Team News – Carmarthen Away

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The Ebbw Vale side to take on Carmarthen in the Indigo Welsh Premiership this Saturday, April 1st at Carmarthen Park, 14:30pm is as follows.

If you can’t make the game then you can follow updates on our social media channels Twitter @evrfc and Facebookwww.facebook.com/SteelmanRugby for updates #Steelmen

Team

1. Charley Kearns

2. Rhys Francis (c) 

3. Dave Whiting

4. Dylan Bartlett

5. Curtis Gregory

6. Andrew Mann

7. Lewis Young 

8. Chad Thomas

9. Matthew Flanagan

10. Evan Lloyd 

11. Ryan Davies

12. Kieran Meek

13. Dom Franchi

14. Carrick McDonough 

15. Morgan Richards

Replacements

16. Joe Franchi

17. Joel Harries 

18. Adam Court 

19. Gethin Williams 

20. Ryan Jenkins

21. Dylan Davies 

22. Ethan Phillips

23. Amir Jiwa Walji

 

The following fixtures have now been rearranged we can confirm.  The fixture against Pontypridd will be shown live on S4C Clic

6th April
Ebbw Vale v Pontypridd RFC
Live on s4c
7:30pm

22nd April
Ebbw Vale v Aberavon
2:30pm

 

29th April
Ebbw Vale v Cardiff RFC
2:30pm

Dylan Bartlett re-signs for the Steelmen

Another fans favourite Dylan Bartlett has re-signed for the steelmen for the 23/24 season.

Dylan said;  I re-signed for Ebbw because I believe that this club and team is going to achieve more and more each year. With the players we have, the coaches we have and the unreal support each we have.

Dylan is sponsored by Carl’s Heating Services https://www.carlsheatingservices.co.uk/

 

Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) member clubs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Special Resolution tabled at today’s (Sunday 26th March) Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), in a move set to irrevocably improve governance structures and change the face of the game in Wales for the better, forever.

A total of 173 members were represented, and a further 79 voted by proxy, at the Princess Royal Theatre in Port Talbot, with 245 votes (of 252 in total) cast in favour of the resolution, meaning the 75% majority for the motion to pass was easily exceeded (97.2% voted in favour).

The meeting was chaired by WRU President Gerald Davies who called it ‘quorate’ well ahead of an 11am start, with the 95-attendee threshold (to make any vote valid) also easily met.

The EGM also heard from WRU chair Ieuan Evans, chair of the WRU’s Community Game Board John Manders and interim CEO Nigel Walker, with Company Secretary Rhodri Lewis overseeing proceedings alongside independent scrutineer Jonathan Rhodes.

“I’m delighted with the support members have shown for the Board’s recommendation today,” said Evans, who set out his stated mission to modernise the governance of the WRU in his New Year address at the start of 2023, just a few weeks after his own election.


“We now have a line in the sand from which we intend to move forward purposefully, swiftly and better prepared to serve Welsh rugby’s needs. This is another historic day in the 142-year history of the WRU.

“From this moment on we will be much better equipped to overcome any challenges we may face and I thank all members for giving us the tools to do a better job on their behalf.

The repercussions of a positive vote today are nothing short of momentous and I am genuinely excited about the latent potential of our national game at all levels.


“Members have taken the opportunity to pay something forward of huge significance to our great rugby playing country’s children… and its children’s children.

“We will draft in the very best talent to help our elected Board members.  Each with a genuine and heartfelt, interest and love for our game. 

“But also with the business expertise, varied skills and acumen to see Welsh rugby soar.”

With the Special Resolution passed the WRU will now appoint an Independent Non-Executive Director (INED) as chair and recruit a two further new INEDs to its twelve-person Board, doubling the total number of INEDs to six.
In the new configuration four Board members will still come from the WRU Council which is entirely elected by member clubs, one of whom will be the Community Game Board’s chair.
The remaining two spots on the Board will be filled by the WRU CEO and a new Director role for someone who can support and further the women’s game.

All changes will take place in context of the overall aspiration to ensure at least five Directors are women.

The Annual General Meeting of the WRU, which will see a natural changing of the guard for a number of WRU Council members takes place in November, and the WRU has already planned a timeline for appointments, with the new chair to come in first and the following processes to be completed before the end of 2023.


“We hope to complete the process for change by December this year, but the first steps will be taken immediately,” said interim CEO Nigel Walker.

“We need a new chair in place first and the recruitment process for INEDs, and of course any potential new CEO, will follow from there, with a natural stage at our AGM in November where the composition of our elected members will evolve due to a number reaching the end of their terms of office.

