Category Archives: Ebbw Vale Rugby
The Leagues, which kick off from Saturday 13 November for all divisions from Championship to Division Three, and December 11 for the Indigo Group Premiership, will be run on a home OR away basis this season.
In Divisions 1 – 3, League winners will be entered into play-offs to determine National Divisional Champions, while in the Championship and Indigo Group Premiership the top four teams will enter Championship or Premiership play-offs to determine the champion of their RESPECTIVE League.
In order to be fair to all during this one-off season as League rugby returns after an 18 month break, there will be no promotion or relegation this season. The Modified Laws currently in place for WRU cup competitions will no longer be in place, providing public health conditions remain favourable.
WRU Community Director Geraint John said: “It’s great to be able to provide clarity for clubs with the release of fixtures for senior men’s Leagues. It takes us another big step forward on our Pathway to Participation and the news will hopefully encourage more players, coaches, referees and other volunteers back to the game after so much upheaval over the past 18 months due to the pandemic.
“Having a full fixture list will also help clubs off-the-field, enabling them to plan events around matches and encourage partners and sponsors to support them in their efforts.”
WRU chair Rob Butcher added, “We are very grateful to volunteers the length and breadth of the country for the hard work they have put in to help us stick to the timeline we set out for the return of rugby as we know it. It’s thanks to those volunteers and everyone within the game that we are currently ahead of that schedule.
“However, while the return of League rugby is almost upon us, we are all still experiencing many of the effects of the pandemic so in order to remain on course, and to keep everyone as safe as possible, it is vitally important to stay vigilant and work within the guidelines and protocols that individual clubs, us as a governing body and the Welsh Government have put in place.”
Ebbw Vale head coach Greg Woods is undaunted by the prospect of taking on defending champions Merthyr on the opening day of action of the Indigo Group Premiership.
“We’re going to the champions and we’re also playing them away in the first game in the cup as well so that will be a good practise run really,” said an excited Woods.
“The league offers us the chance to get back and play against the sides that we wouldn’t have played in the Premiership Cup, so we’re particularly looking forward to playing the likes of Swansea, Bridgend, Aberavon, Carmarthen Quins etc, as it’s been a long time since we would have played them.
“We’ve also got an exciting fixture around Christmas with Newport for the Dragons region which is always a special time in the season so really looking forward to that one as well.”
Fixtures
11-12-2021
Merthyr v Ebbw Vale
18-12-2021
Ebbw Vale v Llandovery
27-12-2021
Ebbw Vale v Newport
03-01-2022
Pontypridd v Ebbw Vale
15-01-2022
Ebbw Vale v Llanelli
29-01-2022
Cardiff v Ebbw Vale
19-02-2022
Ebbw Vale v Carmarthen
05-03-2022
RGC v Ebbw Vale
12-03-2022
Ebbw Vale v Swansea
26-03-2022
Ebbw Vale v Bridgend
02-04-2022
Aberavon v Ebbw Vale
Dragons Academy Allocation to Ebbw Vale RFC
The Steelmen are pleased to confirm the following players have been allocated to Ebbw Vale for the coming season.
Harry Fry – Loose Head
Adam Williams – Tight Head
Connor Chapman – Hooker
Joe Peard – Second Row
Ben Moa – Back Row
Euan Rosser – Wing
Carrick McDonagh – Wing
Lewis Bates – Centre
Joe Westwood – Full back
Che Hope – Scrum half
All of the players part from Joe Peard who is coming back from a hamstring injury have had game time in the pre season games. The group will be fined by experienced Dragon James Benjamin who is transitioning from the back row to the Hooker position and will be gaining experience with The Steelmen in the front row for the forthcoming season
The only familiar face amongst the group is Euan Rosser who follows brother Jarrod in having a second season in Steelmen colours but the following players have links to the club
Hooker Connor Chapman is the son of former Ebbw scrum Half Matthew
Ben Moa is the son of former prop Winnie Moa
Joe Westwood ids the grandson of former Steelmen wing, centre and Coach Keith whilst his dad Jonathan is well known for his on field exploits at Newbridge and Cardiff and for a lengthy period as Cross Keys Team Manager
Many at the club will also recognise the surname of Peard, Joe a Wales U20’s International in the summer is the son of former Newbridge second Row Mike and grandson of the former Referee Les who is a regular at games in his role as a WRU Referee Assessor
Greg Woods
Alex Grey
Carrick McDonoughEbbw hooker and captain Joe Franchi joins Haydn for this weeks Steelman in Focus episode.
