The win against Newport saw the Steelmen move into the top four, having picked up seven wins from10, including five wins on the bounce, since losing against Bridgend in October. Another triumph would put even greater pressure on the three teams above them, as well as the chasing pack below.
Llanelli skipper Tom Phillips is well aware of the threat Ebbw Vale possess following a huge turn-around from last season under new head coach Jason Strange, having been the Wales U20 captain when Strange helped guide them to a Grand Slam in 2016.
“It was a massive achievement to captain Wales at U20 level. I come from a rugby background, the whole family are fanatics, so it was a very proud moment, and a huge achievement being given that kind of responsibility,” said Phillips.
“Jason is a brilliant coach and he was a huge influence on that team at that Six Nations winning team. He created such a great culture, probably the best I have been involved in.
“You can see his fingerprints all over Ebbw Vale’s success this year and they are playing some good rugby. They are throwing the ball around, they have a good kicking game, and their defence has been fantastic.”
These days Phillips is combining playing at Llanelli with some coaching in the Scarlets academy. Some of the lessons he learned under Strange are now being passed on to another generation of players.
“I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, and the opportunities I continue to have, to work with the Scarlets as a skills coach in the academy,” said Phillips.
“I’ve been lucky to play with some great players and play under some great coaches. To be part of that Scarlets model now, helping youngsters coming through, is great.
“Coaching is something I am really passionate about. I’m learning my trade, but I’ve got great people around me and I have plenty of experience, it has been great so far.
While a serious knee injury saw the end to Phillips’ professional career with the Scarlets, the opportunity to captain Llanelli RFC was simply too good to turn down.
The former Scarlets back rower now looks to make his way in the game of rugby, by helping to bring through the next generation of players. He now combines his coaching at the Scarlets academy, with captaining some of the Scarlets youngsters, as they get their first taste of senior rugby in the Indigo Premiership.
“I was brought up in Llanelli, I used to be a ball boy from when I was 12 years old. I’d be selling programmes outside the old Stradey Park, I was brought up on Llanelli rugby,” Phillips added.
“I’m not old yet, I’m still 26 but I do feel a bit older will all these youngsters running about. It’s a huge honour to be captaining my home club.
“The youngsters are building their confidence every game and getting a lot of experience early on. So, from that perspective the model is working very well. But with the results of late, it has been frustrating. We would have liked to have picked a few more points.
“We have missed out on a few opportunities also, but you have to keep positive, and we are seeing some good signs. We are all still learning about how this model works, and we are working towards that golden formula.
“If you are looking at the bigger picture, we have a lot of young boys playing, from the Scarlets. For a lot of these boys, it’s their first or second year in senior rugby, it is an inexperienced squad.”
It will be a tough game for Llanelli. Ebbw Vale are one of the better sides in the league, sitting in fourth spot, while Llanelli are ninth, but there are a lot of positives for the west Wales side, who are bedding in some very exciting prospects Ben Williams, Eddie James and Iwan Shenton.
“While it hasn’t always gone our way on occasions this season there have been a lot of positives, with the new approach. It will be a huge challenge for some of the youngsters, but they will be able to take a lot of learning from it,” added Phillips.
“Ben Williams has been fantastic since coming in, I’ve been really impressed with him. His attitude is exceptional, towards learning and improving his game. Every session he is 100%, he has a great work ethic, I think he has a huge future in the game.
“He’s been superb, he was so impressive for the Under 20’s in the summer and at Aberavon last season. I don’t see why he can’t push towards the Scarlets team as the season progresses. The Scarlets are quite close to Llanelli now, so his performances won’t go unnoticed.”
