DRIVING lineout try machine Ronny Kynes has become the latest in a long line of Ebbw Vale’s Principality Premiership title-winning squad to pledge his services to the club for next season.

The flanker joins the likes of captain Damien Hudd and Ashley Sweet in agreeing to another campaign at Eugene Cross Park, as the Steelmen look to defend their championship crown.

More than 20 members of head coach Nigel Davies’ squad have signed up, while Josh Lewis has returned to Gwent from the Scarlets.

However, Ebbw have lost the services of David Williams and Luke Crocker, and Rhys Francis is taking a season out to fully recover from a knee injury and continue his university studies.

As for openside Kynes, last term’s Welsh Rugby Writer’s Premiership player of the year, the 2016/17 season will be his sixth in Ebbw colours.

His fifth was undoubtedly his finest, with Kynes also finishing as the club’s supporters’ player of the year and the Premiership’s top try scorer.

His knack of finishing off Ebbw’s driving lineouts by crossing the opposition whitewash even became known as the ‘Catch ‘n’ Kynes’ such was its effectiveness.

His 19 tries in all was a Premiership record and his tally for the club now stands at 70 in 130 appearances.

Meanwhile, 2015/16 Premiership player of the season Hudd, second row partner Sweet, Ross Jones and Robert Sevenoaks will enter their seventh consecutive seasons with the club, and fans’ favourite Mathew Williams goes into his 14th campaign.

Ethan Doyle, Dan Haymond, Chris Levesley and Ryan Gardner are all set to return.

Gardner made a big impression at the start of last season before a freak finger injury kept him sidelined for 10 weeks.

Gardner, Haymond and Levesley all have pace to burn, something the second of that trio showed in both the Premiership semi-final and final as Ebbw clinched their maiden title success.

Centre pairing Adam Jones and Nathan Preece will look to put groin and hamstring injuries fully behind them, while fly-half Dai Langdon knows he is going to have competition from Lewis for the number 10 jersey.

Rhys Clarke, Chris Thomas and Lloyd Bridges have made the transition from Penallta.

Players’ player of the year Clarke and Thomas will both complete a century of appearances for the Steelmen during the new campaign, while Bridges is likely to challenge strongly for the tighthead or loosehead berths.

Gethin Robinson, Ian George, Josh Jacas, Joe Bartlett and Franchi twins, Dom and Joe, make up the remainder of the players to commit.

David Williams returns to his home in Leicester to start university and be closer to his family and girlfriend, Crocker moves to Cardiff, and Francis will reappear for the 2017/18 season.