HTSPORTSNEWS

Ebbw Vale RFC head coach, Jason Strange stated that the extra bonus point opportunity for away teams if they win by 15 points or more caught him by surprise.

“I wasn’t aware of that to be honest and I think it’s a good initiative,” said Strange.

“It took me by surprise really and what it will also help is coming to the end of the season, if you are fifteen or sixteen points behind a team and you’ve got three games in hand you can get six points a game, I’m no mathmatician but six points seems a lot if your behind a team and I think it’s a great incentive and will allow teams to be more positive and score more points.”

The Steelmen last season finished the Indigo Premiership in third place on 89 points having won 18 of their 24 games. Strange’s side also made it to the semi-final of the WRU Premiership Cup where they lost to Llandovery RFC (43-7) at the Talbot Athletic Ground.

On last season, he said: “It was really successful, we always spoke around year two being the second year of the project and we had a bit more stability last year after a complete rebuild a year before and to achieve two semi-finals was exceptional by the players and the learnings from those experiences hopefully we can take them into 24/25.

“That’s why I’m really excited, we’ve had a really good pre-season and I’m enjoying the company of the players of Ebbw Vale.

“It’s probably something that we’ve been ready for the last couple of weeks, it’s been a long summer for them and we are looking forward to Aberavon which will be a tough start for us,” he added.

One of the ambitions for this new competition is to help bridge the gap between age-grade and regional rugby, providing academy players with a higher standard of matches and more frequent playing opportunities.

“It’s a huge part of the clubs responsibility and trophies are really important but it’s about trying to give those players the same experiences and opportunities that we as coaches have had,” said Strange on development at Ebbw Vale.

“To do that you will need to create a good environment and we take that really seriously like any successful Nation of rugby particually tier one, it is about the country being aligned.

“It’s not just about semi-professional rugby, it’s about being joined up from professional to semi-professional to grassroots and that is what successful nations do. We are really a small part of the jigsaw but one we take seriously as a semi-pro club,” insisted Strange.

“Our ambitions are to create the best environment we can and off the back of that players will have great experiences and we will be successful,” said Strange on his sides ambitions for the 2024/25 season.

“Number one is to create a good environment and to make the club as successful off the field as on it, you know it’s not just about the team it’s about the club. 

“We have retained pretty much everyone we wanted to from last season, we’ve brought in six or seven players which will add competition and depth to the squad. We should be a stronger squad because of it and hopefully they gel quickly which will show on the field with the results,” he added.

The Steelmen welcome Jason Hyatt’s Aberavon to the Ciner Glass Community Stadium to kickoff the new Super Rygbi Cymru competition before a trip to the Capital five days later to face Cardiff RFC at the Arms Park.

“Most levels of rugby you play, there’s no such thing as an easy game of rugby and if you go in with that mindset normally you lose if you have any complacencies,” said Strange on the new season.

“I don’t think any teams are that much better than the ones who think they have an easy game, the reality is players are at a similar level and it’s about playing well on the day and getting everybody to do a job to get the result.

“We’ve always had pride in playing well at home and we got a lot of respect for Aberavon, they’ve been together for a very long time just like other clubs and it could’ve been an easier start for us but it’s something that we are really looking forward to.

“We had a great home record last year at Ebbw Vale which is something we take pride in and hopefully we can take that into this season,” concluded Strange.

Words By Harry Tovey

After winning the 2022-23 Championship and finishing sixth in their return to the Premiership last season, experienced player Scott Matthews believes his side Pontypool are in dreamland ahead of the new season.

Pooler take on Indigo Premiership and WRU Premiership Cup double winners Llandovery RFC at Pontypool Park for the big kickoff of the new Super Rygbi Cymru League this Thursday in-front of the S4C cameras.

“For us it’s kind of two promotions in two years in a small way, I signed for the club five years ago and our ambition was to always get back to the Premiership,” said Matthews.

“There’s many people who have helped along the way and for that group that finally did it was a huge relief for us and after the relief there was a case of right let’s back it up and we certainly did that.

“We held our own in the league, it was difficult that we had to back performances up week after week instead of doing it once in a blue moon within the Championship and that was the biggest learning for us but we loved every single second of it.

“In terms of having the analysis tools and the supporters, the coaching and big occasions went up another level and I’m more excited for that to go up to another level.

“It’s exciting times, I think a new launch of the league and certainly the branding of the commercial and media side of it has gone upwards and it’s exciting to be a part of the league.

“It’ll be interesting to see how every team does in terms of the price cap and levelling the playing field. 

“It’s a hugely exciting period especially after tonight seeing everything up on the big screen,” he added at the Super Rygbi Cymru media launch.

In preparation for the upcoming new league, Pooler have won two out of their four away pre-season games. These wins came against Dings Crusaders RFC (14-10) and Old Redcliffians RFC (28-7).

