowed” back in the top Division. The other season that compares favourably was 2006/07 when Alex Codling was coach and Craig Cleaver was captain. There are similarities but the opposition varied, in Codling’s time we played the Wanderers, Maesteg and Swansea but not Carmarthen Quins. Twenty-two games were scheduled for 2014/15 with two play-offs added. In both seasons Ebbw Vale were runners-up, to Neath in 06/07 and Pontypridd in 14/15.

Results of regular season games against clubs we played in both seasons

2006-07 2014-15

W L W L
Aberavon 1 1 1 1
Bedwas 2 0 2 0
Bridgend 2 0 2 0
Cardiff 1 1 2 0
Cross Keys 2 0 1 1
Llandovery 2 0 2 0
Llanelli 1 1 2 0
Newport 0 2 1 1
Neath D D 2 0
Pontypridd 1 1 0 2

We had a 100% record over Bridgend and Llandovery, a rare win over Pontypridd in 06/07 and the two drawn games with Neath in the same season both ended 23-23. Other results in 06/07 against sides no longer in the Premier Division were Maesteg (lost away, won at home), Wanderers (won at home, drew away) and Swansea (won home and away).

Add the two recent play-off games and the Premiership results were:-

Played Won Drew Lost

2006/07 26 16 3 7 = 67.30%

2014/15 24 16 0 8 = 66.66%

The team that ensured second place when it beat Llanelli 19-12 at home in April 2007 was: Andrew McLaughlan; Simon Hunt, Kristian Owen, Gareth Miles, Andrew Bevan; Sam Mills, Bryan Shelbourne; Ian George, Mathew Williams, Lyn Williams; Will Jones, Neil Edwards; John Bowd, Nio Aonio, Craig Cleaver (capt). Replacements were Rhys Williams, Matthew Pettit, Craig Blunsdon, Hywel Jenkins, Dan Lydiate, Tom Edwards and Daniel Phillips.

Mathew Williams and his front-row cohorts are already preparing for more shifts at the coal-face and it is interesting to note that Ian George of the 06/07 side is back where he belongs. A week after the play-off final at Sardis Road our morale, which is never low whatever the results, was boosted higher when twenty-seven existing and new players signed on the dotted line for next season. One is a psychology student which will interest members of the Front Row Union who have been practising the science on referees for years.

Footnote. On May 29th one of our greatest forwards Horace Matthews celebrates his 90th birthday. He is one of eight in the family who played for Ebbw Vale, two before the Second World War. Happy Birthday Horace, you were one of the very best.

PRIDE AND PASSION (180515)
“Pulsating” is one description of Sunday’s big game before a packed crowd at Sardis Road; “disappointing” describes how the mass of Ebbw supporters felt when it, and the season, ended. After a battle royal watched by a crowd of genuine rugby followers of all ages – Scrum Four please note – there were a lot of positives for the Steelmen who Rhys Shellard, the Pontypridd captain said were “very competitive.” His side undoubtedly deserved to win but Ebbw kept battling despite an uncertain start and were pressing until the late interception try brought down the curtain on a drama which was a great advert for Premiership rugby.

The only team we failed to defeat in a memorable season is Pontypridd and they beat us four times! They were firm favourites before Sunday’s game and scored four tries to Ebbw’s one. We had earned our final place and it was fair that the title was fought out between the first and second placed sides in the Division. Assistant Ponty coach Gareth Wyatt called it a hard game played in a great atmosphere and a message from Ponty said that we brought a breath of fresh air to the Premiership. There’s honour in defeat and although it might be unfair to say, I’ll say it anyway, the Division was really a three (thoroughbred) horse race which ended with gold to Ponty, silver to Ebbw and bronze to Keys, one from the Rhondda and two from the Western Valley.

Unlike most other finals in sport the Premiership decider is not played on a neutral ground and Sardis Road is traditionally one of the most formidable fortresses in the game. This season they only lost once in the Division and that was at Bridgend and the only side to beat them at home was Bristol in the B & I Cup. It was a major challenge to our side and although we lost by fourteen points we lacked nothing in pride and with an army of Ebbw Valians behind the team there was plenty of passion too.

Nine months of total commitment off and on the field brought invaluable experience to everyone and there are wise heads already planning the next campaign. While disputes abound over regional rugby and the B & I Cup we concentrate on rugby in Ebbw Vale and its vast catchment area. We have no hidden agenda, we just want to keep the game alive where we live, to encourage rugby at all ages and provide a happy environment for players and supporters.

After the winter of our content we enter a summer of restfulness and relaxation before the battle recommences because competing in the Premier Division is a battle and rugby has been described as warfare without weapons. Jason Strange said last May that in every game in the Premiership you have to provide a performance. Which we did more often than not.

On Whitsun Sunday we will celebrate one of the best seasons the club has experienced, the Awards Night will be the biggest social event of our year but how the voters can decide on the winners is beyond belief as there are so many to pick from. The first Player of the Year was Gordon Main a top class prop from Abergavenny. That was in 1963 and the first Most Promising Player was scrum-half Glyn Turner in 1966 who fulfilled that promise by being Player of the Year in 1972. The first Clubman of the Year in 1980 was Colin Williams, another prop aka the Duke of Deri who was Clubman again in 1983.

Sunday was the end of the season but not the end of the campaign to cement our rightful place in the Premier Division. On and off the field there is steely determination to do as well in the future as we did in 2014/15 but with a slightly different finish, let’s have the Grand Final on our ground next time. To the players we who watched, supported and wrote about say thank you from the bottom of our hearts which are still pounding. To those who will carry on the good work may the force be with you.

