The Steelmen have won three in a row since going down 24-17 at Merthyr on the opening weekend of the season and will go into their biggest test of the season just three points behind the reiginign champions.
Both games between the two clubs last season were classic contests, with the Drovers triumphing 23-20 at Eugene Cross Park and then 20-15 at Church Bank. Driving rain made life difficult for both sides at Ebbw Vale and the result was hanging in the balance until the last second.
With the clock in the red, Ebbw had a line out five metres from the Llandovery line and were odds on to get the winning score with the Drovers being down to 13 men after losing both fly half Ioan Hughes and lock Joe Powell to the sin bin.
But the home forwards were penalised for putting a supporting man in front of the ball catcher and conceded an agonizing penalty. Llandovery full back Jack Maynard kicked the ball off the field and the game was over.
“We understand we’ve still got a long way to go to get to where we want to be. Momentum is building and this game against Llandovery will give us a good benchmark as to how far we’ve come,” said Ebbw’s head coach, Jason Strange.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for them and they are a really good side. We’ve focused very much on ourselves in the build-up and we’ve looked to make small improvements to our game.
“When we do the things we practice, and we do them really well, we can be a good side. This is a big game for both sides, but it isn’t going to make or break the season for either of us.”
You only have to go back to 17 March 2022 for the last Ebbw win in the fixture – a 27-15 triumph on home soil in the Premiership. There were three tries in that game for the Steelmen and four in the 37-21 home victory on 12 October 2019.
Strange had made 10 changes from the team that had taken Cardiff to the cleaners at the Arms Park for their last outing, a 26-10 home win over RGC, and looks set to return to his strongest starting XV to face the Drovers.
Ebbw Vale: Morgan Richards; Carrick McDonough, Ethan Phillips, Dom Franchi, Amir Jiwa-Walji; Evan Lloyd, Jon Evans; Morgan Davies, Rhys Francis (captain), Harry Drane, Dylan Bartlett, Jakub Malecki, Cameron Regan, Lewis Young, Ryan Jenkins
Reps (from): Ieuan Morris, Luke Garrett, Adam Court, Curtis Gregory, Owen Conquer, Rory Harries, Kieran Meek, Gethin Williams, Cameron Davies
Llandovery: Jack Maynard; Harri Doel, Macs Page, Rhodri Jones, Aaron Warren; Ioan Hughes, Lee Rees; Jamie Hughes, Harry Thomas, Berian Watkins, Jack Jones (captain), Joseff Powell, Osian Davies. Stuart Worrall, Jordan Evans
Reps: Llew Phillips-Taylor, William Lewis, Guto Jones, Christian Long, Nathan Hart, Adam Warren, Jac Davies, Dafydd Land
