There could yet be even more celebrations with a two-legged play off against the winners of Division One West Central to come and possible promotion to the WRU National Championship for next season.
“It’s a massive achievement for a club of our size,” said Northcote. “We’ve been knocking on the door for the past few seasons; a little bit of inexperience went against us but the boys have matured and we got there in the end.
“Nigel Mills and Gareth Rees – who brought a lot of the players through – finished as coaches at the end of last season. They just thought they’d taken the boys as far as they could.
“Rob Walters, an ex-Kidwelly player, came in as head coach last summer and he has taken the boys to another level, along with forwards coach Mark Jones who came in part way through the season.
“We had aspirations to win the league but there were a couple of other sides who had the same aspiration. I think it was our time.”
Northcote reflects on the 23-20 home win over Gowerton back on January 7 as crucial in the title win.
“For me personally that result was the turning point of the season,” he said. “We had a player sent off for a tip tackle after about 20 minutes and had to defend for our lives at the end.
“If that game had gone the other way perhaps confidence would have dipped.”
Northcote singled out vice-captain Andy Francis for special praise for the “tremendous job” he did leading the side in the absence of injured skipper Stuart Morris for part of the season.
