Ebbw Vale have deservedly earned a chance to win the Super Rygbi Cymru final at the second attempt this Sunday against Llandovery at Ciner Community Stadium in front of the S4C cameras.
And while the likes of Evan Lloyd and Ieuan Morris may have got all the headlines for their goalkicking and try scoring exploits, Dafydd Thomas’s exploits on the wing have largely gone unnoticed.
Having originally signed for the Steelmen as a teenager, Thomas returned to Gwent ahead of this season from Merthyr and has become an integral part of head coach Jason Strange’s strategic plans.
It’s not always a lot of fun being a winger on the heavy grounds in darkest winter, and they don’t come much heavier than the Ebbw Vale pitch, but Thomas has been a willing foot soldier for the Steelmen’s cause.
So much so, he has started all 20 games for Ebbw Vale in SRC this season, amassing a total of 1785 minutes on the field of play. Of the leading five players with most game time, he is the only individual with the chance of actually increasing his tally this weekend in the showpiece final.
Fellow winger Caio Parry played all 19 games of RGC’s campaign for 1659 minutes while Tom Jevons played all of Bridgend’s 19 games for a total of 1636mins.
Super Rygbi Cymru statistics update
| Points total (Kick Success %) | Player | Club |
| 224 (80%) | Billy McBryde | RGC |
| 123 (73%) | Harri Wilde | Cardiff RFC |
| 118 (67%) | Keillen Cullen | Aberavon |
| 118 (65%) | Josh Phillips | Swansea |
| 109 (80%) | Evan Lloyd | Ebbw Vale |
| Tries Scored | Player | Club |
| 21 | Ieuan Morris | Ebbw Vale |
| 14 | Caio Parry | RGC |
| 14 | Alun Rees | Cardiff RFC |
| 11 | Corey Lewis | Bridgend |
| 10 | Frankie Jones | Aberavon |
| 10 | Kian Abraham | Llandovery |
| Attacking Rucks Involved In | Player | Club |
| 469 | Joseff Powell | Llandovery |
| 370 | Charlie Probert | RGC |
| 332 | Lucas De La Rua | Cardiff RFC |
| 311 | Josh Skinner | Newport |
| 305 | Osian Davies | Llandovery |
| Match Starts/Apps (Mins) | Player | Club |
| 20/20 (1785mins) | Dafydd Thomas | Ebbw Vale |
| 19/19 (1659mins) | Caio Parry | RGC |
| 19/19 (1636mins) | Tom Jevons | Bridgend |
| 19/20 (1618mins) | Carwyn Penny | Newport |
| 18/19 (1611mins) | Frankie Jones | Aberavon |
| Contact Offloads | Player | Club |
| 37 | Dion Jones | RGC |
| 26 | Adam Warren | Llandovery |
| 23 | Carwyn Penny | Newport |
| 23 | Connor Dever | RGC |
| 23 | Lee Rees | Llandovery |
| 23 | Scott Delnevo | Aberavon |
| Carries (Collision Dom %) | Player | Club |
| 231 (54%) | Ashton Evans | Aberavon |
| 215 (34%) | Scott Matthews | Pontypool |
| 182 (47%) | Lewys Millin | Carmarthen Quins |
| 182 (39%) | Tom Jevons | Bridgend |
| 172 (32%) | Daniel Hill | Pontypool |
| Linebreaks | Player | Club |
| 30 | Caio Parry | RGC |
| 24 | McCauley Rowley | Bridgend |
| 19 | Matteus Young | Cardiff RFC |
| 15 | Aaron Warren | Llandovery |
| 14 | Dewi Cross | Cardiff RFC |
| Defenders Beaten | Player | Club |
| 72 | Scott Delnevo | Aberavon |
| 68 | Matteus Young | Cardiff RFC |
| 61 | Caio Parry | RGC |
| 59 | Dion Jones | RGC |
| 55 | Dafydd Thomas | Ebbw Vale |
| Dominant Tackles | Player | Club |
| 22 | Iestyn Richards | Carmarthen Quins |
| 18 | Charlie Probert | RGC |
| 17 | Lewys Millin | Carmarthen Quins |
| 16 | Jac Howells | Carmarthen Quins |
| 15 | Tom Phillips | Carmarthen Quins |
| Tackles (Collision Dom %) | Player | Club |
| 243 (66%) | Lewys Millin | Carmarthen Quins |
| 193 (70%) | Iestyn Richards | Carmarthen Quins |
| 168 (73%) | Callum Bowden | Swansea |
| 166 (75%) | Charlie Probert | RGC |
| 160 (57%) | Josh Skinner | Newport |
| Turnovers Won | Player | Club |
| 41 | Scott Matthews | Pontypool |
| 35 | Sion Parry | Ebbw Vale |
| 30 | Joseff Powell | Llandovery |
| 27 | Callum Bowden | Swansea |
| 26 | Lewys Millin | Carmarthen Quins |
| 26 | Sam Williams | RGC |
| “Post Tackle” | Player | Club |
| 203 | Scott Matthews | Pontypool |
| 140 | Lewys Millin | Carmarthen Quins |
| 126 | Lucas De La Rua | Cardiff RFC |
| 119 | Charlie Probert | RGC |
| 118 | Shaun Evans | Carmarthen Quins |
| Passes / Offloads (Accuracy %) | Player | Club |
| 1,044/23 (94%) | Lee Rees | Llandovery |
| 919/3 (92%) | Ethan Lloyd | Cardiff RFC |
| 761/5 (93%) | Dafydd Buckland | Newport |
| 683/23 (86%) | Connor Dever | RGC |
| 622/4 (96%) | Scott Whitlock | Aberavon |
| “Work + Tackle” (Total %) | Player | Club |
| 30 (31%) | Ryan Bean | Carmarthen Quins |
| 27 (11%) | Lewys Millin | Carmarthen Quins |
| 26 (31%) | Scott Matthews | Pontypool |
| 25 (15%) | Charlie Probert | RGC |
| 21 (28%) | Lee Taylor | Carmarthen Quins |
| Success Penalty (Total %) | Player | Club |
| 19 (76%) | Billy McBryde | RGC |
| 14 (88%) | Elis Price | Carmarthen Quins |
| 11 (79%) | Kieran Meek | Pontypool |
| 9 (69%) | Josh Phillips | Swansea |
| 9 (69%) | Keillen Cullen | Aberavon |
| Success Converison (Total %) | Player | Club |
| 61 (82%) | Billy McBryde | RGC |
| 46 (71%) | Harri Wilde | Cardiff RFC |
| 40 (80%) | Evan Lloyd | Ebbw Vale |
| 38 (64%) | Josh Phillips | Swansea |
| 34 (76%) | Ioan Hughes | Llandovery |