S4C will be providing weekly online coverage of the top domestic league in Welsh rugby each Thursday with the rest of the games being played on Saturday afternoon.
Aberavon were pipped to top spot in the Premiership Cup West division in the early part of the season, losing at the death to Llandovery in their last league game.
But Jason Hyatt’s side showed more than enough in their 10 games to prove they have realistic title credentials.
They will have a home draw in the New Year in the knock-out phase of that competition, while Swansea will have to target the league after losing out on a place in the last eight of the cup courtesy of an extraordinary try by Edd Howley in their fixture against Bridgend.
Aberavon won both clashes between the two teams in the Premiership Cup, 27-14 at home and 30-20 away, and will go into the game as favourites.
But one of their star performers, former World Cup Sevens winner Aled Thomas, believes nothing can be taken for granted in a league that plays a crucial role in developing the stars of the future.
While Thomas, who played professionally for the Scarlets, Dragons, Gloucester and London Welsh, adds experience to the Aberavon side, vying with him for the No 10 jersey is a player with the potential to follow in his footsteps into the regional game
Teenager Dan Edwards is on the books at the Ospreys and has been filling in for Thomas when he has been unavailable this season. Big things are expected of him and his mentor feels the Premiership provides the perfect stage for him to learn his trade.
“You look at the amount of regional players who cut their teeth in the Premiership and it says it all, really. It’s been invaluable to them and think the Premiership deserves more support and credit for the role it plays,” said the 36-year-old Thomas.
“For Dan, it gives him the opportunity to get a lot of experience and exposure in senior rugby and that’s exactly what young players need. It’s difficult to go straight in at the top level so the Premiership provides young players with an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
“You’ve got to learn your trade somewhere and the Premiership is a fantastic place to do that. The standard is rising all the time and it’s a great tool to help create the future stars of the game.
“The quality of the youngsters coming through is really high. It’s a tough league with a lot of good teams and there is a good blend of promising youngsters and more experienced ex-pro’s like myself.
“The Premiership is a really important developmental tool and it should be utilised further.”
These days what motivates Thomas, who works as a quantity surveyor, is the enjoyment he still gets from playing and the sense of fulfilment from helping to develop the next generation of regional and international regulars.
At exactly twice the age of teenager Edwards, he has plenty of wisdom to pass on.
“It’s especially pleasing to be working with Dan as he is also a fly-half. I’m always looking for things that could help to bring him along and give him even more confidence,” Thomas added.
“I think he’s got genuine potential to make it at professional regional standard and beyond. He’s got the ability, he’s full of confidence, and he just needs the experience now.
“He’s in the Wales Under 20 training squad, too, and I think that will be fantastic for him. He’s also in a fortunate position to have a great group of players and coaches around him.”
Aberavon flanker Lloyd Evans added he was encouraged by his teams efforts in the Indigo Premiership Cup where the Wizards finished behind Llandovery by just one point in the West division.
“We’re really looking forward to beginning the league campaign against Swansea. It will obviously be the start of a new block. I think our preparations pre-season definitely paid off and with all the hard work the coaches and players put in, we’re all now looking to kick on in this next block,” said the former Wales Sevens star.
Evans says the Wizards took their time to hit their straps in the Premiership Cup but are eager to hit the ground running in the league.
“It was near enough to 18 months without any sort of rugby and going into the Premiership Cup we had a couple of friendlies where we were a bit rusty,” he said. “But we’ve got a huge squad and it was good to gauge combinations and hopefully going into the game against Swansea we’ll go in with our best possible starting XV.”
“We’ve got a huge set piece, Mark [Breeze] has done a lot of work around our scrums and our line-outs and that is also down to personnel taking a lead along those sessions as well.
“Our defence with Chris Davies has grown game by game and I think towards the tail end of the Premiership Cup that’s when our attacking game really started firing as we had quite a few bonus point wins.
“We’re beginning to become a complete team that can play across all areas really.”
The Wizards have always been renowned for their forward play, but Evans predicts exciting times ahead for the fans with an expansive game evolving under coach Jason Hyatt.
“Over the last couple of weeks our attack has really developed, with the likes of Joe Thomas, Will Price in the centre with Chay Smith, Stef Andrews on the wing, all those boys are starting to find their rhythm in attack and we can really score, especially with John Phillips at full back, we can probably score from anywhere on the pitch,” he said.
With the likes of Chris Banfield and Frankie Jones out wide also to consider, Evans says the Wizards possess one of the best counter-attacking backlines in the league.
Despite starting the game as firm favourites, Evans isn’t expecting an easy ride against Swansea.
“We played them home and away in the Premiership Cup, in the first game in Swansea we went three tries up but in the second half they came back at us so we won’t take anything for granted.
“I’m really excited to have the league back, we have got a strong squad with huge strength in depth. We know it is a long campaign and I think having that strength in depth will pay off in the long run.”
S4C Clic: Thursday, 7.30pm – Indigo Premiership
Aberavon v Swansea
You can watch matches live on the S4C Clic player on any smart device or computer, by going to www.s4c.cymru/clic, or by downloading the S4C Clic App; from App Store on an Apple device, or Google Play on an Android device. If you have a Smart TV or Smart TV Device (such as Amazon Fire TV Stick), you can watch the game via the S4C YouTube channel.
The games will also be shown on the S4C Chwaraeon Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/s4cchwaraeon, the WRU Facebook page, www.facebook.com/welshrugbyunion, or on S4C’s YouTube channel, at www.youtube.com/s4c.
English commentary available.
