New Ebbw Vale skipper Siôn Parry will miss the opening two games of the new Super Rygbi Cymru campaign because he will be on duty with Canada in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Cardiff-born Parry has already won 19 caps for the land of his mother and has a trip to next year’s World Cup in Australia as his ultimate goal. Instead of facing Swansea on September 12 and Aberavon a week later he will be facing Fiji and either Japan or the USA.
The 27-year-old will meet the Japanese, who are Wales’ first opponents in the second phase of the Nations Cup in Cardiff a few weeks later, in Niigata City on Saturday as part of the centenary celebrations of the Japanese Rugby Union.
Joining him in the Canadian squad are two former Cardiff Met students, Barnaby Waddell and Ryan Cozens, with a third, Henry Kirwan, among the non-travelling reserves.
“We’ve got new coaching staff throughout the team, like S&C, defence, attack, head coach, and it’s been like a breath of fresh air,” said Parry.
“Change is always good and the boys have received Stephen Meeahan as head coach very well. Everyone’s buying into the new game plan.
“It’s still quite new and we’re finding our way within it. We’ve made changes throughout the year which we now want to build on. We had a win (Zimbabwe), a draw (Spain) and a defeat (Portugal) in the Nations Cup in the summer and now we want to kick on.
“Let’s see what we can do in the Pacific Nations Cup before we move back into the Nations Cup in the autumn.”
If his first priority at the start of the season is further his international status, he certainly isn’t taking his eye off his commitments at Ebbw Vale. Having trained with his teammates throughout the summer following his return from Nations Cup duty he is looking forward to another positive season.
Man of the match in The Steelmen’s SRC Trophy Cup final against Llandovery in May – they had been beaten by Newport in the 2025 final and lost to the Drovers in the SRC Cup final that same season – they are now looking to make it third time lucky.
“We’ve been in three out of the four finals in the opening two seasons of SRC rugby and played in every semi-final. It’s been tough not winning anything,” admitted Parry.
“You get into those positions and then it’s just falling at the final hurdle. I think sometimes it’s having the belief that you can win it.
“We went through the first two thirds of last season playing such good rugby, putting good points on teams, and we just need to keep that confidence going throughout the whole season.
“It was such a tough loss to take in last season’s final, and one of the weirdest feelings being man of the match. We dipped and then we hit a bit of form in the quarters and semis – and then to lose again was just tough to take as a team.
In the first of our player profiles ahead of the #SRC season, we chat to @evrfc and @RugbyCanada flanker Siôn Parry who has high hopes for both club and country in the months ahead 💥
FULL STORY | ⬇️https://t.co/1kVbBnw572 pic.twitter.com/qHGE2WazDk
— Super Rygbi Cymru (@SuperRygbiCymru) September 3, 2026
“Hopefully, we can go one better this year. They say what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, so I hope that’s the case.”
Named by almost every coach in the SRC as the best player in the tournament, Parry is almost unplayable at the breakdown. His jackaling skills helped to earn him a place on the international stage.
“I grew up watching the likes of Sam Warburton, who went to my school and who was a great role model, Richie McCaw and David Pocock. My father kept telling me to watch YouTube videos of them so I could practise their techniques.
“I’ve also learned off coaches and older players. There’s no point being too proud and thinking you’ve got the best technique, you’ve always got to keep learning off other people.”
Parry’s ‘day job’ as a carpenter gives him natural strength and also keeps him very busy. There aren’t many international rugby players who have to put in an honest shift from 9.00am-5.00pm five days a week as well as training and playing on top.
Now he can add in the captaincy at Eugene Cross Park as well, a role he admits he hasn’t held since he was at Whitchurch High School.
“It’s not something I’ve done for a couple of years, but I was honoured when Jason (Strange) asked me to be captain. I’m enjoying it so far,” he added.
“I’ll miss the first two games, which isn’t ideal, but there are plenty of boys who’ve got lots of experience in those kinds of roles – Dom Franchi, Ethan Phillips and Jonny Evans. They can keep the team going.
“I still think we can be as strong as we have been, and we’ve recruited really well. We’ve only lost two or three players from the whole squad, which is a good sign as well.
“It’s not much of a turnover and hopefully we can just build on what we’ve got and what we’ve built over the last few years. It’s great playing at Eugene Cross Park because the fans always turn out in great numbers.
“That doesn’t always happen elsewhere, and the Ebbw fans are lively and really get behind us. Like Llandovery, which is one of the greatest outposts of Welsh rugby, we’re at the top end of the Gwent Valley but very much at the heart of what’s going on in our community and in the SRC.”