Dom Franchi: Ebbw Vale can be Super Rygbi Cymru contenders

The Steelmen get their SRC campaign under way at Eugene Cross Park on Saturday when they host Aberavon.

Ebbw enjoyed an encouraging 2023/24 in which they finished third but would admit that the gap to champions Llandovery and Newport was big.

That was shown in a pair of semi-finals with the Drovers dishing out a 43-7 hammering on their way to cup success and then the Black and Ambers romped to a 48-13 play-off victory.

However, centre Franchi was a member of the squad that won the Premiership in 2016 and is confident that Ebbw are on the right track.

“Back then we had the right players at the right age with the right experience ready to go for that title,” said the 30-year-old from Brynmawr, whose twin Joe is club captain.

“A lot of hard work went into that Premiership win and it was years in the making, with the boys going close the previous year.

“We are building again and the semi-final defeats are part of that; you have to go through the lows in rugby to have highs.

“We just keep our heads down and try to progress year on year, which I feel that we have done. We’ll try to take another step this season, no matter how hard that is in this new competition.

“There are plenty of us in the squad who have learnt from those losses while we have also strengthened in some areas and will look to blood some more youngsters.”

Franchi is ready for his tenth campaign with the club and the strong-running centre formed a formidable partnership with Ethan Phillips last season.

They will be key men in a side that has grown under the stewardship of Jason Strange who, along with Neil Edwards, laid the foundations for the 2016 title success under Nigel Davies.

“’Chippy’ knows what the boys need and want,” said Franchi. “He gets the best out of us all, younger and older players.

“He is very demanding but that gets good rewards and he always has the future of the club behind everything that he does. For a local boy like me, that means an awful lot.”