With representatives from the ten participating teams in attendance, it was confirmed that Pontypool Park will be the venue for the big kick-off in the new Super Rygbi Cymru tournament when last season’s Indigo Premiership and WRU Premiership Cup double winners Llandovery head east to take on Pontypool on Thursday, 12 September.
The game will be the first of 10 being covered by the S4C cameras before the end of the year as they join forces with the WRU in showcasing the biggest structural shake-up in the game in Wales since the introduction of Regional rugby in 2003.
The new 10-team Super Rygbi Cymru competition has replaced the old 13-club Indigo Premiership as the top tier of rugby in Wales beneath the regions. It aims to bridge the gap between age-grade and regional rugby, providing academy players with higher standard matches and more frequent playing opportunities.
The 10 licenced clubs – Aberavon, Bridgend, Cardiff, Carmarthen Quins, Ebbw Vale, Llandovery, Newport, Pontypool, RGC, Swansea – will move out of the community game to become more aligned with the professional tier.
It is a move inspired by the WRU in conjunction with the regions and clubs, and will see more than £1m invested in it from the governing body per season. The clubs will also match the £105,000 they will each receive from central funding per season.
The clubs will play 18 home and away league fixtures in the regular season before progressing to three rounds of play-offs and a Grand Final. Every team is guaranteed at least one play-off match and a further four games in the cup competition that will take place during the Guinness Six Nations window. It means each club will play a minimum of 23 fixtures over the course of the season.
Super Rygbi Cymru Cup Draw
The new Super Rygbi Cymru cup competition has four rounds and a final, with two pools of five clubs each playing two home and two away games. The winners of each pool will play-off in the Cup Final.
Both pools and the first round of fixtures were drawn by WRU Performance Director Huw Bevan and Wales U20s Head Coach Richard Whiffin at Principality Stadium tonight and are as follows:
Pool A:
RGC
Aberavon
Llandovery
Cardiff
Bridgend
Pool B:
Pontypool
Swansea
Ebbw Vale
Carmarthen Quins
Newport
Cup Round 1:
RGC v Aberavon
Pontypool v Swansea
Llandovery v Cardiff
Ebbw Vale v Carmarthen Quins
Bridgend (Pool A) and Newport (Pool B) receive byes in round 1.
The clubs will also get the chance during the regular league campaign to fight for the new ‘SRC Challenge Shield’. Similar to New Zealand’s Ranfurly Shield, the ‘holder’ will put up the Shield for competition in every home game in the regular league season.
It means the Drovers will put their reputation as the best club side in Wales on the line in their first encounter at Church Bank against Ebbw Vale on 5 October. Last season they were beaten only twice in 27 league and cup games and will go into the 2024-25 SRC season with an 18 match home winning streak to defend dating back to 10 March 2023.
Llandovery head coach Euros Evans said: “The SRC Challenge Shield is a nice addition and will add extra spice to games over the course of the season. We talk a lot about turning our Church Bank ground into a fortress and we were very proud to be unbeaten at home last season.
“We’re having a new all-weather pitch installed at the club so we won’t get the chance to play at home until we host Ebbw Vale at the start of next month. Until then we’ve got some tough away trips, starting with our visit to Pontypool Park.
“What a way to kick-off what is going to be a brand new start for Welsh rugby at this level. It is really exciting and I’m sure the Pooler fans will be baying for our blood as champions on that Thursday night.
“This is a fresh start for all the clubs and SRC is going to be a different tournament to the old Premiership. It will allow younger players to develop their skills, but we will also need to ensure we maintain and raise standards of old and provide meaningful matches for all our fans.
“We haven’t seen any of our Scarlets Academy players as yet, but we’ve got another good group to work with. Let’s hope we can help them all in the same way as we did Wales U20 players Macs Page and Harry Thomas last season.”
Pontypool, who finished just outside the play-off places last season, will be looking to start the season with a bang by taking down the champions. Last season’s league runners-up Newport kick-off at home against a Bridgend side that will be coached by former Ospreys and Wales hooker Scott Baldwin.
John Alder, WRU Head of Player Development said: “The new SRC competition marks a fresh start for the 10 clubs, our four Regions and the WRU in collectively creating a vibrant, unique and exciting domestic league for players, clubs and fans.
