Nigel Davies is confident Ebbw Vale captain Damien Hudd can lead the club to a successful defence of their Principality Premiership title.
Welsh rugby’s semi-professional division kicks off again next week with a new format involving an expanded division of 16 teams.
Last season, the Steelmen claimed the trophy with second row Hudd, 35, continuing to inspire them through their march back up through the divisions.
The league, which welcomes promoted Championship sides Bargoed, Merthyr, RGC and Swansea, will split into two tiers at the half way point of the season, the top eight in a race to get into the semi-finals and final to challenge Ebbw Vale for the title.
The Tier Two teams will also have play-offs to determine the Tier Two winner. The league will be ring-fenced for two seasons to aid the development of potential professional players by removing the threat of relegation.
Former Wales assistant coach Davies’s Ebbw will launch the defence of their title at Parc y Scarlets next weekend, followed by a trip to Sardis Road, the venue of their emphatic Grand Final victory last May.
Davies said: “The first 15 rounds of the season will be like a mini-season in itself and if you don’t get momentum early on, you’ll be on the back foot and find it difficult to stay in the top eight when the league splits.
“It’s going to be a tough start, Parc y Scarlets and Sardis Road are always difficult places to go but we expect everyone to raise their game against us as champions this season anyway. We did well away from home last season, and we will just have to back ourselves to get off to a good start.”
Davies is confident he has the right balance in his squad to launch a staunch defence of the title, with Hudd still at the helm.
“The big strength of the team is its togetherness and we’re really pleased that the majority of the squad has stayed together. We’ve added some strength and we’re happy with the balance of the side. Damien had such a great end to the season and winning Player of the Season, he’s been like a 19 year old around pre-season training. You need leaders at every level of the game and Damien has such fantastic leadership qualities.”
After travelling to Cross Keys for their first Principality Premiership fixture, last year’s Championship winners Merthyr will look forward to hosting Cardiff at the newly redeveloped Wern Sports Park, also complete with artificial pitch.
Merthyr head coach Lee Jarvis said, “While we know there’ll be no easy games, we’ve got to be confident of competing with the top sides having developed on and off the field for this moment.
“Cross Keys, first up, will be tough. They are been at the top of the Premiership for a number of years now so we will need to be ready. We are then looking forward to new home games at our redeveloped ground with Cardiff and Bedwas the first league visitors.”