“This is just the beginning of a journey which will see the trust and faith of a nation in Welsh rugby restored and revitalised. There is a lot of hard work ahead of us but this is a genuinely uplifting moment in the history of our game.”

Coaching Change at Ebbw Vale RFC

Ebbw Vale are disappointed to announce that due to Work and Family commitments along with a commute from his Llantwit Fadre base Forwards Coach Geraint Lewis will be stepping down with immediate affect

All at the club fully understand the reasons and are supportive of Geraint taking this step in the his and his families best interests

This brings to an end Geraint second stint at the club after 15 months after stepping in with last seasons Coaching changes and we are grateful for the hard work that helped to stabilise the club last season and improve the performances so significantly this season

We wish Geraint all the best for the future and he will assured of a warm welcome at the club in the future

Scrum Coach Aaron Coundley will take over as Forwards Coach until the end of the season when the club will review its coaching requirements

 

The Ebbw Vale side to take on Aberavon in the Indigo Welsh premiership this Thursday evening at the Ciner Glass Community Stadium, 7:30pm kick off is as follows.

There will also be a live performance from the Beaufort Male Choir in the clubhouse after the game. There will also be a bucket collection at this Thursday’s game to help Ukrainian athletes attend the Olympics. 

If you can’t make the game then you can follow updates on our social media channels Twitter @evrfc and Facebookwww.facebook.com/SteelmanRugby for updates #Steelmen

Or with LIVE on S4C https://www.facebook.com/s4cchwaraeon or https://www.youtube.com/@S4CChwaraeon/streams

Team

1 Luke Garrett 

2 Rhys Francis (c)

3 Dave Whiting

4 Dylan Bartlett

5 Curtis Gregory 

6 Andrew Mann

7 Lewis Young 

8 Chad Thomas 

9 Jonathan Evans

10 Evan Lloyd

11 Ryan Davies

12 Kieron Meek

13 Dom Franchi  

14 Carrick McDonough 

15 Morgan Richards

 

Replacements

16 Joe Franchi

17 Charley Kearns

18 Harry Drane

19 Morgan Thomas

20 Joe Thomas

21 Matthew Flanagan 

22 Amir Jiwa Walji

23 Liam Lloyd

Ebbw Vale community show support for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria

Ciner Glass send their thanks to Ebbw Vale Rugby Club and members of the local community for their kindness and generosity in raising funds for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. 

The club recently organised a fundraising event at the Ciner Glass community stadium in Ebbw Vale for the team’s latest game against Bridgend, bringing together players, sponsors and local fans to support victims in the two countries. A sponsors charity raffle took place and generous donations were made, including one of the players donating his match fee, with over £800 raised for the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal. 

Mrs Didem Ciner, President of CiNER Glass Ltd, commented: 

“On behalf of everyone at Ciner Glass, I would like to thank the club for their fundraising efforts and kind words of support following the devastating recent events in Turkey and Syria. 

We are grateful for the thought and generosity that has been shown by the club and community, who came together so quickly to hold a fundraiser, and we send our heartfelt thanks to each and every person who made a contribution.”

Chairman of Ebbw Vale Rugby Club Jonathan Jones commented: 

“We are deeply saddened by the devastation that has been caused by the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. On behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to send our thoughts to all those affected. We were glad to be able to contribute in a small way to the wider efforts taking place right across the UK to support the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal. 

Iron beat Steel

By Alex Kinsella-Evans

Third placed the Ironmen made a short trip across the Heads of the Valley to play fifth placed the Steelmen on a horrendous night where seeing players on the field was difficult.

Straight from the kick off Merthyr were on the front foot when the ball was knocked on by an Ebbw Vale forward. However, the play came to nothing.

With the weather conditions deteriorating, the referee awarded Merthyr a penalty. With the wind behind them, the Ironmen kicked to touch. From the lineout the referee awarded another penalty to the away side. Former Steelman flyhalf Josh Lewis, playing at inside centre for the evening successfully added the three points. 

As the ball became difficult to keep hold of, due to the driving rain, Merthyr knocked the ball on, on their twenty-two. From the resulting scrum, the referee awarded a penalty to the home side.  Ebbw’s prolific points scorer, Evan Lloyd, kicked his first penalty of the evening. 

With Merthyr gaining the ascendancy and dealing with the weather conditions better, the away side were awarded consecutive penalties. However, the play came to nothing when the Steelmen turned the ball over and the referee awarded a penalty to Ebbw. 

