Allen and Smith take advantage to break clear in Premiership ratings

Four players were locked at the top of the table with eight line-breaks apiece after the last round, but the Wizards’ 26-11 victory against Ebbw Vale saw Smith bust the line twice to lunge clear of the other contenders.

His teammate Steff Andrews was one of the quartet on eight but his line-break sees him sneak into second place with nine to take advantage of RGC’s weekend off as Efan Jones and Thomas Hughes remain on eight.

Ebbw Vale’s Dan Haymond closed the gap on RGC’s Billy McBryde as the leading points scorer in the Premiership. His five points in the defeat against Aberavon has brought him to within eight points of McBryde’s tally of 117 points.

Cardiff fly half Gareth Thompson has been going about his business quietly this season, but his 21-point haul in his side’s 20-25 win at Llandovery has seen him leap to third place with 89 points and odds-on favourite to be the next player to reach a century of points in the competition.

Swansea may have been on the wrong end of a 17-3 defeat to Bridgend but without the efforts of Callum Bowden it could have been even more damaging.

The All Whites flanker proved a one man tour de force, making 16 tackles to take his season’s tally to 119. But he didn’t have everything his own way as Bridgend’s Jack Pope moved up into second place with his eight tackles and now just needs four make to make the magical 100-tackles mark.

Morgan Allen continues to make his presence felt on the ball carrying front. Never afraid to take the ball up in heavy traffic, his 14 carries against the Drovers sees him at the top of the Ball Carrier rankings by some distance. He now has 129 next to his name with Merthyr’s Phil Rees (111) his nearest challenge while Bridgend’s Gareth Harvey crashed through the 100- barrier with his 12 carries against Swansea to cement fourth spot in the list.

Indigo Group Premiership statistics – Round 11