Full interview here https://youtu.be/-1iMSOYr-tc
Steelmen Side For Cardiff Met
Ebbw Vale take on Cardiff Met ‘ The Archers’ this Wednesday evening 8th September at Eugene Cross Park. Kick off is 19:15pm and this will be our last pre season fixture before we turn our attention to the new Indigo Group Premiership Cup competition which starts on Saturday 18th September away to Merthyr.
Greg Woods commented:
“The whole playing squad and management are excited to be back playing at EXP after very long 550 days away. We have had a tough pre- season on the road and the thought of playing at home in front of a packed bank excites all the boys. Playing Cardiff Met RFC under the EXP lights is a perfect way to be back as it will be some game played at a high tempo. I look forward to seeing you all back on Wednesday night”.
#feelthesteel
#packthebank
#550daysaway
We are calling on everyone from across Ebbw Vale and Blaenau Gwent to come to Eugene Cross Park this Wednesday and shout on the Steelmen and pack the bank!
All entry donations £3 will be going to our nominated charity Hospice Of The Valleys. Those who cannot make the game can still pledge a donation to the Hospice via the following link https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/support-the-steelmen-hospice-of-the-valleys
Ebbw Side
1) Harry Fry
2) Joe Franchi ©
3) Dave Whiting
4) Lance Randell
5) Corey Talbot
6) Scott Parsons
7) Alex Grey
8) Ethan Doyle
9) Scott Gibson
10) G Rhys Jones
11) Carrick McDonough
12) Ethan Phillips
13) Dafydd Howells
14) Euan Rosser
15) Dan Haymond
16) Joel Harries
17) Luke Garrett
18) Connor Chapman
19) Adam Williams
20) Rob Sevenoaks
21) Dan Hill
22) Dawid Rubasniak
23) Che Hope
24) Lewis K Williams
25) Lewis Bates
26) Jordan Thomas
27) Mike Powell
28) Will Keep
Coach Development Director
Ebbw Vale RFC have appointed former player Alun Harries to a new position for the club as Coach Development Director.
Having taken over a large part of the Mini and Junior in the town at the beginning of the 2019/20 the club has been considering how best to assist the volunteers who put a lot of time and energy in providing a safe and enjoyable rugby experience for the children within our community. It was felt that helping those coaches develop with a resource at the club would build on the excellent Coach Development structure already provided by The WRU.
Alun, a former player at the club during the professional era has built on an 18 year playing career that encompassed spells at his hometown club Abercarn, Newbridge, Neath, Newport and Treorchy plus representative honours at Wales A, Barbarian, Crawshays, Welsh Academicals and Welsh Presidents with a career in coaching and Coach Education. Alun is a Level 3 qualified coach who was part of a successful Cross Keys coaching group under Greg Woods has also worked with Wales Women, Gwent Schools, Penguins International Academy and is currently the Coach Development at Gibralter RFU and is looking forward to once again working at Eugene Cross Park.
The aim of the role is Develop and Support a strong and sustainable coach and player pathway for Ebbw Vale RFC as a Welsh Premiership team and in the longer term to build on this to become a rugby pathway centre of excellence that supports the wider rugby community within the Blaenau Gwent region. Alun will work closely with the senior coaches in managing the transition of players from the age group set up into the Welsh Premiership Squad and this work begins in earnest with the current Youth Squad who are the first to represent the Steelmen for 25 years and further down the age groups where emphasis will be placed on enjoyment and skills
All at the club believe that this will provide long term sustainability and that Alun’s coaching knowledge and knowledge of the club are ideally suited to this role and this appointment has been welcomed by all playing groups at Ebbw Vale RFC
Ebbw Vale take on Cardiff Met ‘ The Archers’ on Wednesday 8th September at Eugene Cross Park with a 7:15pm kick off in our last pre season fixture. It will be 550 days since we last played a home fixture, our last fixture was against RGC at home on Saturday March 7th 2019 before we all went into lockdown!
We are calling on everyone from across Ebbw Vale and Blaenau Gwent and afar to come down to Eugene Cross Park next Wednesday and shout on the Steelmen and #packthebank!
An exciting squad has been put together over the last number of months, players have been working hard and they want your vocal support.