The losses came to Birmingham Moseley RFC (36-19) and Cinderford RFC (19-12). Unlike many teams in the league Thursday night will be Pontypool’s first home game since April.

“Pre-season has been slightly different to normal, we have changes in the coaching set up this year and there’s been a lot of new messages, a lot of changes with some of the old heads like myself who have been here for along time but they are changes that are going in the right direction,” said Matthews on pre-season.

“On Performances, there’s been a glimpse of how we want to play and what we are trying to achieve but there’s also been times where they haven’t worked for us. Pre-season is there to iron out those kinds of training experiences and put them back into practice in a game situation, but I’m pretty sure if we stick with it now and put more practice in place and the glimpses that we have seen we can be a really good team. 

“It’s just a case of like Tom Hancock our new attack coach, it’s a case of buying into what he is trying to do, he’s trying to play a really nice attractive brand of rugby and then a mixture of our head coach Leighton in terms of the old school Pontypool way and I think getting a blend of both will be key,” he insisted.

Pooler have made a number of signings over the summer, but one of the standouts is Morgan Allen who makes his return to Pontypool Park from Cardiff RFC.

“To be fair we’ve done many battles in the past, he’s a fantastic player and hopefully him coming back at number eight could maybe give me the freedom to play in my preferred position which is a six or seven,” Matthews on Allen signing for Pooler.

“I’ve been there, played eight and I’ll do anything to help but Morgs is a really good addition to us and has a wealth of experience.

“In terms of where he’s come in I thought he’s done it the right way, he hasn’t said anything too early but as the sessions are going on he’s saying more and being a leader and I think he’s gone about it the right way.

“He came on against Cinderford and made a huge impact, he’s a mammoth of a guy and I think I said to him if I was his size I’ll be a WWE wrestler instead of rugby player but in terms of his experience and what he brings, he’s a fantastic ball carrier and a great guy to have around and I’ll be certainly pestering him on how to be a better number eight myself,” said Matthews.

On what he’s sees as the main ambitions for Pontypool RFC, Matthew’s said: “Like I’ve said with the changes in terms of coaches there’s going to be things that we get right and things that we get wrong but as long as we are seeing a positive impact on what the coaches are trying to do that’ll be a massive positive. 

“Being a player I know that our mentality will be to win every single game, one thing we are is a real tight group and our team motto is togetherness and do everything tight as a group. We’ve seen it last year against Cardiff we scored late on down there, up in Methyr we scored last play of the game so as a team togetherness gets us through. Them things are going to be there but in terms of a successful season for me we have to do better than we did last year and that’ll be a successful season.

Euros Evans’s double winners Llandovery return to Pontypool Park after doing the double on Pooler last season, winning both games 48-26 (Pontypool Park) and 37-21 (Church Bank), in fact the last time Pooler recorded a win over the Drovers was back in August 2022 in Poolers penultimate pre-season match when they won 19-14. That day saw Pat Lewis score a brace and also Scott Matthews crossed over.

“A lot of people a couple of times now have said it’s a good time to play them but that’s something I’ll probably not agree with, there’s never a good time to play the back-to-back league Champions,” said Matthews.

“One thing you have to be when you play them is to have your own house in order. Defence is going to be a huge part of it and the occasion I’m personally looking forward to.

“Pre-season games don’t give you that big match feel as much as we can say yeah it’s a game of rugby but it don’t, so I’m pretty sure for Llandovery and for us everyone will up the intensity probably a good couple of notches, in terms of intensity of the game, carrying pack, collisions stuff are probably going to go up another level and I’m certainly looking forward to that.

“Lastly credit where credit is due I think they have been the standout team the last couple of seasons and they have earn’t that with the titles but everyone likes an underdog so there’s no better way to be a underdog than being at home with our own supporters who will be flooding in and being loud too get us through the game,” Matthews concluded.

Words By Harry Tovey

In what has been one of the longest off seasons to date, the 2024/25 season for Cardiff sees one of the biggest structural shakeups in the game since the formation of regional rugby in 2003, as this new 10-team Super Rygbi Cymru league will replace the old 13-club Indigo Premiership as the top division of domestic Welsh rugby.

All 10-teams (Aberavon, Bridgend, Cardiff, Carmarthen Quins, Ebbw Vale, Llandovery, Newport, Pontypool, RGC and Swansea) will move completely out of the community game and become a more professional league aligned with regional rugby.

Cardiff will play 18 games home and away league fixtures in the regular season before three rounds of play-offs and a Grand Final. Every team in the new competition is guaranteed at least one Play-off and four further games in the cup competition that will take place in the Six Nations period. Cardiff were drawn in Group A alongside Llandovery, RGC, Aberavon and Bridgend and will kickoff the Cup away at Church Bank. This also means that The Blue and Blacks will play a minimum of 23 matches over the season.

