EBBW Vale have appealed over captain Damian Hudd's red card against Bedwas and the talisman lock will lead the charge for the Principality Premiership title contenders at Carmarthen Quins on Saturday.

The skipper was dismissed in the closing stages of last Saturday's hard-fought 16-8 win in horrendous conditions at Bedwas.

Many onlookers felt a red card was harsh and it comes as no surprise that the Steelmen have lodged an appeal with the Welsh Rugby Union. They are waiting for a date for a disciplinary hearing and Hudd is free to play until the matter has been dealt with.

That means he will head west to help table-topping Ebbw attempt to make it 10 league wins on the spin, a remarkable run of form that has turned them from outsiders to genuine contenders as they bid to go one better than last season's second place.

They travel to face a Carmarthen side languishing one from bottom in the table but the Quins are a dangerous side – as they proved at Eugene Cross Park when winning 26-20 in October thanks to a late interception try.

Ebbw head coach Nigel Davies said: "I've only had my heart broken a few times this season and one of them was against Carmarthen at home. That defeat still hurts and there is a lot of pride for us to play for this weekend.

"They are struggling a bit but they are a good team and have put in some good performances, they just haven't quite had consistency this season.

"Rugby is a straight-forward game and it will be about making first-up tackles and doing the basics well.

"Every player knows their role and it's fantastic that we are on a record-breaking run, which all stems from a mid-season review.

"We've set a minimum standard of performance, sometimes we've been there or thereabouts but usually we've been better than it. We'll keep doing what we are doing and being hard on ourselves."

The Steelmen will be boosted by the return of back row forward Harrison Keddie fresh from his Grand Slam exploits with Wales in the Under-20s Six Nations.