RGC 1404 won 19 of their 22 matches as they claimed the SWALEC One East title last season – their first season of League rugby, and are now preparing to take on some of the biggest names in the Welsh domestic game such as current holders Ebbw Vale, Newbridge, Tondu and Pontypool.
“”What a great fixture to kick off the season,” he said. “To play the champions and such a big name of the Welsh game in Ebbw Vale is fantastic. The fact that the game is at home is even better. Last year we had to play seven away games on the bounce at the start of the season due to various circumstances, so it’s great to be able to re-ignite our support at Eirias with such a plum draw.
“”Ebbw Vale did so well last season in the league and also in cup games against some Premiership sides, they are certainly one of the best club sides in Wales at the moment.
“”This season will certainly be a test for us. We are still a young team — the majority of the players were 18 or 19 last season so they will be a year older. We had a fantastic year in Division One, winning the league with a style of rugby to be proud of and with so many young players playing their first year of senior rugby.
“It’s all about developing players and to achieve that, we aim for constant improvement. It is very pleasing that some players have had some individual recognition such as Iolo Evans with Wales Sevens, Harri Evans with Wales Under 20 and Callum Mitchell With Wales Under 18.
“Damien (McGrath) and I are always keen to emphasis that’s it’s about building on what we’ve got – while it was fantastic to win Division One East, we quickly turned to our preparations as a Championship side. It’s going to be a lot more intense this season and the thinking time will decrease dramatically. The players aren’t overawed – this is where we all want to be. Everyone has put a huge amount of time and effort into our journey to get this far and we are relishing the prospect.
“”Everything is going in the right direction at the moment both on and off the field. It’s important we do well as a development region in order to keep up with the momentum we’ve created. We have engaged with schools, colleges, clubs, supporters in north Wales and I feel we are provingthat we are a credible outfit. There is talent up here in north Wales and we want to be an asset to Welsh rugby.”
Ebbw Vale head coach Jason Strange added, “”We are really excited at the prospect of the new season. We don’t know that much about RGC having played in different leagues last season, but we know they’ve got some good coaches, and they did well to win Division One. We focus on our ourselves as much as possible and on getting our own game right. We are lucky in that we have a young side, but one that has been together for the last two or three seasons now so there is a lot of continuity.
“”After the RGC away from home, we have Bargoed at Eugene Cross Park so that will be one to look forward to as well. We have improved each season since being relegated from the Premiership, winning our league each time and without taking anything for granted, we will be looking to do that again. We have improved things off the pitch too with new sets of floodlights for example and working closely with the local community and I’m sure standards will go up again in this Championship season.”