V E NIGHT IN EBBW VALE 10-05-15
It is appropriate that last Friday we celebrated the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day and on Saturday a Victory of Ebbw Night. The semi-final atmosphere was electric and the result was a traditional Gwent Derby with the added prize of a Premiership Grand Final place. We had mixed fortunes in Gwent Derbies in the regular season, losing at home to Newport, Cross Keys and Bedwas but winning at Rodney Parade, Pandy Park and the Bridge Field. On Saturday we won the one that mattered.

On a lovely evening – didn’t the ground look well on the box? – before our usual army of supporters we had to fight hard to win by a ten point margin, scoring two tries to one against a well coached side that in the last two seasons were runners-up in the Premiership and the Swalec Cup. Only Pontypridd have a better record than the Keys in recent years and on Saturday night they applied considerable pressure in an exciting second half.

After a first quarter of sparring the second decided the game. Ponty might have their Tom Jones, we have our Tom James who crossed for our first touchdown and then the front row union decided to get into the act, John Lavender scented (!) a chance and with Ian Smerdon adding to his points total we were heading home. But Keys had other ideas and it took tremendous defence and three kicks by Carl Meyer to decide the issue, two penalty goals from just inside the Keys half and a touch-finder that landed a metre short of the corner flag. He must have thought he was back home on the Veldt where the rarified atmosphere carries the ball farther.

Three former club captains saw their old club in action, Gareth Howls (1971/2, 73/74, 76/5), Phil Gardner (75/6, 78/9, 79/80) and Neil Robinson (84/6, 87/8) and enjoyed one of the biggest occasions staged at the ground for some time. The coaches and the players will have learned a lot from the game and after watching a recording of S4C’s coverage we discovered a Welsh speaker in our squad. I don’t know what Rhys Downes said but I agreed with him entirely.

Ponty have lost four games this season, twice to Bridgend in League and Cup and twice to Bristol in the B&I Cup. As usual they finished top of the Premier Division with a 95.45 win/ratio.Their shock defeat to Bridgend in the Swalec Cup Final will have no effect on their performance at Sardis Road on Sunday, as their team manager said, “The play-off final will be massive and will be played on our own patch. It will give us the opportunity to put things right after the big disappointment of the Cup Final.” It is interesting to note that the Bridgend starting line-up in the Cup Final showed ten changes to the one well beaten at Ebbw Vale.

Dictionary definitions of green include ‘inexperienced’ and ‘naïve.’ It didn’t take us long to dispel fears of all that when we re-joined the top flight, and by the way it was only after four years absence, some pundits acted as if we had never been there before. Street-wisdom comes with experience but above all a mix of that and youthful exuberance is what wins matches.

One way to avoid feeling old is to hang around young people which is why so many of us enjoy the company of Matthew Williams, one of the first to re-sign for next season which is much better than re-tiring. A touch of class, that’s Chunky and I wouldn’t be surprised if he signed the contract with a fountain pen. There was a touch of sportsmanship after the game from Greg Woods of Cross Keys, one of the most successful coaches in the game. His generous message of congratulations added considerably to a great day for Western Valley rugby.

EAST IS BEST!

SATURDAY NIGHT RUGBY FEVER 04-05-15
Ebbw Vale supporters who have nails left will be biting them on Saturday night. Those still recovering from travel lag after demanding trips to Llandovery, Llanelli and Cardiff. will find energy from somewhere to be present at the most important home game of a very impressive season. Three away wins on the trot have brought us to the Premiership play-off semi-final which will be televised in glorious technicolour and two languages. A third language, Wenglish, will be heard on the bob bank. By the way what is “All the time ref” in Welsh?

In Premier rugby Cross Keys are our closest neighbours but we have been friendly rivals since the Game first penetrated the Welsh hinterland. Stats of the last sixty games between us show that we won 37 drew one and lost 23 but the results in the Premier Division are more relevant, nine wins for Keys, seven for Ebbw. From 1975, and no doubt many years before, games between us have been hard fought but for sheer drama the drawn Cup semi-final at Rodney Parade three years ago will be best remembered.

The under-statement of the year is to say that the 2014/15 season was full of interest with particular emphasis on our games with Pontypridd and Cross Keys. We have already played each of them three times and will make it four against Keys on Saturday. The winners will meet Pontypridd for the fourth time this term.

Our first competitive game of the season was at Pandy Park at the end of August and we were KOd from the British & Irish Cup a tournament that is difficult to describe or even admire. Five weeks later we returned to Pandy Park and after an uncertain start made the first of several comebacks. Not only did we win 34-20 but nailed a bonus point and how important that and others were can be seen in the final table. In February Keys turned the tables and won 10-0 at ECP which was unexpected and disappointing to say the least but the Pandy Park club have been runners-up in the League and Swalec Cup in the last two seasons and are a formidable outfit.

In typical Western Valley tradition players have played for more than one senior club and Shaun Connor has been around the circuit more than most. He hung up his boots and became a coach after a distinguished playing career in which he equalled a Premiership record playing for Ebbw against the Keys in September 2000, 39 points out of 49. He scored five, yes five, tries. Not many No.10s have done that.

Both teams will want to play before a big crowd on Saturday night and although the game will be televised on S4C nothing can compare to being at the ground. Our supporters out-numbered and out-chanted home fans at Llandovery, Llanelli and Cardiff and they will be there in force, on song and up for it. The coaches and players face their sternest task so far but are straining at the leash and ready for take-off. It should be a great night, I can’t think of anywhere I would rather be.