During lockdown the supporters, staff and players have been busy raising funds for our chosen charity Hospice Of The Valleys. The hospice has suffered heavily during the pandemic and provide much needed care and support for patients across the local area.
As part of the #packthebank evening all entry donations will be going to the Hospice Of The Valleys, the clubs charity. Also on the night there will be half time TAG rugby from Ebbw Vale U9s against Abertillery and Ebbw Vale U11s, all teams will also form a guard of honour as the teams run out.
Jonathan Jones said
550 days away from Eugene Cross Park and it seems a lot longer!! It will mean a lot to the players, coaches and officials to be back on our own ground in front of the addicts.
Its a great sign of a return for normality for all within the community of Ebbw Vale and the wider Blaenau Gwent area for live sport to return
I’m sure we will all take a moment to quietly reflect on the last 18 months, think of the key workers and all they have done for so many during this time and remember those who are no longer with us and who would have loved to be on our terrace, stand and clubhouse and enjoy the sport we love in a special community
Greg Woods commented
“The whole playing squad and management are excited to be back playing at EXP after a very long 550 days away. We have had a tough pre- season on the road and the thought of playing at home in front of a packed bank excites all the boys. Playing Cardiff Met RFC under the EXP lights is a perfect way to be back as it will be some game played at a high tempo. I look forward to seeing you all back on Wednesday night”.
So let’s have a huge crowd at Eugene Cross Park next Wednesday as we get behind the Steelmen
Entry donations is £3 and Students go free!
#feelthesteel
#packthebank
#550daysaway
Those who cannot make the game can still pledge a donation to the Hospice via the following link https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/support-the-steelmen-hospice-of-the-valleys
Greg’s Thoughts
Last weekend the Steelmen travelled to Maidenhead where they were narrowly beaten by English Championship side London Scottish despite tries from two wingers, former Welsh international Daf Howells and Jordan Thomas and 16 points from boot of Rhys Jones.
Head Coach Greg Woods said; “Although disappointed with the result, as a coaching group we were extremely proud of the intensity and physicality the boys showed against quality opposition. We certainly fronted up and did the town proud”.
Tomorrow, the Steelmen are on the road again this time travelling to the Talbot Athletic Ground to face fellow Welsh Premiership side Aberavon.
“We need to be more disciplined and make sure we stick to our defensive policies this week. It shows the strength in depth of our squad when we can make multiple changes from the starting lineup last week and still put out a quality side”.
“These four preseason games are all about returning the club to rugby and getting as many players back on the pitch. It also provides a fantastic opportunity for our young Dragons academy allocated players to get some minutes of game time in senior rugby”.
“Everyone is looking forward to the game tomorrow and hopefully we can play some attractive attacking rugby” he ended.
Here is the Steelmen Side for Saturday afternoon’s fixture against Aberavon RFC in Port Talbot.
Kick Off 14:30pm
Talbot Athletic Ground
1) Joel Harries
2) James Benjamin
3) Rob Sevenoaks
4) Lance Randell
5) Cory Talbot
6) Dan Hill
7) Owen Young
8) Ethan Doyle
9) Jack Harvey
10) Lewis K Williams
11) Euan Rosser
12) Dom Franchi (c)
13) Lewis Bates
14) Dafydd Howells
15) Joe Westwood
16) Luke Garrett
17) Harry Fry
18) Connor Chapman
19) Dave Whiting
20) Adam Williams
21) Scott Parsons
22) Alex Grey
23) Dawid Rubasniak
24) Matthew Flanagan
25) G R Jones
26) Will Keep
27) Carrick McDonough
28) Dan Haymond
There are a few spaces available on the supporters bus for Saturdays’ game at Aberavon RFC. The supporters bus will be leaving the clubhouse at 12.30 and can the contact Angharad or Andrew Phillips
Angharad 07816153355
Here is the Steelmen Side for Saturday afternoon’s match against London Scottish RFC at Maidenhead RFC 3pm KO
This is our biggest game so far, in every sense of the word. It’s going to be great preparation for the coming season and we’re all really looking forward to testing ourselves against some quality opposition Joe Franchi
15) Dan Haymond
14) Dafyfdd Howells
13) Lewis Bates
12) Dom Franchi
11) Jordan Thomas
10) Rhys Jones
9) Matthew Flanagan
8) Lewis Young
7) Alex Grey
6) Dan Hill
5) Corey Talbot
4) Lance Randell
3) Dave Whiting
2) Joe Franchi
1) Luke Garrett
16) Joel Harries
17) James Benjamin
18) Adam Williams
19) Scott Parsons
20) Rob Sevenoaks
21) Owen Young
22) Connor Chapman
23) Ethan Doyle
24) Jack Harvey
25) Lewis K Williams
26) Ethan Phillips
27) Sam Ireland
28) Ewan Rosser
29) Joe Westwood
Follow updates of the game on our twitter @evrfc
We have agreed to the following kick off times and dates to play RGC in the Premiership Cup Fixtures:
Saturday 9th October 2021: RGC v Ebbw Vale Kick Off 5:30pm
Friday 19th November 2021: Ebbw Vale v RGC Kick Off 7:00pm
The fixture against London Scottish was originally organised to be played on Richmond Athletic Ground.
