Two years ago Llandovery kicked-off their SRC career as Indigo Premiership champions at Pontypool Park and were lucky to escape with a 21-18 win.
Now they have to make a return visit as they open their defence of the SRC Trophy this season.
“We’ve got a really tough start going to Pontypool and then we welcome Newport and, you’d imagine, come the back end of the year, there’s two of the top four teams there that we’re playing early doors, so it’s a big challenge,” said Drovers head coach Euros Evans.
“When we won the league the last time having been super successful winning the league, cup and finishing top of the league, we were horrendous for the first six weeks of the following season.
“We’ve spoken a lot about making sure that doesn’t happen again this year and that we hit the ground running.”
Pontypool finished bottom of SRC last season, winning just four of their 18 league matches, but Evans says that won’t be the case this season.
“They’re a well-balanced team now and they weren’t a million miles away from it last year,” added Evans.
“They lost their play-off eliminator last play against Carmarthen Quins, lost a semi-final in the cup against us, again last play, and they’ve added some real quality to their group. They will be there or thereabouts at the end of the year, I’ve got no doubts about that.
“I think Pontypool have changed now compared with years gone by. There would have been a time where they would have been looking forward to the wet months and a sticky Pooler Park, but not anymore with the back line they’ve got and the way Tom [Hancock] wants them to play.”
THOMAS RELISHING DUAL ROLE AT SWANSEA
That led to centre Joe Thomas stepping in as player-coach and he is relishing the chance to carry on that work this season.
After securing a top six finish and ending their 25-year wait for silverware, Thomas could point to a major advance in fortunes last season. Not only that, The Whites picked up nine league wins, which was more than double the amount they managed in the 2024/25 campaign.
“It was definitely a step forward last year in terms of how we wanted to change the narrative around Swansea,” said Thomas.
“The year before was pretty tough in terms of results, but the boys got through it. We came out the other end and we put the record straight last year.
“I think winning the Plate was also a bit of confirmation that we were doing things right. Ultimately, we fell a bit short towards the back end, but that just shows you’ve got to perform in the right parts of the season.
“That’s growth and learning for me as a coach. We were a bit disappointed to lose in the quarter-finals, although obviously going to Newport is never easy, but in terms of the season, I was massively proud.”
Last season Swansea played their home matches at Dunvant’s Broadacre ground, but Thomas says excitement is building ahead of returning to St Helen’s. The Whites’ scheduled first game back at the famous ground is on Saturday 10 October against Ebbw Vale.
“The biggest thing we’ve spoken about as a group is how we move forward into this new phase at St Helen’s, how we honour that history by writing our names into the history of the new redeveloped St Helen’s positively,” added Thomas.
THIRD TIME LUCKY FOR CARDIFF IN THEIR 150TH SEASON?
Cardiff have topped the regular season table two years running – pipping Ebbw Vale to top spot twice – before falling short in their Arms Park semi-final, and missing out on a shot at lifting the SRC Trophy in the Welsh capital.
In 2024/25, Cardiff were defeated 35-20 by old rivals Newport and then, last season, lost 30-22 to Llandovery in the last four. Both of those sides would go on to defeat Ebbw Vale in their respective finals at Eugene Cross Park.
So it’s no surprise that Cardiff’s skipper Craig Hudd is determined to put that right to help crown his club’s 150th anniversary season.
“We’ve fallen short in the semi-finals the last two years and it still hurts. Last season, we started a bit slow and we conceded 14 points early to a good Llandovery team, and it’s always quite hard to peg back from there,” admitted Hudd.
“We managed to get back on level terms by half time, but I don’t think we played our best rugby in the second half. The weather turned, we probably played too much in our shells and didn’t really play to the brand of rugby we had all year.
“Whether that was inexperience, or maybe a bit of nerves in the game, it’s about how we can develop this year to counteract those situations and come out of it with a better result.
“Hopefully this year, with it being our 150th year and a third time running, we can go one better.”