Standing between them and a place in the SSE SWALEC Championship next season is a play-off final fixture with Beddau, who won the Division 1 East Central title, on Saturday, 16 May. If the Pitmen can make it into the Championship it will complete a climb out of District rugby that began in earnest in 2004.
That season they won the Division 4 South East title and kick-started a march up through the ranks that saw them earn four successive promotions. They were Division 3 South East winners in 2005/06, Division 3 East champions in 2006/07 and runners-up in Division 2 East in 2007/08.
They eventually climbed from Division 2 to Division 1 East when they finished second in the 2011/12 season and are now one step away from the Championship having rampaged through Division 1 East this season. They won 20 of their 22 league fixtures, drew another (19-19 at Llanishen) and didn’t lose until they had secured the title by beating second placed Rhiwbina 27-19 at home on 4 April.
“Winning the league was one of our main goals this season and it was great to achieve it so early. The boys really upped their game to bring the title home and full credit to them,” said head coach Matthew Tucker.
That one defeat came at Nelson (8-3) the week after they had clinched the championship, yet they still went on to win their final three matches and ended the season with 99 points from their 22 matches, 23 points clear of second placed Rhiwbina.
As well as facing Beddau on Saturday in the Championship play-off final, they also have another assignment before they season ends in the Silver Ball Final at Aberavon’s Talbot Athletic Ground on 23 May. Their opponents for a trophy they last won in 2005 will be Ystrad Rhondda.
Beddau confirmed their status as SSE SWALEC Division 1 East Central champions with a 10-3 away win at nearest rivals Ystrad Rhondda and then a celebratory 50-7 home victory over Llantrisant that contained eight tries. A red card for No 8 Steffan Jenkins could, however, see him miss this weekend’s Championship play-off final against Penallta.
The only defeat of the league campaign came at Gilfach Goch on 1 November, where Beddau were beaten 10-6, but after that the title was won with a run of 15 straight wins from December to May.
Nantyglo made it a hat-trick of titles as they continued their rise up the Welsh Rugby Union league rankings with victory in SSE SWALEC Division 2 East. It went down to the wire after a thrilling season, with an 8-3 triumph at Banna Park over closest rivals Brynmawr finally securing the title and taking the side into Division 1 East next season.
Both teams went into the last game on 79 points, with Brynmawr buoyed by the fact they had inflicted the first defeat on their neighbours, 24-12, on 4 October. The only other teams to lower Nantyglo’s colours were Pontypool United (28-14), Caerphilly (12-11) and Abergavenny (24-2), but no side beat them on their own patch.
Nick Phippen’s players have become used to close finishes in recent seasons. They won the Division 5 East title by nine points after an unbeaten season that included two draws in 2012/13 and then pipped Abertysswg Falcons by two points to the Division 4 East crown by two points last season.
“There was definitely added pressure this season and I certainly felt it. Everyone was talking about the big local derby with everything was on the line,” said Phippen.
“I’m so proud of the players. They showed great spirit and each and every one of them put in a great shift. I’m sure a few of the players shared the same relief as me when the referee blew the final whistle and we realised we had won the title.
“We turned Banna Park into a fortress for us this season and we showed a real winning mentality whenever we played there in the league.”
Three years ago the club stood on the brink of folding, but under the expert coaching guidance of Jason Williams they have re-emerged stronger and more competitive than ever. Williams’ task going into his fourth season at the helm will be to get even more out of his highly committed players.
“It has been an amazing experience to be a part of the transformation at the club. It means a lot to me, my friends and the community as a whole,” said Williams.
“We’re a little area at the top of the Valleys and the club is a centre-point of our community. The crowd makes such a difference for us and the support for the club has grown even more this year and the community have really rallied around us.
“There is a fantastic bond in the dressing room and the boys train, play and drink together – they’ve grown up together.
“Their commitment and togetherness has been key to our success for the past three seasons. Each and every one of them is protective of their friends and of our club and I’m looking forward to next season’s challenge.”
They have been playing rugby in Brecon for 143 years, but some people reckon that the victorious 2014/15 campaign is the greatest in their long and illustrious history. Winning the SSE SWALEC Division 2 East Central title carried the club to the highest league it has ever been in during the WRU’s National League programme.
Scrum half Daniel Edwards’ side kicked-off the season with six straight victories before they fell 29-27 at home to Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd on 1 November. In fact, all three defeats came at home, but that still didn’t stop Brecon from winning the title with two games left to play.
They secured a further 10 wins on the trot after losing to Clwb Rygbi until St Joseph’s triumphed 29-24 in Mid Wales on 4 April. A week later the title was secured with a 22-18 victory at Pontyclun and the trophy was presented to the team a week later at the home game against Penarth.