This game has been moved to:-
Maidenhead RFC, Braywick Road, Maidenhead, SL6 1BN
The Kick Off is 3.00pm
Tickets need to be booked via the following link at eventbrite
Adult tickets are priced at £5 (U 18s free).
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/london-scottish-vs-ebbw-vale-rfc-tickets-166491983003?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb
After an 18-month hiatus due to the pandemic, the Indigo Group Premiership clubs finally have something to look forward to with a new cup competition set to kick-start the season on September 18.
The 12 clubs have been divided into two pools of six – West and East – for the inaugural Indigo Group Premiership Cup.
Llanelli, Aberavon, Bridgend, Carmarthen Quins, Llandovery and Swansea form the West while Merthyr, Ebbw Vale, Pontypridd, Newport, Cardiff and RGC will contest the East.
The initial stage will be on a home and away basis to find the top two sides from each group. The winner from West will then host the runners-up from East in one semi-final while in the other semi-final the winner of East will host the runner-up of West. The date and venue of the final are TBC.
“The key for us has been to get people back playing rugby. A lot of time and effort has gone into ensuring the top end of our club game can return to action in a safe environment,” said WRU head of participation, Geraint John.
“Finally, the players and coaches have something tangible to focus on and we can all now look forward to seeing some exciting derbies which I’m sure will give fans something to shout about at long last.”
Ian Cole-Wilkins, CEO of Indigo Group, added: “We are pleased to be finally welcoming clubs back after a long and challenging 18 months. The new West and East cup competition format to start in September gives local supporters the chance to see the players stir up some long standing rivalries!
“Indigo Group will continue to support clubs with their return to rugby and we look forward to getting to some of the games.”
Jon Jones, chairman of the Indigo Group Premiership clubs and Ebbw Vale, expressed relief that a date has now been set in concrete to get the players back on the pitch and is hoping the derbies will see fans pouring back through the turnstiles.
“Having a cup competition at the beginning of the season is something different, but we’re obviously looking forward to it because we haven’t played for over 18 months by the time we kick off,” he said. “We’re really enthusiastic to get back to playing and that is a message from all the Indigo Group Premiership clubs really.�
“It’s really important to have that start date set now – we’ve not even got close to it before so it’s great to know when we’re going to start, we’ve all got friendly fixtures lined up to lead into the competition,” he said.
Jones added the Indigo Group Premiership has had to follow certain protocols before having a start-date confirmed.
“Training has already started for the clubs, but we need a bigger lead-in than some of the community clubs for obvious reasons.
“We have got to get a lot of things in place and it gives us time to do that to make sure the players are ready – it’s been a long time without contact so there are concerns from the medical side of things and that is why it has been managed in the way it has and why we are starting later than the community game.”
With pre-season now fully underway, Aberavon head coach Jason Hyatt is eager to get the new campaign going.
“From our point of view, it’s really important that we get back playing as soon as possible, it’s so important on all fronts. Important for the clubs, important for the supporters and Welsh rugby in general,” he said.
“It is nice to have something concrete to look forward to. They will all be difficult games, traditionally the West sides play a lot of rugby and I enjoyed it the last time it was east and west if I’m honest.
“The East and West is not a new format – we did it a number of years ago and that was the year we reached the final play-off and we played Merthyr in the final.
“We’re very lucky in Aberavon, we’ve got fantastic supporters and everyone is busting a gut to watch rugby again. My son plays for Gowerton, I watched him play against Dunvant so it feels like it is starting to feel like a bit of normality is kicking in now. It was just nice watching a game of rugby so no doubt our supporters will feel exactly the same.”