There will be three pieces of silverware up for grabs, these are the Super Rygbi Cymru Trophy, Super Rygbi Cymru Cup and the Challenge Shield which Llandovery will defend at every home game as they won the cup last season. If the challenger beats The Drovers they will become the new holders and will have to defend it at their next home league game in the regular season.

On the new competition, head coach Dan Fish stated: “It’s exciting, it’s a new league so we don’t really know what to expect and it’s an exciting time for all the teams in this league.

“We know that there are going to be nine strong teams with ourselves, so we have to be on it every week and that’s the beauty of this league. We have a run of seven tough games so we will have to get our heads screwed on for all those games and you have to be on it because in this league if you turn up thinking a team is going to roll over then your going to come unstuck.

“I think it’s going to be good especially for these younger boys and obviously the more experienced boys can help them out, some of these boys have probably not backed up seven games in a row. I think that is going to be the exciting part. 

“The brand of rugby, all coaches have been speaking about and hopefully we can deliver on that and we want it to be an exciting place for players to express themselves with their skills.

“You want people to tune in and watch this league and as a coaching group we owe it to ourselves and our team to just allow these boys to go out there and express themselves,” said Fish.

On last season, Fish insisted: “It was good last year, obviously we had our challenges they were there every week for us.

“In house we were happy that we got into that top four and then unfortunately for us we drew Llandovery who were the best team in the league last year, and it was a tough game in the playoff semi-final. Where we finished last season with some of the stuff we had going on, I think it was a successful season for us.”

One of its main aim for this new league is to bridge the gap between age-grade and regional rugby, providing academy players with higher standard of matches and more frequent playing opportunities.

“It’s massive, I think we’ve done that well over the past couple of years with Cardiff you speak to any of the young boys who have come through the senior academy into Cardiff Rugby and RFC, you know the Cam Winnett, Alex Mann, Mackenzie Martin,” said Fish on development.

“All them boys would have learnt a lot from the semi-pro boys that we have got at Cardiff RFC. We are very fortunate to have a good group of semi-pro players, some boys who have been there and done it themselves at pro level.

“Those experiences that they can offer them are some experiences that us coaching staff can’t offer them. It’s vitally important that you have that balance right because you can’t just put out a young team and think on paper that team looks good as there are a lot of crafty men in this league and they know how to work their way around the field and so it’s important to get that balance right otherwise the young boys won’t even touch the ball anyway,” he added.

In preparation for the new Super Rygbi Cymru competition, The Blue and Blacks also confirmed eight new signings for the 2024/2025 season. These are Benji Williams, Marc Thomas, Aled Ward, Thomas Harper, Charlie Manship, Gavin Parry, Jared Williams and Josh Thomas.

“I think we’ve made some really good, positive signings this year you know all of them have come in with different experiences from different clubs, different countries,” Fish on the new signings.

“Like I said it’s important that we get that balance right and them boys we know that they have all got a voice somethings they may see us coaches may not, so its important that we work together to get the best out for the team

This Saturday The Blue and Blacks begin with the 374 mile round-trip to face RGC to kickoff the new season before being back in front of the S4C cameras when they face Ebbw Vale five days later.

On the season as whole, he added: “All nine other teams are going to be tough, you’re never going to shoot anyone down.

“Obviously you know the teams who are going to be there or there’s about, Llandovery who are a very good team, Newport another good team, and just think if you look around this league this year and all the signings these other teams have made every team is going to be stronger.

“So I just think that every week is going to be a tough game, as a rival I think all nine teams are going to be rivals to get what they want to get out of the season. It’s not just going to be your Llandovery’s and Newport’s. 

“I honestly believe that if any team turns up on the day and the other team don’t I think anyone can beat anyone.

“That makes this league an enjoyable one and one that will have a few upsets from the people from the outside but I’m sure all of the coaches in this league know on any given day anyone can beat eachother,” Fish concluded.

Words By Harry Tovey

19 years on from being relegated from the Premiership, Newbridge RFC began life back in the Admiral WRU Premiership with a dominant win over Brecon RFC who finished last season’s Championship West in second place. 

Tries from standout player Simon Veall and replacement Luke Morgan accompanied by the boot of full back Robbie Turley saw Newbridge record a 26-19 win over Dale McIntosh’s Brecon side at the Welfare Ground.

Prior to kickoff, there was a minute’s applause for former Chairman of the RFU and Newbridge club captain Derek Morgan who sadly passed away over the summer. 

With heavy rain overnight and with the ground being heavy underfoot, there was a lot of kicking to begin proceedings at the Welfare. Just after 9-minutes the visitors had an opportunity to break the deadlock as Newbridge were penalised for not releasing. However, they were unable to convert the penalty as outside-half Jake Newman’s shot went wide. 

Brecon were then awarded another penalty as Newbridge second row Jacob Duffy was penalised for a high tackle. After kicking into the hosts 22, the ball was expertly turned over by Newbridge’s captain Stuart Vokes and the ball was cleared to relieve pressure.