The Seasiders’ turned into party-poopers as they ran out 22-18 victors, but Edwards side rallied in their final fixture to put a gloss on their great season with a 35-31 triumph over Abercynon.
“Our target at the start of the season was to challenge for promotion, so to win the league has been a fantastic achievement. It means such a lot to everyone at the club,” said head coach Graham Daley.
“One long-term supporter told me that this season was the proudest he’d ever felt at the club. We’ve reached the highest position that Brecon has ever been in the leagues and we’ve done it by playing open and expansive rugby that is entertaining for the fans.
“Developing home-grown talent is what grassroots rugby is all about and the average age of the 1st XV is 22, with the majority being products of the Brecon area. We’ve also got a strong 2nd XV and Youth team who were both pushing for silverware at the end of the season.”
Caerleon benefitted from a return of many old boys this season and they ensured the SSE SWALEC Division 3 East A title was won with two games left to play. Chris Macey returned from Pontypool, while James Miler and Morgan West also ‘came home’ to add real quality to the club at which they learned their rugby in the junior section.
“We strengthened well last summer with the return of players like Chris, James and Morgan. They were brought up at the club and understand the philosophy,” said team manager Nigel Puddy.
“We thrive on being a family friendly club at Caerleon and we’re happy to have their experience back in our camp. Training has been superb, fitness has been outstanding and confidence is high at the moment.
“We have two very good coaches who will take the team to the next level next season and we’re already planning for the new challenge and looking to strengthen in certain areas.”
You could have forgiven the Abercarn players for losing a little bit of focus towards the end of their SSE SWALEC Division 3 East B season because they had been the dominant force from start to finish, eventually taking the title by 18 points from Usk with a game left to play.
But they kept on going right to the end, battling their way to an 18-16 victory at third placed Hafordyrynys to stretch their unbeaten league record for the season to 21 straight wins. Now they need to beat Tredegar Ironsides at home on 13 May to round off the perfect season.
Newport Saracens were unbeaten in all 20 games in SSE SWALEC Division 3 East D and had the distinction of scoring more points and tries than any other team in the 25 WRU National Leagues. Not only that, they were able to boast the meanest defence as well.
In attack, they managed to score 172 tries at an average of just over eight per game and scored 1,118 points. They topped the century mark once, beating Rhayader 108-6, and also posted big wins over Cwmcarn United (85-0 at home and 96-3 away), Abersychan Alexanders (95-0 away) and Forgeside (86-7 home). Only two other teams reached four figures, Morriston with 1,000 points (2nd Div 3 West Central C) and Fishguard & Goodwick (1st Div 3 West B) with 1,102.
Fishguard & Goodwick came within one try of Newport Saracens’ total, but no team that had played 20 games got anywhere near their defensive stats. Saracens turned into the proverbial ‘mean-machine’ as they kept their try line intact in no fewer than 11 of their games and held seven sides to nil. Their closest games were 15-6 at second placed St Julian’s HSOB and 15-10 at home against Tref-y-Clawdd.
“If you look at the difference in the way we play over the past few years we have definitely improved in all aspects of our game. We were scoring tries for fun, but we couldn’t defend and we were conceding far too many,” said head coach Lewis Culverwell.
“Since then we’ve bolstered the pack and those forwards provide a platform for the backs to push on and score the tries for us. Our team now consists of a young mobile pack and an attractive back-line who could challenge any team. But more importantly our players are enjoying their rugby and are playing for each other.”
In the East Central divisions, Dinas Powis end their season with two major trophies as they captured the SSE SWALEC Division 3 East Central A title and also beat St Peter’s in the East District Cup final. They were chased all the way to the league title by near neighbours Barry, who ended up with exactly the same playing record as their local rivals with 20 wins, one defeat and a draw.
It wasn’t until 21 February that Dinas Powis finally tasted defeat in the league, when Old Illtydians beat them 33-31. Their draw came in the home clash with Barry (26-26), but they managed to beat them away from home, 11-3.
When it came to the final game of the season on 9 May there were just four points separating the two teams and Dinas Powis knew there was no room for error. In the end, they rounded off their season with a massive 88-0 home win over Llandaff North that included 14 tries – exactly the number of players in their side who had come through their mini and junior sections.
Treherbert made it two successive titles as they won their final fixture against SSE SWALEC Bowl finalists Cambrian Welfare 9-0 to take the SSE SWALEC Division 3 East Central B crown. That allowed them to overtake Aberdare and win the title by two points. The victory followed promotion after winning Division 5 South Central ahead of Cambrian Welfare in 2013/14.
The SSE SWALEC 3 East Central C title went to Ynysowen, who went through their 16 games undefeated and conceded a mere 35 points while averaging seven tries per game.