Hyatt has no doubt the derbies will bring the best out of the players and is encouraging fans who have been devoid of any live sporting action over the past 18 months to go and support their local team.
“Personally, I think the standard is rising all the time. I take my hat off to everyone involved with the Indigo Group Premiership – it doesn’t just fall in our laps at that level. A lot of hard work is involved, and it is a fantastic environment for youngsters to come through and learn,” he said.
Jones added: “This will be a chance to see some live rugby, it’s good for the clubs and good for atmosphere and I think everybody needs that after what we have been through as a society – everybody needs something different to the garden.
“It’s a chance for the Indigo Group Premiership clubs to continue to show what they can do – that is why we would be really pleased to get more people through the gates because I think as people come they will want to come again.”
With the desperately sad news that Mike Treanor died on Sunday, it is surely appropriate to start by expressing our deepest sympathy to Anne Jill, Catrin, Richard John and the grandchildren , of all of whom he was inordinately, and justifiably proud.I say this because in his packed life and immense contribution to Ebbw Vale, the town, the steelworks and, to him, the supremely important Rugby Club, everything always came second to his family, although to Anne and the children it might not always have seemed like that.Mike was a true Corinthian. He gave of his time for everything he did willingly and battled even when times were hard.He arrived in Ebbw Vale when the steelworks was at its peak. The Rugby Club was successful because the players were treated in a way few could match. The Cornish tour made men of boys. We had employment that could be offered. Everyone wanted to play for us and none wanted to play against us. For a Derbyshire lad, although always a passionate welshman at all times apart from when his beloved County were playing Glamorgan, the sporting opportunities on the Rugby and Cricket field and latterly the Golf course were endless and remarkably thirst inducing. He took full advantage.His employment in the Works produced unforeseen challenges. When the General Manager decided it would be good for morale to start a Rugby team, with himself aged 47 and not having played for 40 years and never at outside half, the programme announced the names on the team sheet with the surprising addition of a 16th name ”who would assist the Captain throughout the match”. It is a tribute to Mike’s fortitude that he took the hospital passes that my father dished out to him without complaint.He became used to adversity, but never shirked responsibility. In the aftermath of the steelworks closing, the Club went through a difficult period and were it not for Mike and his close circle of friends, acting as Secretary and Chairman, the likelihood is that Ebbw Vale would have gone the way of our great rivals, Abertillery. We did not and that is in large measure due to Mike staring disaster in the face and refusing to be beaten. Right until the end, this is how he was and the fact that his beloved club survived and thrived is in no small measure due to him. The added bonus of away trips to gastronomic centres in Europe was reward in itself, although an away trip to the Wines of Bordeaux might have suited him better than the one to the Prunes of Agen.I had the privilege of sharing many happy moments with him and his family. His appreciation of the Leaning Tower of Pisa was all that might be expected of a first class civil engineer but came second to that day in Pontypridd when Damian etc beat the home team to win the Premiership. Mike was ecstatic and his ecstasy showed itself by constant repetition of” after all these bloody years, we have finally won something!”Our club has lost one of its greatest administrators, players and supporters. He is impossible to replace. There is much talk now of greatness, of form, of class but not much of the quality that marked Mike out from we lesser mortals- he had style, and bags of it.And he is to my certain knowledge the only Ebbw player ever to have represented India at International Rugby- and if that isn’t style, I don’t know what is.I speak for all of us when I say that we have lost one of our dearest friends.Mark Powell QCPresident Ebbw Vale RFC
Highlights of Brecon RFC against Ebbw Vale in our first pre season fixture which we ran out 64-5 winners against a good Brecon side.
With the Steelmen returning to action in a friendly against Brecon tomorrow, team manager Darren Venn is joins Haydn on this Steelman in Focus episode
Full Interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOzM8YwB4X0
Fixture:
Brecon RFC (A) Saturday 31st July KO 13.30 at Parc de Pugh.
Darren Venn
Loose Head prop Ross Jones who has been one of the cornerstones of the Ebbw Vale squad has announced his retirement from rugby. Ross joined after the club from Bargoed RFC when the club was at its lowest ebb in July 2010 having been relegated from the Premiership the previous season.
