‘Treorchy have done it in the past, ...now it is Ystrad’s turn to fly flag’
THEY are living the dream at Ystrad Rhondda this season as their six match unbeaten run in the WRU National Championship has elevated them into third place behind perennial champions Pontypool and Cardiff Met.
Last weekend’s battling 20-13 home win over Narberth moved them five points clear of the Otters in third place and took them to within a point of the students.who were beaten 17-16 at home in Cyncoed by Bedlinog.
So far, so good, then, for last season’s Division 1 East Central champions in the highest grade of league rugby they’ve ever played.
“We surprised a few last season when we finally won our league title and then turned over Brynmawr in the play-offs to reach the Championship for the first time,” admitted head coach Dylan Jones.
“This season we have merely embraced the challenge of playing at a higher level than ever before and
set out our stall to stay in the Championship having worked so hard to get here.
“We had been runners-up for five successive seasons in the Division 1 East Central, so we had showed a lot of consistency.
“The real carrot for us is to retain our status and then get the chance to welcome four more big clubs to our ground next season after the fall out from the Premierships.
“We kicked off this season by hosting Pontypool, which was a huge honour, but we could be playing Neath, Swansea, Cross Keys, Bedwas, Bargoed or even Bridgend by right next season.”
Jones knows Ystrad inside out after 17 seasons as a player and coach and is immensely proud of the way in which everyone connected to the club has risen to the challenge.
Having only lost to the top two teams to date this season, they have been the shock ingredient in the Championship.
“We used Trebanos, who came up last season and had a magnificent season, and our old sparring partners Rhydyfelin as our bench marks. It has been a fantastic start, but we know it isn’t going to get any easier,” added Jones.
“We’ve got to go to Bedlinog this weekend and then the second half of the season begins next month with a trip to Pontypool Park (Pontypool beat Trebanos 29-24 at the weekend).
“That is going to be a magnificent experience for players, coaches and fans alike and shows just how far we’ve come.
“We will be welcoming Llanelli to our ground in the first round of the WRU National Cup in the new year, which will be another massive day for the club, and we are proud to be providing this level of rugby to players in the Rhondda region.
“Treorchy have done it in the past and now it is our turn to fly the flag for our community.
“Our junior section is thriving, the youth team won a title at the Principality Stadium last season and everyone is working hard to move the club forward at every level.”
Jones is joined in the coaching duties by another Ystrad stalwart, Tom Hetherington, while on the field Nathan Hughes continues to lead by example from the second row in what is his 15th season at the club.
Ryan Howells, at centre, outside half Rhys Trulove and No 8 Liam Davies provid added class and experience, while two of last season’s youth team, skipper Jessie Brabham and Callum Phillips, have broken into the 1st XV.