A FULL REVIEW OF THE MDRU SEASON
THERE have been some fantastic achievements by clubs in the Mid District Rugby Union during the 2015/16 season, writes Jamie Willis.
Pontypridd again enjoyed success over the year, but perhaps by their extremely high standards will still be a little disappointed. The Sardis Road outfit finished top of the Principality Premiership regular season table for a remarkable sixth consecutive term and were also crowned the inaugural winners of the Foster’s Challenge trophy after beating Bedwas 38-34 in Bridgend at the beginning of April. They were beaten 25-16 by Llandovery in the Swalec Cup semi-final and lost 38-12 to Ebbw Vale in the Principality league play-off final. To most clubs this would be an excellent season but to the Valley Commandos it may not be good enough. One thing is for sure though that next season they will be striving to achieve high standards once again.
Joining Pontypridd in the top tier of the WRU league structure next season will be Merthyr and Bargoed. The Ironmen of Merthyr were crowned Swalec Champions for the season with just two defeats. They finished 10 points clear at the top of the table from their nearest rivals Swansea and also put Llanelli out of the Swalec Cup at Parc Y Scarlets before just being edged out by Pontypridd in the mud of Sardis Road in the quarter-finals. Their Wern ground is currently undergoing a redevelopment which will turn it into one of the best facilities in the league next season, which includes a state-of-the-art 4G playing surface. Bargoed finally get their chance of Premiership rugby next season after finishing third in the Championship table. The Blues were crowned Championship Champions in 2014/15 but due to the club not having the strict WRU ground criteria for entry to the Premiership they had to play another year in the second tier. This season again they did the talking on the park despite a poor start to the season and with the work of a lot of dedicated clubmen managed to get their ground up to the WRU’s requirements. Beddau can also be more than happy with their year’s work in the Championship. The Green and Golds finished the season in sixth spot, which means they are the highest-placed club in Wales without an A Licence. Their successful first season back in the Championship was also boosted by a spirited 1514 Worthington MDRU Cup win over Bargoed at Sardis Road recently.
If there was an award for Mid District team of the year then Bedlinog would certainly be amongst or if not the favourites for the award. The Foxes have had a season that they will never forget. They took the Swalec Division One East title with just two losses all season, they beat their old rivals Penallta to claim the Swalec Plate at the Principality Stadium and then went on to claim the prestigious Glamorgan County Silver Ball with a 32-15 win over Porth Harlequins in the final at Aberavon.
Penallta again proved that they were a difficult team to beat during the season. The Pitmen finished runners-up in both Division One and the Swalec Plate. They will still be feeling the pain from Bedlinog’s Liam Jones’ last-second drop goal in the Plate final which handed Bedlinog the title. They continued to play a good style of rugby and will be amongst the favourites for the One East title next season. Rhydyfelin’s young guns will be proud of their end-of-season run as they recorded a superb eight consecutive wins to finish above their local neighbours Ynysybwl in third place. Rhyd will also be looking to mount a title challenge next season if they keep the nucleus of their squad together. Ynysybwl will be hugely disappointed to have finished their season in fourth place after they looked at one point favourites to take the league title. Their squad was decimated by injuries and players working away at the end of the season which resulted in them losing their final five fixtures.
Nelson also proved during the season that on their day they could compete with anybody. They certainly pushed league champions and local rivals Bedlinog to the wire in their penultimate game of the season when the Foxes needed an injurytime score to scrape a 19-19 draw. Next season could be a promising period also for the Unicorns.
Brecon ended their season in a solid mid-table place and were one of only two clubs to lower the colours of Bedlinog during the season, whilst Senghenydd enjoyed a very good last few months of the year which saw them going from being in the middle of a relegation fight to finishing nine points in front of the relegated clubs.
In Swalec Division One East Central, it was dejas vu for Ystrad Rhondda. The Valleys club missed out on the title for the third consecutive season as Glamorgan Wanderers were crowned champions. Ystrad again enjoyed a good run in the Swalec Plate and Worthington MDRU Cup but will be keen to ensure next year is fourth time lucky for league success.
Treorchy and Llantwit Fardre will be perhaps a little disappointed with a mid-table finish. Both clubs pushed the top end clubs all the way during fixtures throughout the season. The Zebras took champions Glamorgan Wanderers’ 100% record off them after the Christmas period. Both sides have good youngsters which will no doubt mean that they will progress as clubs next season.
Mountain Ash certainly gave their supporters some sleepless nights during the season but their end-of-season form means that they will not be relegated to Division Two next season. With just a handful of games to play the Old Firm looked like they were in trouble but some excellent wins ensured their safety. Gilfach Goch unfortunately were on the wrong end of one of Mountain Ash’s wins and that meant that they were to make the drop into the league below. The “Gowch” battled gallantly after Christmas and got some very good wins but just could not escape from the relegation spots. With a strong Youth squad there is no doubt it won’t take Gilfach too long to climb back up the ladder.
Another club that would certainly be amongst the nominations for the team of the year would be Porth Harlequins. The Rhondda club lost just the once on their way to the Swalec Division Two East Central title. They also finished runners-up in the Glamorgan County Silver Ball and Worthington MDRU Bowl. They will certainly test clubs in Division One next season. Dowlais will be another club who will be testing Division One clubs next season as they also enjoyed a successful nine months. The Heads of the Valleys club were promoted as runners-up in Division Two East Central and were victorious in the Worthington MDRU Bowl final. Their hard working forwards and lively backs will be looking forward to their instant return to the higher league.
Llantrisant threw everything at returning to Division One at the first chance but fell just two victories short. The Black Army tested everybody in the league during the season and will be amongst the favourites to make a title and promotion push next season. Abercynon improved massively over the season and a late run of wins put to bed any worries of relegation. They too have a good young squad who will be aiming for a higher league finish next season. Unfortunately both Treherbert will make the drop into Division Three next season. They showed glimpses of what they are capable of during the season which will give them a great deal of encouragement as they look to put together a promotion push next season.
In Swalec Division Three East, Caerphilly’s young squad will be happy with their efforts for the year. They ended the season with a 50% win ratio from their 20 games and with them showing ambition off the field and a good breed of youth players coming through their system the future looks bright at Virginia Park.
Deri were another club who had a satisfactory season and too finished the season with a 50% win success. The Rhymney Valley club ended up in mid table in Swalec Division Three East C and will hope they can take their good end-of-season form over into the new season.
Aberdare were the stand-out team in Swalec Division Three East Central A, where they eventually ran out champions by a massive 21 points.