Ross has represented the Steelmen with pride and with never less than 100% commitment on just over 250 occasions. During this period Ross helped to drive the team to one of the most successful periods in its history with 5 League titles in 6 seasons, including Welsh Premiership Champions in 2016/16 as well as Premiership Runners Up the previous season. Added to this were 2 National Cup Semi Finals which saw a late try at one semi-final and number of tries scored after a draw prevented Ross getting to play at the National Stadium.
Many of those 250 games were played in a front 5 alongside Matthew “Chunky” Williams, Rob Severnoakes, Damian Hudd and Ashley Sweet, all starters in that first game in Division 1 East in 2010 and all playing in the Premiership winning team 6 seasons later. What is less well known is in that first season Ross, was the controller of the driving maul and scored 10 tries before handing over the role to Ronny “catch and “ Kynes who scored 19 tries in the Premiership season with Ross being at the forefront of this well drilled and at times unstoppable move.
Ross has been Player of the Year, Players Player and Man of Steel during his time at the club has played as big a part off the field as he has on the field. His level of fitness and commitment to the club has helped to create an environment of high performance, respect, hard work, success and enjoyment that has enabled the club to remain at the forefront of the semi pro game in Wales.
He has been supported in all of this by his family, parents Tony and Lynne, wife Becky and his children Evie and Will who are familiar faces at the club and he will now spend more time with them which has been one of the key factors in his decision to retire from rugby.
Having represented, Tredegar Ironsides, Bargoed, several sides such as Bedwas RFC on permit and the Steelmen in a career that probably passes 500 games in senior rugby, it is a great shame that the Covid pandemic has not allowed Ross to end a fantastic career wearing the Steelmen shirt in front of the Ebbw Addicts who recognise the contribution he has made.
Chairman Jon jones said that I expect that there will be a collective sigh of relief amongst Premiership tight heads as Ross retires and it will be very strange seeing an Ebbw Vale Team Sheet that does not contain Ross Jones and it is shame that we are unable to see him play one last time and pay tribute to an excellent prop forward who has been a magnificent servant to Ebbw Vale RFC and Welsh club rugby in general. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to get to know Ross and we wish him well in the future and expect to see him around the club in the coming years.
Ross Jones
Ross & Family
Ebbw play their first match in almost 18 months when they visit Brecon RFC on Saturday, July 31st.
The game, Ebbw’s first in a series of pre-season friendlies, will kick off at 1:30pm at Parc de Pugh.
Ebbw Vale have a number of tickets available for this year’s Autumn Series.
The WRU have announced tests against four of the best sides the Southern Hemisphere have to offer at the Principality Stadium.
Wayne Pivac’s men will host New Zealand on Saturday 30th October, World Champions South Africa on Saturday 6thNovember, Fiji on Sunday 14th November and Australia on Saturday 20th November.
The Autumn tests will provide fans the opportunity to cheer on their team for the first time since the 2020 Six Nations and the WRU are confident the Stadium will be at 100% capacity. Of course circumstances around COVID 19 could change, so provisions are in place so that supporters can purchase now with confidence, knowing that a full refund of the face value amount will be issued if plans change.
Under 17s tickets, previously restricted to category B & C areas will now be available across the ground, including the alcohol-free zone which will still be in operation.
For more information on how to purchase tickets for Wales’ hugely anticipated Autumn Nations Series please contact international-tickets@evrfc.co.uk by August 28th 2021.
Ebbw Vale RFC are delighted to announce the signing of Dafydd Howells. The 6ft, 15st wing joins after being released by the Dragons having made 17 appearances and scoring 5 tries over the last 2 seasons.
Dafydd came to prominence at the Ospreys and won 2 Welsh caps, making his debut on the tour of Japan in 2013 . He has also been capped at U20s and for Wales 7s.
He has previously played in the Welsh Premiership primarily for Neath but has also represented Aberavon and Ebbw Vale.
His previous spell at the Steelmen saw him become a fans’ favourite as he raced over for 9 tries in 11 appearances and he will add pace, guile and experience to the back division.
Dafydd commented, “Having recently taken the decision to step back from professional rugby, I’m excited to get the opportunity to represent the Steelmen again. It was an easy decision to make having played for the club before, knowing there’s a great bunch of boys there along with quality coaches”.
Head Coach Greg Woods had the following to say on the capture of Dafydd. “We are really excited to bring someone of Dafydd’s calibre to the club for the forthcoming season. He had a huge impact in the games that he played for the club a few years back and I look forward to working with him to bring that level of play week in week out over the coming season.
