Yet four years on, and with four successive seasons of winning league titles in the bag, they have re-emerged in the top flight more competitive than ever and in much better shape off the field than ever before.
This weekend they host arch-rivals Newport and they are predicting a gate of around 2,000 as they attempt to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Their record since losing their Premiership status makes impressive reading – played 96 league games, won 88 and lost 8. They won the Swalec Division 1 East title twice and then took the Swalec Championship crown in the last two seasons.
“If we hadn’t have been able to go up this season I don’t think we’d have been able to look the boys in the eye and ask them to stay for another campaign. The time was right, we were ready and we’ve returned to the Premiership a much better club on and off the field,” said head coach Jason Strange.
Two wins in their opening two matches are living proof of that. The 30-29 triumph over Llandovery on the opening weekend of the season at Eugene Cross Park made up for the defeat in the Swalec Cup quarter-finals the previous season, while the 29-18 victory over Neath at The Gnoll showed to Strange he was right to remain loyal to the players who have become used to winning in the lower leagues.
“We are trying to build a team out of out locality here in north Gwent and we have a lot of Ebbw Vale players in the side. That’s what we are looking for,” said Strange.
“I keep an eye on the local talent through my job as a teacher at the Ebbw Fawr Learning Community School and our team reached the final of the Welsh Schools Under 16 Cup last season. Those boys have now all gone into Ebbw Vale College and we have installed a rugby officer there to help with their development.
“We’ve had a great start to the season and the players deserve massive credit for that. We learned from our cup defeat to Llandovery last season that you must play for the full 80 minutes at this level.
“We know there are going to be much tighter margins in all our matches this season and we need to learn to tough them out if we are to keep on winning. Two thirds of this team has been together for the past four or five years and they have grown together.
“We were able to add a few experienced heads into the squad in the summer in Gethin Robinson, Rhys Downes, Adam Jones and Tom James and they have made a big impact already. We know there are going to be some rough patches during the season and we simply have to keep on working hard and trying to improve.
“Players like Ronnie Kynes, Ashley Sweet and Damien Hudd have been at the heart of everything we’ve achieved in recent seasons and they are relishing the challenge to play against the top teams. So many of our players were picked up from lower league teams and we want to find more like that who want to rise up through the ranks.”
Strange knows the Newport challenge will be a ferocious one even though they are currently anchored to the bottom of the table without a win to date. If his side can make it a hat-trick of victories then the Steelmen really will be on the march.
Principality Premiership Round 3
Bedwas v Aberavon
Cardiff v Cross Keys
Carmarthen Quins Llanelli
Ebbw Vale v Newport
Neath v Llandovery
Pontypridd v Bridgend