The visitors on the 16-minute mark the visitors eventually opened up the scoring after Logan McIntosh crossed over after continuous pressure on the hosts line. Newman added the extras and put Brecon into a 7-0 lead. 

Shortly after, the hosts found themselves inside Brecon’s 22 for the first time in the match but miscommunication at the lineout saw the ball get turned over. Then the visitors were penalised for being offside and full back Robbie Turley added the three to open up the scoring for the hosts on the 20-minute mark (3-7). 

Just after half an hour, the hosts found themselves again on the attacking threat and after a brilliant play from outside-half Simon Veall who then managed to break through and crossed over for Newbridge’s first try back in the Premiership in 19 years. Turley added the extras and put the hosts three points up at the break. 

HT: Newbridge 10-7 Brecon

It didn’t take long for the hosts to extend their lead further as Simon Veall from outside the visitors 22 with an advantage in hand slotted a drop goal to extend the hosts lead to six (13-7).      

Prior to the 50-minute mark, Brecon looked to be scoring their second on the outside however great defence from Newbridge out-wide drove Sam Jones into touch. Moments later Brecon’s ill discipline proved costly as referee Andrew Moule penalised the visitors for blocking Simon Veall. From around 45 metres out Robbie Turley added the three points and extended the hosts lead further (16-7).

Moments later Brecon’s Sam Jones eventually crossed over after a brilliant pass from Ryan Davies to reduce the deficit to just four points going into the final quarter. Jake Newman had to rush to add the extras after the ball fell off the tee and after a drop goal attempt the ball went wide (16-12). 

The hosts remained in control as replacement Luke Morgan scored Newbridge’s second after breaking through the visitors defence. Robbie Turley remained 100% from the tee as he added the extras to extend his side’s lead to 11 (23-12). Referee Andrew Moule awarded try scorer, Logan McIntosh a yellow card for the visitors and from the resulting penalty Robbie Turley extended the hosts lead further (26-12). 

On the 72-minute mark former Dragons player, Jack Dixon made a brilliant break through the hosts defence and put his side in a good attacking position. The hosts were then brought down to 14-men after Jacob Duffy was sent off for slowing the ball down at the breakdown.

With the clock nearly in the red, Brecon kicked into the corner and after a catch a drive the ball was again expertly turned over, but this time around from Gavin McDonnell and then the ball was cleared to relieve pressure. 

Now with the clock deep into added time, replacement Brecon’s Geraint Clarke crossed over after a few phases. Newman added the extras to cap off the afternoon’s proceedings at the Welfare Ground (26-19). 

Up next for Newbridge is a trip to Llangennech who will be playing their first Premiership match after their game against Bargoed was postponed. For Brecon they welcome The Welsh All Blacks (Neath RFC) to Parc de Pugh.

FT: Newbridge 26-19 Brecon

Words By Harry Tovey

Swansea RFC head coach, Hugh Gustafson believes his side will need to improve from last seasons Indigo Premiership campaign where his side finished in 10th place on 42 points and admits this comes from consistency of selection with players.

“I think it was a transitional season especially for Swansea knowing that the league was coming up getting that ready,”’said Gustafson.

“We’ve been developing some really good young players, but not being successful on the field not having that squad depth proved costly and this year signing two or three players has made the difference for us.”

Gustafson has made some new signings over the off season with one being at outside-half Josh Phillips signing from Pontypridd. Other signings include Tom Edwards (Wing), Chris Davies (Prop), Luca Giannini (Back row), Chris Thompson (Second Row), Ben Roberts (Second Row), Aron Hemmings (Scrum half), Iwan Temblett (Scrum half), Callum Carson (Centre), Callum Dodd (Centre), James Davies (Outside-half) and Ellis Frackrell (Prop).

They’ve been huge for us, Josh Phillips at ten, Ben Roberts and Geraint Powell have been good for height for us, so it’ll be exciting to have those tall boys in the lineout and having Callum Carson back is going to help play an exciting brand of rugby for us,” added Gustafson.

The new 10-team tournament has replaced the old 13-club Indigo Premiership and is now the top tier of rugby in Wales under the regional level and one of it’s main aims is to provide academy players a higher standard of matches and more frequent opportunities.

“We’ve done a lot of developing before a lot of other clubs, just look now at the likes of Morgan Morris, and Dewi Lake who we helped develop a long time ago when Dewi wasn’t playing for Bridgend and he came to us for gametime now he’s a Welsh International,” said Gustafson.

“The question is did we help, probably not us much as the Ospreys did, but we helped facilitate his minutes. Now with the likes of Harri Houston and Morgan Morse these boys are now having games and are ready to step-up. We’ve done it for a long time producing a lot of Wales U20s players. 

Tomorrow afternoon will see The Whites finish their pre-season off against Swansea University, on pre-season he continued: “We are going into our last pre-season game against Swansea University and we’ve had a good hitout against Neath winning by five points, a good couple of tries against the Ospreys and we are seeing a bit more depth going into the Swansea University game on Saturday. 

