CLUB captain Rhys Jenkins was gracious when asked before Newport's WRU National Cup final if he would lift the trophy after winning his fitness race to be among the replacements.

The 27-year-old has been a Black and Ambers favourite over seven seasons, putting his body on the line and suffering countless injury setbacks and operations.

Yet Jenkins was prepared to take a place in the background given that the Principality Stadium clash was his first cup action because of an ankle injury suffered in December.

"Matt O'Brien has been captain and I think I'll have to give the cup to him, he's managed to get us this far and led us through all the rounds," said the skipper.

"It would be a bit unjust of me to come back at the final hurdle and lift it. He's worked hard and led the squad for the last six months, so I couldn't take that away from him."

Sadly, fly-half O'Brien didn't get the chance to follow Colin Smart and Gary Teichmann in lifting the cup.

That honour instead went to the excellent Merthyr captain Craig Locke… who held the trophy aloft before handing it to owner Sir Stan Thomas.

It was a rather bizarre, America-inspired end to the Ironmen's superb, well-deserved triumph. It is something that I hope won't be repeated if (let's be honest, it's when) they lift the Premiership trophy for the second season on the spin in the coming weeks.

If a coach was asked by his players to go up onto the stage they would look rather sheepish and refuse, insisting that his squad get the limelight after putting their bodies on the line.

The same should be the case for those that wear a shirt and tie to games, they may call the shots for the club but they give those in boots their well-deserved, champagne-soaked moment.

This is not an attempt to besmirch Sir Stan; what he is doing for Merthyr as a town is terrific.

He has ploughed his own money into a struggling club and by doing so has given something back to the community, providing facilities to benefit many and laying the foundations for mini and junior sections that will hopefully provide the next generation of Ironmen.

Peter Jeffreys digging into his pocket to fund Pontypool's back-to-back Championship triumphs and a Premiership promotion push in 2018/19 gets lauded in these parts, so it would be hypocritical to lambast another benefactor in Thomas.

Yet his backing of Merthyr, assembly an expensive squad, has raised the hackles of plenty in Wales.

"If I am honest, not a lot of people like us because they don't feel we represent the right kind of image of rugby," said coach Dale McIntosh.

"A guy has supported us financially because of the love for his town, you can't turn that away.

"I collated a good bunch of guys, good rugby players. I am not being disrespectful to our boys, there are better rugby players out there.

"But the fact of the matter is that these are the ones that suited what we are trying to achieve. Collectively we've worked towards that and have achieved half of the puzzle."

That task should be finished in the coming weeks and Merthyr deserve the plaudits, they possess the sort of power that few can live with in the semi-professional game.

Nor are they doing anything vastly different to those in the past, when I moved to Wales it was Neath that were kings then the tag of standard bearers was passed to Pontypridd. Both of them had others whispering, 'have you heard what X is on?'.

It's always been the way, but we seem to be in the middle of a Premiership arms race and not everybody has a Thomas to write the cheques.

Clubs seem to have been sent into a mad panic by the end of ring-fencing and the division being cut from its rather bloated 16 back down to 12.

Currently we have plenty of teams just fulfilling their fixtures before cricket season starts in earnest. There is no peril for those at the bottom while only Carmarthen Quins and Pontypridd have slim chances of taking Merthyr's crown.

That will be dramatically different in the closing stages of 2018/19 with four clubs dropping to the Championship with another potentially facing a play-off with the second-tier champs.

The change has led to an even heavier emphasis on recruitment with some coaches saying it feels like the wild west, rivals having scant regard for those that are already under contract.

One worries that sustainability and cutting one's cloth accordingly has been forgotten in the mad scramble.

Welsh Rugby Union funding for the Premiership clubs will drop from the current £93,000 to £75,000, then £60,000 and then to £50,000 by 2022 but it will still be more than those in the Championship get, even if that's going up to £15,000.

Money's already tight and it's going to get tighter, yet the generous pay packets are still being offered for semi-pro players.

I don't blame individuals for moving for more money – if someone is daft enough to pay silly sums then take it for two training sessions a week and a Saturday game – but club administrators need to be strong.

The scramble has already begun to be in the 12-team Premiership rather than the 12-team Championship, but one just hopes that we don't lose some clubs for financial reasons while chasing the 'dream'.

IF Chris Coleman needs some sympathy after enduring a tough professional debut then he only needs to ask a fellow young Dragons tighthead.

The 19-year-old made his bow at Judgement Day when he was flung into a five-metre scrum after Dan Suter had already been bossed by Wales loosehead Rob Evans.

The result was predictable, Coleman was swiftly the recipient of a yellow card that should have been Suter's (and that has to go down as a bad management call).

The Wales Under-20s international returned to go up against Phil Price and it continued to be a tough day as part of a Dragons back that was hammered up front.

But Coleman can look to Leon Brown, who made his PRO14 debut in September and won three caps in November, for inspiration.

The 21-year-old made his professional bow at Leicester in the Anglo-Welsh Cup when he was sent on for a struggling Craig Mitchell.

Up against Argentina legend Marcos Ayerza and up-and-coming England prop Ellis Genge, it was a predictably humbling debut that ended in a yellow card.

A young prop is always learning and even old ones endure the odd afternoon in reverse.