EBBW Vale ran in 11 tries in an emphatic victory over already relegated Neath, writes Paul Hopkins.

The Steelmen took the lead after five minutes through a Rhys Jones penalty goal after the visitors’ defence strayed offside in midfield.

The first home try followed when Dafydd Howells plucked a loose pass out of the air and raced clear from his own twenty-two to score under the posts.

The visitors were penalised for a high tackle and Rhys Jones chipped to the corner. Jones found touch and a huge drive saw Dawid Rubasniak power over for a try.

The theme of penalties against Neath continued and Rhys Jones again chipped to touch with Rubasniak crashing over for his second try.

And Howells grabbed Ebbw’s bonus point try moments later when the home backs and forwards combined well with Rhys Francis throwing an inside pass for the winger to score.

Stef Thomas came close to a try out wide, but the visitors gave away another penalty. A quick tap by Sam Ireland saw the ball swept out quickly to the other wing for Lloyd Evans to score.

Neath embarked on a rare attack in the dying seconds of the first half, but Dai Langdon stole possession and a chip through into acres of space was pounced on by Stef Thomas, who touched down for Ebbw’s sixth try.

Try number seven belonged to the Ebbw forwards who took the visitors apart inside the twenty-two, before Evans danced his way over to score.

Aaron Bramwell burst through a tackle, forcing the home defence to kill the ball. A quick tap penalty saw Callum Hall dummy his way over for a try.

The home side were soon back on the attack and a close range lineout saw Rubasniak complete his hat trick.

A high tackle on Lewis Young at the lineout saw Rhys Thomas sent to the sin bin for a professional foul. The home side opted for a scrum five and a huge drive saw them earn a penalty try.

Rhys Jones made it ten tries for the home side when he chased down a clever grubber kick to score and Stefan Thomas rounded off the win with a late touch down in the corner.

Ebbw Vale: D Haymond (L Shore 53), D Howells, L Evans, D Langdon, S Thomas, R Jones, S Ireland (M Flanagan 53), L Garrett (J Harries 53), R Francis (J Franchi 58), R Sevenoaks (M Davies 41), K Parker (L Randall 58), A Sweet, R Clarke, D Rubasniak, L Young

Scorers: Tries: D Howells (2), D Rubasniak (3), L Evans (2), S Thomas (2), Penalty try, R Jones. Cons: R Jones (7). Pens: R Jones.

Neath: A Bramwell; J Roberts, W Holley, G Evans, A Jenkins (G Hopkins 67); C Hall, M Griffiths (N Griffiths 72); H Manorek (K Griffiths 56), C Vaughan (S Crocker 72), L Tobias, S Davies (R Thomas 31), I Jones, L Evans, K Mackey, T Huntley.

Scorers: Tries: C Hall. Cons: W Holley.

Star Man: Dawid Rubasniak