But not even a bonus-point home win for The Steelmen was good enough to hoist them above Newport and into the play-off places. With only one game left to play, at home against reigning champions Cardiff, they now have to hope they can win that, and Newport fail to get anything from their final two fixtures.
That looks unlikely given Newport have to Llanelli, who are rock bottom of the table and were forced to concede their game against Merthyr at the weekend. If they do the same on 29 April against Newport then The Steelmen will be out of the running.
“It seems a bit disrespectful to the league that Llanelli haven’t been able to raise a side and if they don’t turn out against Newport that will guarantee them fourth place on the same day we host Cardiff,” said Ebbw Vale head coach Jason Strange.
“But we won’t be giving up and not reaching the play-off won’t define our season. We’ve made huge strides and can feel really proud of where we’ve got to this season with a very young squad.”
The Wizards spent much of the season in the play-off places, yet fell away at the end. Joe Thomas gave them a fifth minute lead with the first of the game’s eight tries and Chris Banfield add the extras.
Banfield then swapped penalties with Evan Lloyd before Aberavon lost Thomas to the sin-bin for a high tackle. By the time he returned, the home side had crossed for two tries and plundered 15 points to turn the tide.
Lloyd got the first try and speedy win Carrick Mcdonough the next to make it 18-12 at the break. Lloyd added a penalty and then McDonough bagged his second try, with Lloyd’s conversion extending the gap to 16 points.
But just as Thomas’ earlier yellow card had caused problems for the visitors, so a yellow for Dom Franchi for pulling down a driving maul as Luke Davies went over for a try put Ebbw Vale under pressure.
Banfield converted that one and then Rodri Cole improved another five minutes later from Frankie Jones to cut the gap to two points. Lloyd then steading the home ship with a try that he converted and a final penalty to take his match tally to 28 points.
Scorers: Ebbw Vale: Tries: E Lloyd 2, C Mcdonough 2; Cons: E Lloyd 3; Pens: E Lloyd 4. Aberavon: Tries: J Thomas, C Banfield, L Davies, F Jones; Cons: C Banfield 2, R Cole
Bridgend and Swansea clashed for the second consecutive week, but this time revenge was on the menu for the Ravens as they tasted victory in a tough battle at the Dunraven Brewery Field with a 24-15 triumph.
Pipped 32-31 in a tit-for-tat, free-flowing battle at St Helen’s seven days earlier, Bridgend got on top to win by a clearer margin, although the performance left assistant coach Matthew Jones a little bit underwhelmed.
“A good sign is that before Christmas we probably would have lost this match, but now we are just ruing the fact that we didn’t get a bonus point. The mindset of the players has improved.”
The visitors grabbed the first try when James Davies dinked the ball into touch a few metres from the line with a penalty, with the backs recycling quick ball out wide for debutant Iestyn Galton to touch down in the corner.
The scores were soon level though when a horrendous pass by Gareth J Rees sailed behind intended target James Davies with Stuart Floyd-Ellis sneaking in to score.
Hanno Dirksen burst through a Bridgend tackle and into the 22, but the supporting Osian Knott failed to take the pass, which would have resulted in an almost certain score.
Then the home side got quick ball out of the set piece and found Edd Howley, who backed his pace and power to score a try on the stroke of half time. After the interval a penalty was reversed with Dirksen shown a yellow card for his part in starting a small melee.
Swansea got themselves back into the match when Matthew Jenkins picked up a ball in midfield and backed his pace to touch down in the corner, and Floyd-Ellis gave away a penalty for holding on in a tackle, which James Davies duly converted.
But the Ravens sealed victory when Price found touch deep inside the Swansea 22 with a penalty and an unstoppable rolling maul saw Gareth Harvey crash over for a try.
Scorers: Bridgend: Tries: S Floyd-Ellis, E Howley, G Harvey; Cons: L Price 3; Pens: L Price. Swansea: Tries: I Galton, M Jenkins. Cons: J Davies. Pens: J Davies.
