PONTY SKIPPER PICKS UP PRINCIPALITY PREMIERSHIP AWARD

Posted on Mar 25, 2013

Pontypridd captain and lock Chris Dicomidis has won the Principality Player of the Month award for February. He guided the Sardis Road side to home wins over Llandovery and Newport and an away victory over Bridgend during the month, helping the champions to consolidate their position at the top of the Principality Premiership table.

An ever present member of the Ponty side for the majority of the past decade, Dicomidis has caught the attentions of watching opposition coaches and knowledgeable observers alike in earning the sponsor’s accolade.

“I’m pleased with how I’ve been playing, since Christmas in particular and scored a couple of tries in February to boot which is always nice. I have a great team and group of boys around me. On the field there are 14 other leaders and the coaching team has been consistently superb with Chief (Dale McIntosh), Johnsey (Paul John) and now Gareth Wyatt having stepped into a management role. All three have great experience within the game and the whole club really is like a close family unit,” he said.

Pontypridd beat Llanelli to win the Principality Premiership Play-Off final last year after losing in the final the previous year. Dicomidis says the club is desperate to hold onto the title.

“We took a while to get to the top of the table but now that we’re there we want to stay there – each game is like a cup final now.

“The Cup is massive for us too – we were disappointed with our performance against Cross Keys in the final last year and we feel we owe our supporters a good run in the cup this year, we would love to do the double,” he added.

While the Principality Premiership is often a stepping stone to regional and international rugby for Welsh rugby’s best young players, the likes of Dicomidis have a vital role to play in Premiership clubs.

“My focus is now firmly on Ponty and helping the club achieve as much as we can. We have a number of old heads at the club and those players, like Dan Godfrey and Wayne O’Connor help make Ponty a great learning environment for young players coming through. The youngsters often turn to us for advice, and however much gym and skill work they’ve done, it’s only on the pitch that they can put it into practice,” he said

Chris Dicomidis Factfile

Born: 14.9.85, Bridgend

Position: Lock

Club: Pontypridd

Honours: Wales U19, U21 Universities, Cyprus

Most admired player: Jonah Lomu

Most admired sportsperson: Joe Calzaghe

School: Pencoed Comprehensive

Occupation: Essential skills tutor, MPCT, Bridgend

Nickname: Dico

Former clubs: Pencoed Minis and Juniors, UWIC

Biggest influence on career: Family

Ellis Jenkins–Principality player of the month

Posted on Dec 17, 2012

Cardiff flanker Ellis Jenkins has won the Principality Premiership player of the month award for November. Despite a mixed bag of early season form for the capital club, Ellis’ performances stood out last month and helped his side to two home wins over Neath and Bridgend taking them to sixth in the table.

Cardiff Director of Rugby Martyn Fowler spoke of Ellis’ outstanding attitude both on and off the field. “Ellis is incredibly mature for his age – at only 19 he displays all the attributes of a professional rugby player. He is technically and tactically astute, and one of the best readers of the game I’ve come across in eight years as Cardiff University Director of Rugby and four years involved with the Premiership.

“The fact that he captained the side twice last month is a mark of the respect we have for Ellis in the club, and speaking to some of the opposition coaches we have played against, they too are full of praise for him. I see no reason why Ellis won’t be one of the Blues’ first team open side flankers in the not too distant future.”

Fowler believes the Principality Premiership is currently in a good place. “The league is all about developing players and coaches and I feel we are currently achieving that goal. At Cardiff, we are now regularly fielding teams with a very young average age – against Bedwas last month our half backs were both teenagers – and I think standards are better than ever.”

Ellis added, “It’s been good on a personal level to get a good run of games, and they’ve all been quite close matches recently against strong opposition which is enjoyable. I’ve had experience of captaining age grade sides in the past but Cardiff is a big club with a lot of history so it means a lot to get a chance to wear the captain’s armband.”

Ellis, who is a cousin of Wales kicking legend Neil Jenkins, admits he got a lot out of rubbing shoulders with Martyn  Williams before his retirement from the game. “Martyn is certainly the player I’ve always admired and looked up to, so although I didn’t get to play with him last season, I got  to train alongside him during the season and managed to have a few chats with him about the game which was great.

“My aims for the rest of the season are to keep playing well for Cardiff and hopefully get a call-up for the Wales Under 20 squad for the Six Nations and Junior World Championship. If I can get some game time for the Blues too that would be great.”

After two weeks of British & Irish Cup action, the Principality Premiership returns this weekend and Cardiff travel to Newport on Friday night for a key mid table battle (7.15pm).