He wants to enjoy his rugby and play week in week out and I have no doubt he will be a real force and will make his presence felt in the Welsh Premiership.
He also brings his international and regional experiences to a new group of players and that will only enhance the development of this new squad on training nights and match days.”
This is an exciting signing for the club and we can’t wait to see him in action.”
Daffyd’s Vide Highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Q48L7EjAw&feature=youtu.be
Wing/Fullback Alun Harries was another Ebbw fan favourite from the 90s side, playing outside halfbacks Dai Llewellyn (who joined us for the first ‘my favourite Ebbw games’ piece) and Byron Hayward.
Alun spoke to us this week about his favourite games in the famous red, green and white.
Neath v Ebbw Vale, 1996/97
In Harries’ first season at Eugene Cross Park, he picked up an injury early on, leaving him out of action without a run of games until October.
“The other wings were Ian “Jaffa” Jeffries and Shaun Marshall and they were playing well. I’d always preferred playing full back and said to the coaches that’s where I wanted to play. I was given the opportunity and it was an armchair ride with the then centres Jon Hawker and Mike Boys, who were outstanding in defence and great distributors with ball in hand, and it easy to run lines off them both,” he said.
Ebbw travelled to The Gnoll to face one of Harries’ former clubs, Neath. Driven by the desire to get one over on his old teammates, Harries was involved in everything in attack and although not particularly renowned for his tackling, put a big hit in on Neath wing Chris Higgs.
“Chris was very quick and had a great step of his right foot, but he had a ‘tell’ just before he would do so and the key was to get almost parallel to him and time the hit as he came off his right foot, my timing was spot on and caught him right in the ribs with my shoulder, think its the only time a player took a while to get up after being tackled by me!”
Harries also recalled one phase of play that nearly resulted in a fantastic length of the field try.
“We had a scrum on our own line. Byron Hayward was behind the scrum on the dead ball line ready for the clearing kick, and I was about 5-6 yards to his right. The dead ball area at The Gnoll is very small and the Neath back row were quickly on Byron for a charge down, so he threw me a hospital pass – on our own dead ball line! Fortunately the pass just about got me on the outside of Neath No.8 Steve Williams, and I got away from him and then stepped inside another Neath forward and the whole field opened up. I got to the half way line with Neath full back Alan Flower approaching, and a couple of other Neath backs coming across from mid field. I managed to stand him up and get a pass off to Ian Jeffries on my outside, but he just got scagged by the cover defence about 10 yards from the try line – it would have been dead ball line to try line score!
Kingsley said to me after, ‘That would have been the best try ever if Jaffa could keep up with you!’ – a bit unfair on Jaffa, as when I made the break he was in front of me so had to get himself on side and get in support from a standing start!”
“After the game, coach Leigh Jones said to me. ‘That’s the best game I’ve seen you play’ – praise indeed form someone who wasn’t my biggest fan!”
The game was massively important for the future of Ebbw Vale in the first season of professional rugby in Wales, with four teams set to be relegated from the Premier Division.
“That win at Neath gave us good momentum and resilience for the fight for pro rugby survival, and ensured that Ebbw had the great seasons to follow”.
Ebbw Vale v Swansea, 1997 Cup Semi–Final, Cardiff Arms Park
After overcoming Bridgend in the quarter-final thanks to a last minute lineout drive, Ebbw went into this Cup semi-final as massive underdogs against Swansea at Cardiff Arms Park.
“I missed the quarter final with a quad strain, scrum half Gareth Bisp had played full back! I hadn’t played since the week before that game and only trained the Thursday before the semi–final and must admit I nursed myself through that session. Kingsley had asked me that week if I was fit. I said ‘Yes, I’m 100%’ with a little bit of hope in my mind.”
“I was picked at full back and Robin Davey wrote in the Argus that my selection was a gamble, as I hadn’t played for a few weeks and I was a makeshift full back!”
Ebbw started slowly and took a while to get into the game but as the game progressed became more and more confident of causing a remarkable cup upset.
“One instance from early on though was a high ball Swansea outside half Aled Williams put up. I jumped to take it, landed, not a hand on me, and thought, ‘here we go‘ , big gap in front of me – as I went to run, ref Derek Bevan gave a big blast on his whistle. As I turned back, Swansea flanker Alan Reynolds was on the deck with Mark Jones stood over him. I thought to myself, ‘F’inghell Jonsey I was away then’ and just looked at him – we walked back to face the penalty, he took his mouth guard out and said to me, ‘Had to do that son, otherwise he’d have killed you!’ – good move Jonesy as the rest of the game went very well for me.”
