The second Indigo Welsh Premiership play-off semi-final sees two Gwent sides go head-to-head as Newport take on Ebbw Vale at Newport Stadium on Saturday.

Newport finished second in the league, 15 points and one place ahead of Ebbw Vale.

The home side have won their last 14, scoring 544 points and 79 tries during that period including an 89-26 demolition of Bridgend Ravens last time out.

However, the games between Newport and Ebbw Vale this season have been much closer, peculiarly with the away side winning both times.

While Newport won their most recent meeting in March 25-31, Ebbw Vale won the reverse fixture 20-28 in November at Newport Stadium.

It all sets things up rather nicely for Saturday’s crunch game with the victor getting bragging rights but more importantly a place in the play-off final against Llandovery or Cardiff.

Newport fly-half Matt O’Brien partners his role as his side’s attacking lynchpin with his position as Dragons’ backs coach and is hoping his side can continue their good form at the end of the regular season into the play-offs.

“We’ve got that winning habit right now and I think we’ve hit form at the right time,” said O’Brien.

“It was a slow start to the season, going out in the first round of the cup, Rynard Landman will say he was the turning point as since he’s come in we’ve improved!

“We’ve been dealt with a fair few injuries to key players throughout the season but have managed that well and a core of semi-professional players like Joshua Skinner, captain Ben Roach and Lloyd Lewis have helped us through.”

O’Brien’s dual roles at Newport and Dragons also puts him in prime position to keep an eye on developing talent coming through the region, including 21-year-old scrum-half Che Hope and 20-year-old centre Joe Westwood who have recently signed new contracts with their region.

“Che’s going really well, his speed of pall and pass accuracy are really good,” said O’Brien.

“Both of them signed new deals recently and we regard them as high potential players.

“Joe is physically gifted but can do a bit of everything with good handling and kicking as well.”

“Having those two either side of me is good because it draws eyes away. If defenders are worried about Joe’s pace and power or the pace of pass from Che is good, then it gives me a bit more time.”

If O’Brien is given time and space on Saturday then he has the abilities to pull the strings for his side masterfully with his choice of pass and array of kicking skills.

“I still enjoy it, I love playing having played here for 10 years,” said O’Brien.

“I’m experienced and know what’s coming now as I’ve seen most things by now.

“We’ve probably played together as a core group for three or four years now and we’re all aligned, signing off the same hymn sheet, especially in attack and it makes things easier especially if Lloyd Lewis knows when I’m going to kick for instance but it did take a while.

“Ebbw Vale have a decent set-piece especially scrum and maul and they have good half backs who manage the game well and kick a fair bit this season, I expect it’ll be a close game.”

Whilst Newport are a settled side, their opponents’ head coach Jason Strange says his Ebbw Vale side are still developing, believing his side are still yet to hit their peak and won’t do so for “two or three years”.

“It’s been a fantastic season for us,” said Strange.

“An impressive campaign, losing in the semi-final of the cup against Llandovery and now in another semi-final after finishing third in the league.

“There have been highs and lows to this season, but their biggest strength is how close they are as a group, they’re really tight and best friends.

“A lot of our strengths come from our culture and I think we’ve got a good blend of youth and experience with the likes of scrum half Jonathan Evans, Joe Franchi and Rhys Francis but also young local lads like Ethan Phillips and Curtis Gregory.

“I taught Ethan when he was 11 for about five or six years and those two have played nearly every game and been standouts in their positions.”

Like the other sides in the play-offs, Ebbw Vale come into Saturday’s game in good form having won their last four after consecutive losses to Llandovery in the cup and Newport in the league.

“We’re peaking at just the right time, that’s what the playoffs are about,” said Strange.

“What you’ve done in the past counts for nothing, it will be a 50/50 game on Saturday. I expect it to be really tight and could be decided by the bounce of a ball.

“You need a different type of game plan for this sort of game, be really clear and keep things simple which normally wins you big games.

“We’d hoped the game would be at Rodney Parade but with it being on a football pitch which is eight or nine metres narrower than a normal pitch it really changes your attack and defence, so we’ve planned for that as well.”

Looking ahead to next season, both sides will appear in the EDC next season and Strange says he is “looking forward” to the new competition.

“I think it’ll be a good thing, promoting sustainability and stability,” said Strange.

“We believe we’re as strong off the field as on the field and I think it could be a game changer with the salary cap and allocation of academy players between the clubs meaning it’ll level the playing field.

“It’ll only strengthen the league if everyone buys in with good integrity. We’re doing it for the betterment of the game in Wales for the future as we know there isn’t enough money in professional and semi-professional rugby as it is.

“We believe we have a good business model, building that and a good team without losing our values or identity as a club which is very important in my opinion.”

If you had been looking for Wales football heroes to take over from Gareth Bale, then Nathan Broadhead would probably have been low down your list.

Yet cometh the very late hour, cometh the young man in Croatia as Broadhead grabbed the equaliser to earn his country a 1-1 draw in their first qualifier for Euro 2024.

Aaron Ramsey hadn’t scored, Kieffer Moore had hardly had a kick, but when the ball was flicked on to the far post, Broadhead – a 24-year-old, who plays League One football with Ipswich – reacted like a veteran international striker to deliver a priceless point.

The question for Wales now is can they carry on the momentum by beating Latvia at home on Tuesday night.

After all, the Latvians are considered the weakest team in the group and any point gained unexpectedly in Croatia would be handed back immediately if Wales don’t get all three points at the Cardiff City Stadium.

In Saturday night’s game, Wales could well have gone further behind after they went 1-0 down in the first-half to a goal from Andrej Kramaric.

But what will have encouraged the 2,000 members of the Red Wall who made the trip to the city of Split – as well as those watching on TV back home – was the positive nature of the Welsh response.

Manager Rob Page sent on fresh legs in the form of Broadhead, Sorba Thomas, Wes Burns and Tom Bradshaw and their energy proved decisive as the Croatians tired.

Some of the Welsh fans pictured celebrating at the end were also supporters of Barry Town United and it was a memorable weekend for them.

Earlier on Saturday, their club had hammered Pontardawe Town, 5-0, to confirm themselves champions of the JD Cymru South.

It will means a quick return to the JD Cymru Premier for Barry, who were relegated last season but will now go back up after a dominant campaign in the second tier of Welsh domestic football.

Eye-opening achievement of the weekend should go to Wrexham, whose crowd of 9,511 for their match at home to Connah’s Quay Nomads was a record for a women’s fixture in Wales.

They won 2-1 at The Racecourse in the Genero Adran North, 24 hours after their men’s team had beaten York City, 3-0, to stay top of the National League and on course for automatic promotion back to the Football League.

In the Genero Adran Premier, Cardiff City Women clinched their first title for 10 years after overcoming The New Saints, 3-1.

It was a weekend when most of the rest of Welsh football put their feet up, because of the international matches.

Cardiff City and Swansea City were able to get some extra training done ahead of their crunch Welsh derby meeting in the Championship this weekend, while Newport County’s planned League Two fixture against Harrogate was postponed due to international call-ups.

In the JD Cymru Premier, The New Saints had already sewn up the league title, but anyone thinking they might relax was proved wrong as they hammered Cardiff Met, 7-1 at the weekend.

In the only other fixture, Penybont maintained their position in third place, even though they were held, 2-2, at home to Bala Town.