Evan Lloyd has successfully steered Ebbw Vale into the Super Rygbi Cymru Grand Final on Sunday (2.30pm, Live on S4C) with some outstanding performances.
And now the outside half needs just one more good day at his office at CINER Glass Stadium, Eugene Cross Park to wrap up the inaugural title and potentially the ‘Golden Boot’.
With a 79% success rate from the kicking tee this season Lloyd is level with Swansea’ Josh Phillips as the most prolific goalkicker. He has amassed 187 points to date and needs 13 more to reach 200 for the campaign and 22 to match RGC’s Billy McBride as the top points scorer.
He scored nine points in the semi-final defeat of Llandovery last weekend and 13 in the quarter-final triumph over Carmarthen Quins. They were both in games played on home soil and Sunday’s final will give The Steelmen the chance to close out an undefeated season at Eugene Cross Park in what will be their 14th outing in league and cup.
Not that fellow finalists Newport won’t be bringing their own ace marksmen with them for the all-Gwent derby final. Former Wales U20 outside half Jac Lloyd picked up 15 points in each of the two knock wins over Aberavon and then Cardiff.
He has flourished this season through being given more game time and has notched 122 points to date in the league with a 76% success rate. Their battle off the tee in the final could be crucial.
Newport skipper Ben Roach is all set to overtake Llandovery centre Rhodri Jones as the player who has played the most minutes in the competition this season. Both have started all 20 matches in which they have been involved to date, with Jones racking up 1812 minutes to Roach’s 1767.
This includes time off, injuries and water breaks, and means Roach needs only to play for 46 minutes to overtake Jones. The former Dragons and Wales Sevens back row man has been ‘Mr Consistency’ this season and has one mission left – to lead his club to victory to crown their 150th season.
His opposite number, Ebbw Vale hooker Joe Franchi, is another ‘Captain Fantastic’ who leads the way in the most tries scored this season. He has plundered 20 to date, leaving him well clear of Carmarthen’s fellow hooker Lewis Morgan (15), Aberavon wing Cori Lewis-Jenkins (14) and Cardiff wing Dewi Cross (12).
Roach is next on the try list with 11 and is also level with Ebbw’s Canadian international Sion Parry with 11 dominant tackles. Their back row battle is set to be one of the highlights of the final.
It is 2-1 to The Steelmen to date this season against Newport. They won at home in both league (20-5) and cup (44-21) but were beaten 40-14 at Rodney Parade last month.
In nine Gwent derbies between Ebbw Vale, Newport and Pontypool this season the home side has come out o top in eight of the games. The only exception is the win by Ebbw Vale at Pontypool Park (18-13) in the SRC Cup.
Can the Black & Ambers upset the odds on Sunday? It is a game not to be missed!