Ellis Jenkins fact file:
Born: 29.4.93, Church Village
Position: Flanker
Club: Cardiff
Education: Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive
Most admired player: Martyn Williams
Biggest influence on career: Dale McIntosh, Ellis’ coach for most of his age grade rugby, and parents

WELSH RUGBY NEWS: Principality Premiership Preview

Posted on Aug 30, 2012

PIC: WRU Principality Premiership Launch, Pontypridd – Representatives of the teams in the 2012-13 WRU Principality Premiership at the launch at Pontypridd RFC Left to right – Sam Kiley of Swansea; Aled Williams of Neath; Gethin Robinson of Newport; Sam Williams of Aberavon; Jonathon Vaughan of Bridgend; Craig Hawkins of Llanelli; Dan Godfrey of Pontypridd; Jason Harries of Carmarthen Quins; Rob Nash of Cross Keys; Shaun Powell of Cardiff and Lloyd Phillips of Llandovery and Ross Wardle of Bedwas ©Huw Evans Picture Agency

The Principality Premiership kicks-off this weekend with all 12 teams in action on Saturday.

Arguably the tie of the opening weekend sees last year’s league champions Pontypridd take on SWALEC Cup winners Cross Keys.

Ponty travel to Pandy Park knowing they face a real challenge on the opening weekend against the side that finished sixth last year and beat them in the Cup final but coach Dale McIntosh is confident ahead of the game.

“Across the board we’ve got a stronger squad this year,” he said.

“We’ve got 32 players who will push for selection week in week out so selection is going to be tough.

Speaking of Cross Keys, McIntosh added: “They’re a club on the up and had a tremendous season last year so we’ll have to take our A game there and if we do that it will take a good side to beat us.

“If that side is Cross Keys then hats off to them.”

Ponty’s opponents are equally confident though with Cross Keys captain Rob Nash knowing his side will be marked men after their success last year.

“In previous years when I’ve played for Cross Keys people haven’t expected much from us so this year is going to be different,” Nash said.

“They know what to expect, they know we’re a good team so expectations are going to be a lot higher and teams are going to pick up their game against us.

“We have to adapt to that so we’ll have to be on the top of our game if we want to retain the cup and win the league.”

Elsewhere on the opening weekend, Bridgend take on Llanelli with Bridgend captain Jonathon Vaughan looking for revenge after two losses to Llanelli last year.

“Llanelli were one of the few teams that beat us twice last year so we really want to go out and get that win against them this year,” he said.

“Last season was our first back in the Premiership and we’ve done well to be within the 12 this year so our aim is to build on last year.

“This year we’re aiming to push forward and get into the top half of the table.”

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Gerwyn wins Principality Premiership Player of the Month

Posted on May 25, 2012

Cross Keys hooker Gerwyn Price has been named April’s Principality Premiership Player of the Month after a hugely successful season for the Gwent side.

The 27 year old hooker has had an outstanding first season for the Keys after joining them from former club Neath, where he had played since 2005.

Price has made a huge contribution to the team’s success in the British and Irish Cup where Keys made the final but were beaten 31-12 by Munster A in the cross-border competition.

He also earned himself a call up to the Principality Premiership XV that faced Georgia International XV at the Brewery Field in Bridgend in March.

“It’s great to be given this award in my first season with Cross Keys,” said Price.

“This season in the Principality Premiership has definitely been my most enjoyable since playing in the Premiership, we’ve done really well reaching two Cup Finals, everyone likes to see hard work pay off.

“Everything about Cross Keys is fantastic at the moment, I really enjoy working with all the coaches and the players are a great bunch which all creates a very positive atmosphere at the club.

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Principality Player of the Month for March: Rob Nash

Posted on May 10, 2012

Cross Keys captain Robert Nash has been awarded the Principality Premiership Player of the Month award for March after some excellent performances for his club.

The 25-year-old back rower who joined Cross Keys from Pontypool in 2008 has made 84 appearances for the Gwent side, scoring 14 tries – including five in this season’s Principality Premiership.

The Keys skipper made some stand out performances to earn himself the honour and head coach Greg Woods believes Nash has been an integral part of the team’s recent successes.

“Rob has been fantastic this season," he said. "He is a great tackler and ball carrier, leads by example and really gets up for the big games which is all you can ask for as a coach. He’s all-action in attack and defence and has really come into his own this season as captain. What’s more, he can finally cut his hair now that we’ve won a trophy!”

Woods has long been a big believer of the Principality Premiership, nurturing the likes of Jevon Groves, Steffan Jones and Lloyd Burns on to regional rugby.

“The Principality Premiership is getting stronger every year, you can’t take anyone for granted now and it’s certainly a great breeding ground for talent. Rob is one of the outstanding performers in the league this season and deserves every recognition for that.”

“To finish in the top six in the Premiership, reach the British & Irish Cup final and win the SWALEC Cup means it’s been an incredible season, one we will all remember for a long time.”

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