Local rugby

TONDU look to be heading back in the right direction following a few tough years and back-to-back relegations.

The Waterwheelers dropped out of the National Championship in 2015, and were then relegated from One West Central a year later.

However, a tremendous campaign last year saw them cruise to the Two West Central title and return to Division One.

And they have adapted well to claim wins against Waunarlwydd, Seven Sisters, Aberavon Quins and Resolven this season. Saturday’s 16-12 victory also saw them complete a league double over Maesteg.

First-team manager Rob Dyke admitted he was surprised to see the team adapt so well but felt keeping the majority of the squad together was key.

“We only lost a couple of players [this summer] and had a number of players come back from injury,” he explained.

“We’ve got a number of good centres and Dai Povey is a good centre himself and he should be getting more first-team action. So he moved on to Bryncethin.

“There were a couple of fringe players who didn’t really make an impact [and left too].

“A few came back from injury and they’ve had 18 months out.

“[The start] has been very very pleasing.

“We were surprised by the level that we are at.

“I wouldn’t like to say we thought it would be tougher than what it is.

“We’ve always thought of ourselves as a good solid Division One club anyway but when we came up into this league we were surprised by how well we adapted.”

Despite two relegations in recent years, Dyke insisted the club have had a good structure in place for a while and the benefit is starting to be felt now.

“It’s been in place for the past three seasons,” he said.

“Matthew Tatchell took over as head coach and we were still in the Championship then.

“That year I don’t think we had a strong enough squad to stay in the Championship and we went straight through Division One into Division Two.

“But now the philosophies of Matthew and Gareth [Brown] have improved and we’re going back to a far more Tondu-orientated way of playing.

“A good solid pack, really attackminded backs who are constantly looking for opportunities.

“The squad is far more settled than at any point in the past three years.

“We’ve got some exceptionally good players with an incredible work ethic.

“It’s taken a while but the structure should bear fruit over the next couple of years.”

Tondu currently sit fifth, eight points behind leaders Maesteg Quins, and Dyke would be happy if the Waterwheelers remained there.

“We just want to maintain our status in Division One and secure a top-five position,” he said.

But the club would be cautious about a return to the Championship, according to chairman Graham Thomas.

“Division One, for us, is probably the right league to be in,” he said.

Getting into the Championship is tough, staying there is tougher because the Welsh Rugby Union doesn’t put enough sanctions on clubs who pay

“It’s quite minimal so they keep on paying and clubs like us suffer.

“We’re not alone, there are other local clubs in the same boat.

“If you could stop teams paying by relegating them to the bottom division or giving tougher sanctions then you’ve got an amateur Championship.

“Until then you’re not playing on a level playing field.”