Onto next weekend when The Whites kickoff with a trip too Carmarthen Park to face Carmarthen Quins (KO: 2:30pm), on the new season fast approaching he said: “We need to be better than last year, get some more wins and wins coming from more consistency of selection with players and in between that help develop future Ospreys players and internationals.”

“I remember one year we were almost a calendar year undefeated and it was a bit of a buzz and we are looking forward to getting back there and playing a good brand of rugby to get some wins under our belt. 

“All the clubs are going to be competitive now and we definitely will push ourselves against teams like Llandovery, Newport and we’ll see how we go against them guys.

“We kickoff away to Carmarthen Quins and it’s always a tough place to go, we won the last game there but it’s always a tough place. It’s a small pitch, they are physical and the battle will be huge in the first game and I can’t wait for it,” Gustafson concluded.

Words By Harry Tovey

After retiring from the professional game to take up the role as defence coach at Newcastle Falcons, former Wales international, Scott Baldwin is now the head coach of the team where he began his semi-professional career, Bridgend Ravens. On becoming head coach, Baldwin said: “It’s been a really good learning curve.

“Been a bit different doing the overviewing of it and then the defence and scrums at the moment so trying to get a scrum coach in pretty sharply because I’ve been running from scrums to backline units and I’ve enjoyed going out and saying this is how I want us to play the game and we are going to hang our hat on this. 

“Also one thing I don’t like is micromanaging coaches because ultimately I’ve hired you to do a job and you have full autonomy of that job, so Brad has full autonomy of the lineout and breakdown, Matthew Jones and Matthew Morgan have full say on the attack and if it works, brilliant you’ll get the accolades but if it doesn’t we’ll have a conversation on why it isn’t working.

“It’ll be the same with me in defence, but obviously I’ve got to answer to myself but that’s been a breath of freshair for me is having the ability on the whole squad opposed to one side of the ball,” he added.

Bridgend finished the Indigo Premiership last season on 47 points having only won nine of their 24 games. On last season, he added: “I thought they started really well, they lost Luke Price which was a big loss for them and probably relied on him more than we will this year. Couple of losses came and it probably rolled on after that. 

“We finished the season not the way we would’ve liked, but there is a lot of talent there and Tom Smith has made some brilliant signings this year so hopefully we can ride off the back of that and take it into the start of this season,”

The Ravens have had three pre-season games where they kicked started with a win against away to Bournville (55-15) and then hosted Plymouth Albion a week later and won (15-7) in a tightly contested game with Harvey Nash, Jordan Collier and McCauley Rowley all crossing the whitewash.

This was followed by a visit to the Swansea.com stadium where Baldwin faced his former team in the Origin Series alongside Aberavon and Swansea, that day saw them lose 33-0 in a 30-minute contest.

On pre-season Baldwin continued: “I can’t wait, it’s been a very long off-season now so really looking forward to it.

“The work-rate has been brilliant, we have really challenged them and I spoked to a couple of the boys who have been here before when I was here and they’ve said how hard it’s been, the toughest.

“We also encouraged them to play a really high tempo game both sides of the ball and we don’t want to be keeping the ball for long phases as ultimately it’s going to drain our juice and defensively we don’t want to be defending for long periods, I would like to say you’ll see an aggressive attack and a aggressive defence.”

A lot of the main reasons for this new Super Rygbi Cymru competition is for the development of youth players, on that Baldwin concluded: “It’s massive, the biggest thing we need to put into these players in Wales, is I promise you I’ve coached here, I’ve played here, I’ve coached in England and I’ve played in England, the talent is no different but the mindset is night and day,

“In terms of, let’s not throw the pass in case it’s goes to the ground, whereas they are like let’s throw the pass for the opportunity it’s going to create.

“Defensively let’s make a decision, if we get it right brilliant but if we get it wrong it’s a great learning opportunity and it also shows what your coaching is getting across to the players and ultimately that is our job to make them better decision makers and make them better rugby players not just tell them what we want them to do.”

The Ravens kickoff of the new Super Rygbi Cymru league with a trip to Newport Stadium a week Saturday where they face runners-up from last year’s Indigo Premiership Newport RFC.

Words By Harry Tovey

Carmarthen Quins Director of Rugby, Steff Thomas believes that for the first time ever there is a strategy in place which evolves around the new Super Rygbi Cymru League and is also one of his main ambitions ahead of the new season which is to develop players.

On developing players, Thomas said: “That’s our role now, first time ever there’s a strategy behind the Super Rygbi Cymru League (SRC) and it outlines our purpose and that purpose talks about first and foremost developing players and you know we are held to account over that. Our licence depends on solid development plans on all players and staff being in place and making sure we have an environment that supports all of that.

“Last season was the start of a transition for us moving between a new coaching group and sort of turnover in the playing squad, whilst the league table looked a little bit disappointing for us, we did have some good games in other areas in terms of starting to rebuild in parts of our squad with younger players,” he added.