From the penalty, the home side’s outside half, Evan Lloyd, kicked into the Merthyr half. From the lineout, the home side went through the phases before the referee gave Ebbw a penalty within kicking range. Merthyr number five, Callum Bradbury, was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes. Fly half Lloyd put the home side in front after kicking the penalty.  

Down to fourteen men, the Ironmen kept the ball within the forwards and from a lineout in the Steelmen’s half, the ball made its way to Merthyr winger Terri Gee, who burst through three missed tackles to go over for the first try of the game. Josh Lewis successfully converted the try, adding two points for the away team. 

With both teams struggling to keep hold of the ball, no further points were added to the scoreline in the first half. 

Half Time: Ebbw Vale 6-13 Merthyr 

The second half continued in much the same vein as the first half, with both teams being awarded penalties and not being able to keep hold of the ball. 

With the Ebbw pack starting to gain some ball, the referee awarded a penalty which outside half Lloyd successfully kicked to bring the home side within four points of the visitors. 

As the home side line out started to go astray and Merthyr gaining more of the territory, the referee gave two further penalties to Merthyr, both inside the Steelmen’s half, which Lewis successfully converted, to make the scoreline nineteen points to nine to the away side.  

Inside the last twenty minutes, the Ebbw forwards went through some good phases of play. The ball made its way out to Morgan Richards, who sliced through the Merthyr defence, only to be stopped by an illegal offence. The referee awarded a penalty to the home side within the Ironmen’s twenty-two. However, Lloyd hit the upright with the penalty attempt.  

Both sides entered into a kicking dual to try and force a mistake. When inside the Ebbw twenty-two a kick by speedster Ryan Davies unfortunately hit a fellow Steelman and fell into the hands of an away side player who turned and went over for the away side’s second try of the game. Lewis was unable to add the two points.

As the weather deteriorated, no further points were added to the scoreline and the Ironmen deservedly won the game.

FT: Ebbw Vale 9-24 Merthyr

Spirit of Wales Distillery MOTM: Evan Lloyd

After the game we spoke with former Steelmen, Dragons and Ospreys back Josh Lewis. Josh commented on it being a game he did not want to be involved in. He acknowledged it was a game where a result had to be dug out. He finished by saying it was nice to get a victory, especially as he knew it was tough to go to the Ciner Glass Community Stadium and come away as victors.

We also caught up with Ebbw Vale winger Carrick McDonough. Carrick was disappointed with the performance. He thought there were errors in the set piece, individual errors from himself and others and overall the team made too many mistakes to be able to come away with a victory. 

Harry Rees Weldon Ebbw Vale Youth Player Selected for Wales U18’s

 

 

 

Harry Rees Weldon a current member of the Ebbw Vale Youth Squad has been selected to play for Wales U18’s in Sundays match v England to be played at St Helens Swansea this coming Sunday

 

Harry a centre / winger will make his debut on the wing and all at the club are delighted at his selection. Harry has also represented Coleg Gwent and the Dragons Age Group U18’s this season impressing the Welsh Selectors earning selection for a squad that played in Scotland last weekend. He has also earned a Dragons Academy Contract for next season that will see him attached to the Ebbw Vale Senior Squad in season 23/24

 

Head Coach Jason Strange has had Harry training with the Senior Squad since the beginning of November and has been impressed with Harry’s commitment and improvement during this period

 

All at the club look forward to seeing Harry representing the Senior Squad in the near future and enjoying his time with Wales U18’s

 

Harry has made the following comments

 

Ebbw Vale has given me where I could play rugby, progress my skills and enjoy myself with good mates and support from all involved at the club. Being at Ebbw Vale has allowed me to be seen by the Dragons resulting in Regional Age Grade selection. With this opportunity I was able to play in front of Welsh Selectors earning an invite to squad and trial matches. Throughout this process the coaches at Ebbw Vale Youth and Team Manager Damian Jenkins have been extremely supportive. I would also like to thank my youth team mates for the support over this period and in my time in the team. I would also like to thank Jason Strange, all senior coaches and players in the squad who welcomed me to train with them helping my development as a rugby player, being around an excellent semi-professional environment has really accelerated my development as a rugby player

 

Another young player with Ebbw Vale connections will hopefully win a cap from the bench on Sunday, outside half Jack Woods, son of former Head Coach Greg Woods has also earned selection for Sunday’s game. As a club we are delighted for Jack as well as Greg and Claire who will be extremely proud parents on Sunday.