Ebbw Vale 20 Carmarthen Quins 26, Indigo Premiership, 16/11/19

Following the televised debacle at Cardiff the previous Friday night, this was a much improved performance from Ebbw Vale, which nonetheless resulted in another disappointing home defeat.

The Steelmen have developed an unfortunate habit of being slow starters in games and this was no exception with the visitors from Carmarthen building a 21-3 lead. A converted Ewan Rosser try just before the break made the half time orange taste a little better.

Ebbw were much better in the second half, and a converted Ashley Sweet try brought them back to within four points, but a fourth Quins try tore things up, despite a late penalty yielding a losing bonus point for the home side.

Ebbw Vale 10 Llanelli 29, Indigo Premiership, 26/10/19

In a terribly disappointing display, Ebbw Vale went down to a deserved 10-29 defeat to visitors Llanelli, who recorded their first win of the season.

Under pressure from the off, Ebbw were 12-3 down in no time and spent much of the first half defending their line in front of the clubhouse, and struggling to clear against a strong wind blowing from Beaufort.

First half pics

The home faithful went into the second period hopeful of a much improved display playing 'towards the beer' and the half started well with an excellently worked try from Ewan Rosser, converted by Dan Haymond. Sadly, that's as close as it got, as poor tackling, inaccurate kicking and a strangely lacklustre home pack could not deal with Llanelli's handling and pace. A wind that dropped didn't help, but that was not the cause of Ebbw's defeat, not were some odd calls from the referee.

It's going to be a long winter at Eugene Cross Park as Ebbw look to be in a battle to preserve their top division status.

Second half pics

Ebbw Vale 37 Llandovery 21, Indigo Premiership, 12/10/19

In Ebbw Vale's best display of the season so far, a bonus point victory was recorded over the visitors from Llandovery, normally such a thorn in the side of the Steelmen.

Strong up front, and powerful behind, Ebbw recovered from a poor start to record 2 converted first half tries, the whitewash being crossed by outside half Ethan Phillips and wing Dafydd Thomas, and went into the break 14-7 up.

After the interval, there continued to be a lot of exciting, running rugby played despite the damp conditions. Llandovery led 21-20 at one stage, but tries from wing Euan Rosser and excellent centre Paul King saw Ebbw secure victory and a rare bonus point against the Drovers. It's not often you see an Ebbw Vale team score four tries, without a forward featuring on the scoresheet!

Phillips was named Man of the Match but in truth it could have been any one of 10 players, including Dan Haymond at 15, Lance Randall in the second row, or King amongst others. As the pics show, the players showed their appreciation of the faithful on the 'bank'.

The full Ebbw team is on the official website here.

The Match Ball Sponsor was Eye For Finance Ltd

The view from the 'bank'

Ebbw Vale 39 Narberth 17, National Cup, Round 1, 14/09/19

Ebbw Vale comfortably moved into the next round of the WRU Cup with a 6 try victory over a plucky Narberth outfit. In all honesty, despite the scoreline, the Steelmen only played in patches and have much to work on as the season progresses.

For long-time Ebbw fans, a game against Narberth means only one thing; namely that wonderful day in Pembrokeshire back in April 1995, when the Steelmen regained their place in the top flight of Welsh rugby following five wilderness years.

During the first half. Ebbw ran in 4 tries, from Dan Haymond, Paul King, Cameron Reagan and Dawid Rubasniak to lead 25-10

The Second half was a scrappier, yet more even affair, with the home side adding just two more tries, from Lance Randall and Dan Hill, to book themselves a trip to Cardiff for the next round in November.

A more detailed report is available on the EVRFC website here.

Ebbw Vale 23 Newport 29, Indigo Premiership, 07/09/19

It was a disappointing start to the season for Ebbw Vale as they went down to defeat against their only Gwent rivals in the new look Indigo Welsh Premiership.

In all honesty, the scoreline flattered the Steelmen a little as they were second best in almost all phases of the game. Endeavour was not lacking but composure, experience and winning the vital 50/50s were.

Ebbw took an early lead through 2 penalties but  a 'charge-down' try plus a dubious penalty try meant the home side went in for their half-time 'orange' 22-6 down.

The Vale rallied in the second half and finished the stronger side to pull it back to within a score and secure a losing bonus point, but it was too little too late. On this display, Ebbw have much to think about for the forthcoming season.

A full match report is on the Ebbw Vale website here.

Hotel Yaramar, Tui Gold, Fuengirola, Spain, 18/08 - 01/09/19

Another great two weeks down on the south coast of Spain at the Hotel Yaramar in the Los Boliches area of Fuengirola.

Some images

Sohail Castle

Sunrise

Chocolate caliente

The view from Mijas Pueblo in the mountains

Los Burros

Bull Ring - didn't go in

Beautiful in Mijas

The Beer guide

Los Boliches at night

Squid

Dessert

On the streets where Auf Wiedersehen Pet was filmed

Malaga v Las Palmas (1-1)

Churros and coffee please

In the square

Plaza de la Constitution

Rewind live in Pogs

Beer

Aqua Fit

Sunset

View from Hotel Yaramar

Prawns

Steak

My sort of prices for beer

By the pool

More hot chocolate