Harries once again praised Ebbw centre partnership of Jon Hawker and Mike Boys who faced an international duo of Scott Gibbs and Mark Taylor.
“Anyone there that day would testify that our centres Jon & Mike got the upper hand: nothing came through them and I benefited from their ball handling. Boysy stood Gibbs up to put me away for a try and Jon put me on the outside of Mark Taylor from the 1/2 way and we were just stopped short of the line to score again. Minutes later I managed to get away from the Swansea defence from a blindside scrum to put Jaffa over for a try.”
Unfortunately, Ebbw’s first-half left them with too much catching up to do as Swansea progressed to the final, but Ebbw and Harries in particular could be very proud of the performance they put in that day.
“We got close to Swansea but not quite good enough in the first half! Mike Ruddock was Swansea coach and came into our changing rooms after the game and said we’d given them a real fright.”
“I was walking back to the changing rooms after talking with some people straight after the game, and Kingsley was outside talking to the press, one of which was Robin Davey. As I walked passed, Kingsley said, ‘Look Robin, it’s Alun Harries, our man of the match!’”
Ebbw Vale v Cardiff, 3rd Round Cup, 1998
“This game was part of our S4C Saturday night run. We were on TV more than Terry Wogan!”
In the first year that the majority of the club were full time professionals, Ebbw Vale had a great season, regularly beating teams with bigger budgets and fanbases than themselves.
“We weren’t the most talented in the league but we were unified, organised and horrible to play against, so a cold Saturday night at EXP with a full terrace bank was not a great environment for the ‘City Slickers’!”
“In the build–up to the game, S4C pundit Brynmor Williams had written us off, saying Cardiff would be far to strong (unlike Brynmor to be negative towards anybody as he is one of rugby’s gents.)”
“Someone else had claimed that Gareth Thomas’s transfer fee from Bridgend to Cardiff was more than the salaries of all our back line put together.”
“So, with the TV pundits having given us a team talk, a cold EXP and a bank full of the Ebbw faithful, it was game on!”
“We got into Cardiff right from the off, Jon Hawker scored early on and our tails were up. Our pack were battering theirs with Mark Jones and Kuli Faletau man handling the Cardiff ‘boys’, and Richie Collins far too skillful and experienced for the international back row opposite him. Lenny Woodard had been on a barn storming 50m run bouncing players off him, and that was the tone for the whole game – it felt like we had 30 players on the pitch!”
Going into the last few minutes, with Ebbw in front, Lenny Woodard, Byron Hayward and Kingsley Jones combined to put Harries over the whitewash in front of the S4C studio containing Brynmor Williams to win the game.
“We were in front going into the last few minutes. Lenny made a break from our own half up the right–hand side in front of the bank and got a pass off to Byron. We were now behind the Cardiff defence about 40m out. I was trying to get to Byron from left field, then Kingsley appeared in mid–field. Byron passed to him as Cardiff tried to scramble so Kingsley, ball in hand, with Cardiff’s defence chasing, I go back towards the left field space, screaming, ‘Give it, give it’ as the gap between him and me gets bigger as I try to keep the space. He started to wind his pass up from about 15 yards away, on the run. I looked at the covering defence and thought, ‘It’s now or never Kings!’ Now, for all his playing and leadership attributes, Kingsley sparing 15m passes is not top of those attributes! But, fair play the pass came right into my bread basket with enough time and space to out strip the defence. The S4C match day studio was at the cricket end of the ground with Brynmor sat inside, so as I crossed the line for us to seal the game I couldn’t resist putting my hand to my ear and look at Brynmor as if to gesture, ‘What were you saying?”.
The cup run gained Ebbw massive publicity as well as qualification for the Heineken Cup the same year.
“That was a big factor in attracting future quality players for other successes in the following seasons.”
It’s hard to remember a time when Ross Jones wasn’t packing down on the loose head side of the scrum!
He’s been there for Division One, Championship and Premiership glory. Haydn Evans caught up with him to discuss all things Ebbw… and scrummaging, of course.
Watch the interview here:
This week, Haydn Evans interviews number 8 Lewis Young. Find out his thoughts about being part of a rugby dynasty, and the day Ebbw supporters took over Pandy Park.