Last season the Quins did the double over Neath RFC, put aside both Bridgend Ravens and Pontypool back-to-back. They also recorded an emphatic victory over Aberavon (56-17) at the start of March however, they ended the Indigo Premiership season in 12th place on 38 points.

On the matter of improving from last season, Thomas added: “I think the basis of any sort of successful season, is for the foundations to be built at home and it won’t be no different this year in terms of making it a difficult place to come and win. 

“We’ve got our own agenda where we will be focusing on what we need to do to win at home, and equally how to make it uncomfortable for teams to come to visit. We did have two very good performances in particular last season, we beat Aberavon by 40 points and Pontypool.

“We’ve shown that we can go toe-to-toe with people at home and we are a little bit more experienced in quality in certain areas this year and I expect us to be turning out those performances on a regular basis. 

The Quins began pre-season with a 26-14 win against Newcastle Emlyn, but last Saturday at Carmarthen Park against the Scarlets, Sion Jones scored a brace as the Quins fell to a 26-14 defeat against a youthful Scarlets side.

On pre-season, Thomas continued: “We’ve had two tough games we’ve played against two full-time units obviously against the Scarlets on Saturday, that was 26-14 and we went toe-to-toe with a very young group with some impressive set piece statistics and possession statistics and we controlled 68 percent of possession on the weekend which is very pleasing for us as a group.

“The signs are there that we certainly got the platform and I think there were five backs that played for the Scarlets on Saturday that will be joining our group as well to add a little bit of stardust on top of our solid platform and to compliment some that we have already got.

“It’s quite exciting really in terms of our first hit out and onto the (Cornish) Pirates now this Saturday which will be a tougher challenge in some respect as they will probably be a bit more experienced than the young players we played against last week.

“In terms of our signings, the majority of them are young players, we have signed Rhys Fawcett from Aberavon who will add a little bit more experience to our front -row, but apart from that our age profile is aligned with the SRC in that we have young players that come from the Scarlets U18s program. We are really excited to be working with some of the talent that we got coming up,” he added.

The Quins begin the new era of Welsh Domestic rugby by hosting Hugh Gustafson’s Swansea side, on the game Thomas said: “It’s a bit of a strange one really, with it starting on the 14th September, I think it’s one of the later starts we’ve had for sometime but the anticipation amongst the group is high there’s a lot of excitement building.

“The boys want to get out there and that’s one of the good things of having a young squad is that the motivation and enthusiasm is really high and that’s great for the environment and culture that we’ve got.

“The first test is always the one you are looking forward to and you want to get that first win to get yourself up and running and we are excited to have Swansea at Carmarthen Park on Saturday 14th.”

When looking at the new league Thomas insisted: “To be fair when you look around the league now it’s a highly competitive league and I don’t believe there will be any whipping boys in there.

“Therefore, I do believe that anyone is capable of beating anybody on any given day. The level of competition is so much better so you will have to be on your best against everybody really.

“I wouldn’t like to think anyone is a competitor but obviously there are teams who are in there with established squads, The Drovers (Llandovery RFC) and Newport in particular have got two very settled squads which will probably give them an edge in terms of competitiveness, but on the day on the day I’m sure they will agree that teams will give them a run for their money. 

The Quins recorded only six wins and 18 loses last season. On what he wants to achieve this season, Thomas concluded: “Our ambitions really centre around obviously developing players and talent and working in partnership with the region that is our top priority.

“We want to be competitive and we want to be winning games that’s all it’s about at the end of the day. For us progress is moving up the table and we will be looking at getting ourselves into that top half of the table realistically this year.”

Words By Harry Tovey

Aberavon RFC Head Coach, Jason Hyatt believes his side has got what it takes to lift trophies in this years Super Rygbi Cymru campaign and he’ll hope to do it with a squad which has an average age of 23 with only four 30-year-olds in the team.

On developing players at the club, Hyatt said: “We are very ambitious as a rugby club, we (Aberavon) are very fortunate to have a great group of supporters and we get supported well whether it’s home or away.

“In turn we want to reward the supporters with success on the field but that goes hand-in-hand with development.

“We saw recently against Reading Rams where we introduced four new players who are playing their first games of senior rugby. That’s a huge step-up from playing U18s rugby or Youth rugby going into senior rugby against almost a pro-standard team.

“We take our development really seriously and we’ve got a great history of development, you go back to Justin Tipuric, Jac Morgan, Ashley Beck, Adam Beard and James Ratti, there’s a whole trail of development since the game has gone pro and we are very proud of that and this takes it that one stage further where we are looking to provide players that step-up to play pro rugby.

“We’ve provided the Ospreys with two of our players Scott Whitlock and Ben Gregory both were invited into the wider group but are now in a full time schedule, so that’s a huge pat on the back of what sort of environment we belong too and that gave us great pleasure,” he added.