“A key element of the SRC, and the changes we’ve made, is the more collaborative and formal working relationships between the Regions and their clubs. Just look at the success of the ‘Origin Series’ played by the Ospreys against Aberavon, Bridgend and Swansea last weekend.
“More than 3000 people turned up to watch these heritage clubs each play 30 minutes against the full time pros at the Ospreys. The Scarlets also took a young team to Carmarthen Quins, who like Newport are celebrating their 150th anniversary this season, and there are several examples of regions and clubs already benefitting from dual-contracting arrangements between each other.”
The 10 clubs have all signed up to a ‘salary cap’ system that will enable them to spend up to £150,000 on a squad of 32 players. There will be exceptions to this rule (see notes below).
The WRU will be providing £105,000 to each club, who in return not only have to commit to match funding that sum each season, but are also required to meet a set of minimum operating expectations in the running of both the club and their SRC rugby team.
John Alder added: “Fans can expect to see our most promising senior Academy players cutting their teeth regularly in the league alongside established and well-known players, supported by an ambitious and committed group of coaches across the clubs.
“We’re also delighted to have S4C and Whisper as partners showcasing the SRC, their players, and teams throughout the forthcoming season. Through live broadcast and highlights I have no doubt this will generate interest, intrigue, and excitement for all.”
SUPER RYGBI CYMRU FIXTURES 2024-25
Please find link to full season fixture list here.
S4C TV Matches
Thursday, 12 September: Pontypool v Llandovery
Thursday, 19 September: Cardiff v Ebbw Vale
Thursday, 26 September: Aberavon v Newport
Thursday, 03 October: Bridgend v Swansea
Thursday, 10 October: Newport v Llandovery
Thursday, 17 October: Llandovery v Swansea
Thursday, 24 October: Swansea v Pontypool
Thursday, 12 December: Carmarthen Quins v Aberavon
Sunday, 22 December: Cardiff v Newport
Saturday, 28 December: RGC v Bridgend
Season Structure
Super Rygbi Cymru (SRC) will be aligned to the professional game calendar and the United Rugby Championship to create a collaborative working relationship between the 10 clubs and the four Regions. This will include breaks in the competition during the Autumn and Six Nations international windows.
The season will be played in three blocks (September & October / December / April & May):
Regular Season: 18 Rounds with all 10 teams playing each other home and away
Post-Season Finals: The post-regular season finals will consist of four knock-out stages
There will be three pieces of silverware available to the teams – the Super Rygbi Cymru Trophy, the Super Rygbi Cymru Cup, and the Challenge Shield.
2024-25 Super Rygbi Cymru Season
Begins on the weekend of 14 September and concludes with the Grand Final on or around Saturday 17 May 2025 (at a neutral venue).
The regular season will conclude on weekend of 19 April 2025. The following are the block dates:
Block 1: Rounds 1 – 7: 14 September 24 – 26 October 24
Block 2: Rounds 8 – 14: 23 November 24 – 4 January 25
Block 3: Rounds 15 – 18, and Post-Season Finals: 29 March 25 – 17 May 25
Post-Season Finals
Wild Card Finals (7 v 10, 8 v 9)
Quarter-Finals (1 v Wildcard 1, 2 v Wildcard 2, 3 v 6, and 4 v 5)
Semi-Finals
Grand Final (playing for the Trophy)
SRC Challenge Shield
A Challenge Shield will be introduced as part of the regular season. The winners of this year’s cup (Llandovery RFC) will be the inaugural Shield holders. The holding club must defend the shield in all home games during the regular season (but not during Post Season Finals). If the challenger beats them, they will become the new holder of the shield and required to defend it at their next home game.
Player Salary Cap
The Player Salary Cap for the 2024-25 SRC season has been set at £150,000pa. However, there is salary cap relief and there are exemptions for recently released Regional Players (at U18 and from a Senior Academy), Dual Contracted Players, and Injuries. The main idea is to encourage and support the retention of high potential players within Wales and in the competition. That’s why there will be exemptions and relief within the salary cap for certain periods of time.
