Ebbw Vale fly-half Evan Lloyd out to impress against Newport

The fly-half will go up against the Black and Ambers’ talisman Matt O’Brien in the Premiership semi-finals in one of the many fascinating head-to-heads.

Lloyd has enjoyed an impressive campaign for the Steelmen and his exploits have led to him training with the Dragons since December.

With the professional club short of 10s, the 24-year-old from Hollybush has made a return to Ystrad Mynach where O’Brien calls the shots as backs coach.

“I have a good relationship with [head coach] Dai Flanagan, who was my Under-18s and 20s coach, and I came in around December,” said Lloyd, whose younger brother Morgan, a scrum-half, recently signed a pro deal with the Dragons.

“Game time has been paramount for me, so playing week in and week out for Ebbw has been brilliant.

“Then the opportunity with the Dragons came up and that has helped me from a training skills point of view, so we will see where it goes.”

Evan Lloyd on his Dragons debut at Bordeaux-Begles

Lloyd made three appearances for the Dragons in 2020/21 – sadly none of them in front of a crowd due to Covid – before being released.

He signed for Ebbw Vale and has been an influential figure in the club going from struggling at the basement to being contenders.

The Steelmen narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season but were in a strong position throughout 2023/24 and were chasing trophies on two fronts.

The way that their dreams of a Principality Stadium final were dashed in March adds fuel to the fire for this evening’s clash.

“This is what we have worked for. We have spoken about being a side that is competing for trophies and we played in the semi-final against Llandovery in the Premiership Cup,” said Lloyd.

“The occasion got to us and we were poor [thumped 43-7], we didn’t give the supporters what they deserved on that day.

“We have learnt from it and we have a chance to put things right and give us a shot of winning a trophy next weekend.”

Newport finished 15 points ahead of Ebbw and are on a 14-game winning streak, including a last-gasp triumph at Eugene Cross Park, but Spytty Park holds no fear for the Steelmen.

PLAYMAKER: Fly-half Evan Lloyd on the run for Ebbw Vale (Image: NCR Photography)

“We’ve won there the last two years,” said Lloyd, who kicked 23 points in the 28-20 triumph in Newport in mid-November.

“In big games, Jason [Strange, head coach] is a big advocate of keeping things simple and nailing the fundamentals of the set piece and the kicking game.

“I think the key will be to be consistent, there may be one X-factor moment or one moment of madness. We just hope that we are on the right side of that.

“Discipline will be huge because Spytty is not the biggest of pitches, so if you concede a penalty then you can be put 60 metres back down the field.

“Newport are a side who we respect – they play some really good rugby and if you give them an inch then they will rip you apart.”

Lloyd will hope to be the fly-half on the front foot in his duel with the dangerous O’Brien.