Posted by I’m not sure exactly who put S4C’s Super Rygbi Cymru Team of the Season together before it was revealed during the Bridgend v Swansea coverage on Thursday night, but you’d have to question if they’ve really got a feel for what the league is about.
Included in the 15-man selection were precisely zero members of this season’s successful Cymru D20 squad, despite 50% at least being semi-regular members of matchday 23s across the league, and only one of the team is a current member of a professional side’s academy – Ospreys’ Cori Lewis-Jenkins.
Instead it seems to have rewarded sheer number of minutes, and by extension topping certain statistic metrics, when picking the team. This punishes those involved in national age grade sides or who received call-ups to the professional senior game, rather than focusing on which players made the greatest impact in the time they had to play in the SRC.
Fortunately though somewhere that balance between player development and overall success on the field is appreciated is at Cardiff where, for the third time in four years (four in five if you count the abandoned covid campaign), the Rags have topped the premier semi-professional competition in the country at the culmination of regular season.
It’s been a real return to form for the Blue & Blacks with a much more settled approach to the season paying dividends. After last year’s overall club struggles resulted in very few young players being available thanks to first team commitments, this year the refreshed academy has played a major part in the SRC and shone a light on the next generation of stars hoping to make it at the Arms Park.
There have been no fewer than seven academy players in every Cardiff league 23 during 2024/25, as the likes of Steff Emanuel and Tom Bowen have impressed enough to earn first team debuts, while Lucas De La Rua, Harri Wilde, Elijah Evans and Matty Young have all stood out to be in with a genuine shout of making the grade next year.
All-in-all 16 players eligible for Cymru D20 have taken the field in Blue & Black, with the majority of the squad aged under 25 and another success story being the return of Josh Thomas to the professional game with Dragons, having signed for the Rags and trained with the first team at the Arms Park after leaving Newcastle Falcons last summer.
Alongside them the development of the coaching staff under Director of Coaching Gruff Rees has taken another step forward. Craig Everett gained more experience as Defence Coach, and was joined in the backroom staff by first team lock Rory Thornton running the lineout and senior players Tom Habberfield and Marc Thomas assisting with skills and the scrum, respectively.
In charge then was Dan Fish, stepping up to Head Coach following the departure of Steve Law and settling in quickly to the new role. An impressive start to the season was then matched by a successful run-in, during which Fishy tweaked the attacking shape in order to take performances to the next level with the returning Cymru D20 stars slotting in.
That all led to the Rags being the dominant attacking force in the SRC, racking up a huge 610 points across the 18 games at an average of 33.8 points per game. Such was the dominance that if Ebbw Vale had wanted to jump Cardiff on the final day of the season to finish top of the league they’d have needed to score 19 tries in order to win the “tries scored” tie breaker.
With the second best defence in the league on top of that, and a huge 25 bonus points from a possible 36, it underlines the relentlessness of the Blue & Blacks’ charge to the top of the table, despite that not actually being rewarded with any silverware once again.
Instead it is left to the league-wide play-offs in order to add to the trophy haul which will begin for the Rags on Saturday when Bridgend arrive at the Arms Park. A 2.30pm kick-off for an all-pay game, although season ticket holders can access some level of discount when buying tickets early.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the likes of Emanuel and Bowen, as well as Gwilym Bradley and Mackenzie Martin who have semi-regularly sought game time with first team minutes restricted, remain available for selection with the first team tour of South Africa on the horizon, but even in their absence there is enough quality in the semi-professional squad to finish the year on a high.
Sean Moore and Dewi Cross both deservedly made that S4C Team of the Season, while Alun Rees, Nathan Hudd and Joe Goodchild all had more than legitimate arguments to be included even with the seemingly flawed selection criteria.
All will need to be at the top of their game to earn the ultimate reward for a fine season. Hopefully the lack of recognition for finishing top of the league can provide the chip on the shoulder needed to push through the play-offs. Home advantage will put a target on Cardiff’s backs, but it’s there for a reason.
Embrace it bois, uppa Rags!
Cardiff Rugby Life 