Cardiff RFC continued their unbeaten run in the 2026/27 Super Rygbi Cymru season with a stunning 59-14 win over Ebbw Vale RFC at the CiNER Glass Community Stadium.
The Blue and Blacks headed to Blaenau Gwent with unwelcome memories of their last visit, after suffering a bruising 60-20 defeat to the Steelmen in late September last year.
This time around, Cardiff arrived on the back of three successive victories over Carmarthen Quins, Swansea and Pontypool, carrying plenty of confidence and momentum into the contest.
Cardiff welcomed several familiar faces back into the starting XV, with Alun Rees making his first start since facing Carmarthen, joining Ioan Emanuel and Tom Harper in the front-row.
Sean Moore moved back into the second-row alongside Tom Cottle, while captain Craig Hudd returned to the back-row, partnering Alfie Prygodzicz and Lucas de la Rua.
Lloyd Lucas was handed his first appearance since April at outside-half, with Ethan Lloyd also returning to the starting line-up. In midfield, Osian Darwin-Lewis made his first appearance for the Blue and Blacks since facing Llandovery in May, linking up with Isaac Marsh at inside-centre.
Rhys Cummings also made his first appearance of the season on the wing, completing a back-three alongside Dewi Cross and Matty Young.
Among the replacements, Evan Nicholls-Ngasseu, Joe Cowell, Louis Fletcher, Tirion Bowen, Gethyn Cannon, Sion Davies, Ben Coomer and Joe Goodchild were named on the bench.
Speaking following the encounter, defence coach Craig Everett said: “Very pleased. The boys were so clinical in the second-half.
“First-half we were really good; we just gave them too many opportunities. We talked about it at half-time, and the boys were really, really good in the second-half.”
Story of the Game:
On a pleasant autumnal afternoon, with sun bathing the pitch, outside-half Kai Kinsey got proceedings underway. The hosts started on the front foot, but the Blue and Blacks quickly regained possession.
From the resulting scrum, the Steelmen were penalised, and outside-half Lucas kicked up into the hosts’ 22. After the lineout, Ebbw Vale regathered and kicked to relieve pressure.
Open-side Prygodzicz then made a brilliant break through to put the visitors metres out, but as the theme of the opening exchanges, the hosts regathered possession from the breakdown.
Ebbw Vale were once again under pressure as the opening quarter continued, after back-to-back testing kicks in behind by outside-centre Darwin-Lewis and scrum-half Lloyd; full-back Young did so again, but this time around the hosts kicked it out on the full.
The Steelmen were then penalised; Lucas kicked into the corner, and from the catch-and-drive, hooker Rees scored to break the deadlock. Lucas added the extras, taking his Cardiff points total to a century as the Blue and Blacks went into a hard-fought seven-point lead after thirteen minutes.
Ethan Phillips then charged down a kick, which put the visitors under pressure. However, Ebbw Vale were then penalised again after some threatening breaks, and Cardiff regained possession.
Then, before the half-hour mark, the Blue and Blacks scored their second. This followed Player of the Match Prygodzicz brilliantly turning the ball over and Young kicking upfield.
From a poor clearance kick, after pressure from Cummings, scrum-half Lloyd took the lineout quickly, which allowed Young to show his pace and excellent footwork to score his third of the season.
This time around, Lucas couldn’t add the extras, but the hosts still remained pointless. That would soon change, however, before the break.
Outside-centre Phillips looked to score the hosts’ first of the afternoon but was held up, highlighting the strength Cardiff produced in defence inside their own 22.
Soon after, inside-centre Dom Franchi powered his way over after numerous phases inside the Blue and Blacks’ 22, and winger Cross was sent off for ten minutes.
Outside-half Kinsey added the extras to reduce the deficit to five points at the break.
HT: Ebbw Vale RFC 7-12 Cardiff RFC
Despite starting the second half with a numerical disadvantage, Cardiff claimed their third after seconds were played. Following a brilliant charge down by second-row Cottle, he eventually regathered and showed great strength and power to score his second of the season.
Lucas added the extras, and the Blue and Blacks regained their 12-point lead. The hosts responded quickly through Joe Rees-Weldon, who scored, with Kinsey adding the extras.
Young claimed his brace two minutes later. This came from brilliantly taking the high ball, stepping back inside, and breezing through the hosts’ defence to claim the Blue and Blacks a bonus-point.
Lucas added the extras to put Cardiff into a commanding lead once again. The outside-half then had a chance to add to the scoreboard but sent his shot wide, soon after the Blue and Blacks scored their fifth of the afternoon.
With the hosts struggling to escape the visitors’ onslaught in attack, after hooker Rees took a tap penalty, captain Hudd almost scored, but replacement Cowell gathered and powered over.
This was the replacement’s first try of the season, and Lucas easily added the extras to put his side up 19 at the end of the third quarter.
After switching their line of attack following a lineout just outside the hosts’ 22, winger Cross scored his third of the season after a brilliant step to race over. Lucas once again slotted the extra two points, as Cardiff led 40-14 with 17 minutes left on the clock.
Cross then almost scored again moments later, but couldn’t gather as Cardiff’s second-half dominance continued to flourish. The hosts were then down to 14 men as Dylan Burrows was sent off for a late hit on replacement Coomer.
With their numerical advantage, replacement Davies scored his first of the season after a pass back inside from Cross, and it came from a lineout on the halfway line. Replacement Coomer added the extras with nine minutes remaining.
After an offload from Hudd just outside the visitors’ 22, Coomer made a darting break and kicked upfield, which Cross gathered impressively to score his second of the contest after winning the foot race.
Coomer once again kicked the extras, but before the final whistle Cardiff scored their ninth of the contest.
Replacement Davies broke away metres from the hosts’ whitewash, offloaded to Young, who drew the last two defenders as Goodchild scored, and the Blue and Blacks claimed an emphatic victory in Ebbw Vale.
FT: Ebbw Vale RFC 14-59 Cardiff RFC
Up next for the Blue and Blacks, they welcome Carmarthen Quins to the Cardiff Arms Park next Saturday (KO: 14:30).