Looking further into the development of the 2024/25 Aberavon squad, can be seen with the relationship the club has got with Cardiff University, Hyatt said: We’ve brought in a number of players that have finished now with the UNI, Felix Gilbert, Gwilym Evans, Ed Dunford, have all come through BUCS Rugby.

“Also, we have signed scrum-half Elis Horgan from Bath University and Louis Fletch from Swansea University.

“It’s a great standard of rugby and I think the next step-up is to go into the Super Rygbi Cymru (SRC) and these guys all have hopes of playing pro rugby. We are delighted they have pursued those dreams with Aberavon Rugby and hopefully we can achieve that.

“The average age of the squad is 23 and what we’ve kept a sprinkle of is senior players not just for experience but we believe that they are the best players in their positions in the whole of the SRC. People like Rowan Jenkins, Geraint James, Ashton Evans these are very experienced players and they can add that little bit of experience to the youngsters coming in and that’s part of their learning journey as well which I feel is a key ingredient to have support around you.

“This is the most exciting group that I have worked with throughout the summer. They have worked really hard and that is really pleasing. The energy they provide is phenomenal and their work ethic,”he added.

On that work ethic, Aberavon began their pre-season training on the 27th June where the squad had been scheduled a very demanding start, Hyatt continued: “It was slightly different this year, we started with a checking week on the 27th June, our first session was on the 29th and we set ourselves a really demanding pre-season schedule.

“Normally we train in the summer on Tuesday, Thursday, and a Saturday morning, Saturday Morning being predominantly a strength and conditioning (S&C) session.

“This year we have been in five times a week, our schedule this summer has been on a Tuesday the boys have been in the gym at Ysgol Cwm Brombil, we are very fortunate to have a great relationship with the school, from 5-6 we have a gym session then we use the 3G from 6-7:30 which is a rugby session. 

“On a Wednesday morning 6-7am they use the gym and do a S&C session, Thursday is a rugby session, and then one final session on a Saturday 7-8. 

“We have set ourselves a very demanding schedule but now as pre-season games have started that has been scaled back, but what it has done has put us in a great position.

“I would say we are well ahead of where we expected to be with so many new players in the squad, we have gelled really well and the coaches have worked exceptionally hard to put our sort of style together and we saw some great rugby against Reading Rams who were really good opposition and it was a great game of rugby.”

Aberavon finished last seasons Indigo Premiership in eighth on 52 points with one of the stand out wins being at home against Ebbw Vale back in November, on last season Hyatt stated: “Obviously where we finished in the league we were a little bit disappointed, but on the positive side of it we took the opportunity to introduce a lot of new youngsters into the team. 

“We were definitely in a transitional period looking ahead to the SRC and everything that it was going to bring, so on a really huge positive we took that opportunity to prepare ourselves by looking at a lot of young players which put us in a good position going into the summer when we started putting the squad together.

“It was a bit of a strange season as we didnt have complete confirmation that we were in the SRC until February as there was a lot of debate going on at that time, so when it was actually announced then we started putting the squad together. So from a positive perspective we have put ourselves in a positive position where we have looked at a lot of young players this season.”

The Wizards begin the new league campaign with a trip to the Ciner Glass Community Stadium (Eugene Cross Park) to face Ebbw Vale, Hyatt added: “It’s a great challenge, it’s a tough place to go but we know what Ebbw Vale belong too and we know what we need to provide when we go up to these places, we are fortunate that we are going up there in September and hopefully we have some decent weather so we can play some rugby but we are really looking forward to it.

“It’s always nice to start the season I suppose with a trip away from home and going to a tough side, Jason Strange has done a great job and really it will be good to expose our players to that sort of environment and that standard of play and then we will take it week by week like we do every year. 

“We’ve got a very challenging opening period, Ebbw Vale away then Carmarthen Quins at home but I’m really confident with the squad we’ve got and with the energy that has been on show through the summer we can take that into the season and have a really good season,” Hyatt concluded.

Words By Harry Tovey

Lloyd Germain will be looking to add more silverware to his already illustrious collection on Saturday night as he takes on Essex’s Elliot Whale over 10 rounds for the Commonwealth Silver title in Brentwood.

Germain just like his opponent Whale will be making their Top Tier debuts on Saturday as they are the main event at the Brentwood Centre, Essex live on DAZN. 

From making his debut at the Merthyr Leisure Centre in 2019, to fighting on a stack card at the LC2 in Swansea to claim the Welsh Welterweight title against Jake Tinklin to then travelling up to Scotland and claiming the Celtic title in emphatic fashion as he stopped Martin Harkin in the fifth after a combination of body shots.

Speaking on this opportunity Saturday night, Germain said: “I’m relishing the opportunity which I have been given to headline on the Top Tier show and I am itching to go and cannot wait to win that title on September 7th. 

“Training has been going absolutely amazing, I feel fresh and great. I’ve got a new release of energy under the guidance of a good friend of mine, a former stable mate and ex-World Champion Lee Selby so it’s been amazing and it was definitely a move that will bring the very, very best out of myself,” he insisted. 

Being on a major broadcast like DAZN it won’t be anything new to the Welshmen as in his last fight he fought on a Matchroom Show in the Ulster Hall Belfast, despite not going his way, Germain stated: “Going back to my last performance not making any excuses, I took the fight on short notice. 

“I started well but obviously it wasn’t my night and it ended up being a night for Conah (Walker) and moving forward I’ve got a good relationship with Conah, we keep in contact and I’m sure down the line it will be nice to get it on again if we ever could. 

“It wasn’t a loss, it was a lesson that I needed to take to be honest and one that if I didn’t take I wouldn’t be in the position I am now so everything happens for a reason. It was something that needed to happen obviously not the loss but moving on from the loss I’ve now changed where I am training, got a new trainer and I am back better than ever.” 

His opponent on Saturday night Elliot Whale from Sidcup, Kent began his professional career in 2019 and to date has never gone past six rounds in any of his 10 fights. The southpaw fighter has had six of those ten fights finished inside the distance. 

On Whale, Germain added: “I know Elliot Whale, he’s undefeated, he’s had 10 fights, he’s a southpaw and has a good record but I don’t really look into my opponents too much, that’s not overlooking him that’s just the way I am. 

“I just know me turning up fully prepared both physically and mentally, I’ll be there to get the job done September 7th.

“It would mean everything to win this Commonwealth Silver title. That’s why I’ve trained so hard for this one and I’m ready to go and win it. 

“I feel great like I’ve said, but I know that every fighter will say it but this is the best I have ever felt going into a fight, I’ve relished this opportunity and it’s an opportunity which I’ve grabbed with both hands to bring that belt back to Wales.”

On how he sees the fight playing out, he said: “I’m not going to sit here and say how the fight is going to go, tune in September 7th for anyone that is going to be watching, my prediction is a Lloyd Germain win by any means necessary, I’m going up to Essex to do a job on them and bring that belt back to Wales and set up bigger fights done the line for myself. 

“This isn’t just a Commonwealth Silver Title for me this is my World Title and believe me I will be leaving everything in that ring to bring that belt home. 

“I’m fully aware of when I win this title, I should be in the top ten in Britain, I’ll be former Welsh, current Celtic and current Commonwealth Silver champion and it’ll just mean bigger and better fights but like I said all I am focussing on is September 7th and I cannot wait to get the job done,” Germain concluded.

Words By Harry Tovey    

Alun Rees’s first-half try accompanied by the boot of Harri Wilde gave The Blue and Blacks an early lead at the break. Kodie Stone’s impressive run from distance at the start of the second-half to crossover proved to be enough as The Blue and Blacks recorded their first pre-season win at the Cardiff Arms Park against Cambridge Rugby.

Speaking after the result captain Jason Harries said: “We reviewed a lot from last week’s game against Pontypridd on things we can get better at, things that don’t require any talent, speed into position, both sides of ball in attack and defence, escorting when the ball is in the air. 

“Little things like that and I’ve seen a big improvement from last week, it was end-to-end at some stages of the game, but I was glad we came out on the right side of the scoreboard.”

All through pre-season there has been a lot of the future talent on show, Harries said: “I think that’s kinda the route now for those players to get exposure in the Super Rygbi Cymru which starts in two weeks. The more opportunities that they get especially against English opposition like today who are in the English Championship, it’s great exposure for them to take their next step to that kind of level. 

Jason Harries has stepped in as Captain for pre-season as Sean Moore has been away on his honeymoon, on being Captain Harries said: “It’s been good, pulling my hair out at times but it’s all part and parcel of the game isn’t it.

“The more that I can contribute to those youngsters around me hopefully they can lean on me for experience or any questions I’m happy to help them out. 

“I was looking around today in the backline and there were a lot of young ones out there but it’s great for them to get to play at the (Cardiff) Arms Park against decent opposition,” he added.

The Blue and Blacks will now turn their full attention to RGC on September 14 when they kickoff the new Super Rygbi Cymru season, On the new Super Rygbi Cymru League, Harris added: “After a long, tough pre-season Dan and Craig have made sure that the game plan that we want to play is being implemented in pre-season and you know there has been a lot of fitness to achieve this in the way we want to play. We gotta put the graft in and we’ve done alot of that which is going to be a huge benefit for us.

“We’ve got two weeks now to knuckle down and go over the past two games where we can get better and really take it into RGC in two weeks. 

“The way they have structured it this season in terms of ten being in there, everygame is going to be a real challenge. When we get local derbies down here Newport, Pontypool is always a tasty fixture, Ebbw Vale those fixtures really stand out but across the board they’ve narrowed it down to ten teams and its going to be a real fight all season,” Harries concluded.