How a small market town became the best rugby team in Wales

As Welsh rugby prepares for a summer of change, heading into a new era with the introduction of the Elite Domestic Competition, one club sits comfortably as the best.

Llandovery won the Premiership last year for the first time, beating Cardiff 24-8 at the Arms Park. Since then, they've topped the regular season table this year with a points total of 105 points, winning 22 of 24 matches, as well as lifting the WRU Premiership Cup in April.

Along with the WRU's elite WSC Rugby Cup, picked up by Llandovery College last December, there's a fair bit of silverware floating around the market town.

As the Drovers look to seal a second Premiership title, starting with today's semi-final against Cardiff, it's as good a time as any to reflect on what makes them so good.

Euros Evans, their head coach, is undoubtedly one of the reasons. The hugely experienced coach, who led Coleg Sir Gar to the Rosslyn Park 7s title in 2012, has been part of the Drovers' coaching set-up for over a decade - first as an assistant in 2010 before stepping up to the main role in 2016.

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He knows better than anyone why Llandovery are about to head into the new era of rugby in Wales as the standard bearers.

"You look around the club and you see the investment they've made in the infrastructure," says Evans. "Hopefully, there's a new 3G facility going down next year which shows the club's ambition to keep on raising the standard.

"We used to represent a small town, but now we represent a community now. The community are buying into what we're doing here, which is really pleasing.

"I think it's important for every club with ambition to have the opportunity to get to the top of the game. Looking over the bridge, I think Exeter are maybe a team that represents something similar. We're not comparing ourselves with Exeter, but the idea that if you've got ambition and good people in your club, you can achieve your dreams."

As Evans speaks about the success of the Drovers in the welcoming surroundings of the clubhouse, trophies laid out in front of him, there are two reminders of what makes them successful sat to his right.

Adam Warren and Macs Page are at different stages of their career. The former has finished his journey in professional rugby, following a career that saw him become a regional fan favourite and win a solitary Wales cap. The latter meanwhile is merely starting out in the game, being part of the Scarlets academy.

Both speak highly of what they're experiencing at Church Bank, with Page saying he doesn't think he's been "part of a club or community like this before. Everyone is so friendly and so close to one another".

"I knew coming here, we'd be a top four club," adds Warren. "I didn't realise how quick things would go like that.

"Last year, I thought we were unlucky not to win more. We beat Cardiff in the Cup group stage and they went on to win it. We were narrowly behind them in the league. Maybe one or two moments.

"This year, we've taken it up another level. That's what we've got as a club and how we're moving forward. The balance of young boys coming through and experienced players in the mix. Top class coaches as well.

"All of them have done their part. We've seen where we were last year. We knew we wanted to do the double, or more of a triple with topping the league as well as the cup and winning the league.

"When I was at the Dragons, some of the young boys coming through being sent to the clubs there were relatively negative when they came back. Whether that's down to brand of play and stuff.

"But I knew coming here, we'd play a fast style that suited us. Our group in particular have a real strong standard. There's a lot of change (coming), but I think we're going about it in the right way.

"I don't think it's going to change too much for us. We're at the top for a reason. If we keep having that balance, hopefully guys like Macs will be with the Scarlets but the next generation will be with us. Then there's that middle tier level of player who keep the club ticking over."

Moving forward, as the Premiership in essence gives way to the new EDC, that balance should stand them in good stead in terms of developing the stars of tomorrow.

The likes of Warren, Lee Rees and Jack Jones - who Evans describes as "the steel of our team" - will only help those younger players reach greater heights.

But right now, that mix of youth and experience is exactly why Evans believes they are sitting at the top of the Premiership and out to complete a league and cup double.

"I just think it's the balance we've got in our squad," says the coach. "It works really well. We've been top four for a while and been competitive.

"Then Adam comes to us, adds some professionalism and gets the best out of others. That's helped us. Probably the demise of Llanelli RFC has helped us as well a bit, to be honest with you.

"Ioan Hughes and Chris Long have come up and given us some quality. I think the balance is really important in the environment.

"You hear Macs speak about how he's enjoying his experience, being around the player and learning from every session and game. That balance is really important to our success.

"My personal experience is that accelerates learning. There's nothing better than being on the field in the heat of battle, having someone experienced next to you telling you things.

"As well as that, we value winning here. Winning is a good trait to have as a professional rugby player because at some stage, it's going to be all about winning. As much as development is important, developing a culture of winning in sport is very important."

Years ago, all of this might have seemed unthinkable - the Drovers the benchmark in Welsh club rugby. Prior to last season, the Drovers had some key dates in their history, but nothing quite like that.

A cup victory over Pontypridd in 1984 was a special day, as were the Welsh Cup triumphs in 2007 and 2016. The first of those, a dramatic victory over a Cardiff side that featured a young Jamie Roberts, saw them become the first club outside the old ‘Merit Table’ elite to win the cup.

That trophy, slightly bent out of shape now, takes pride of place in the clubhouse. It's been a remarkable rise.

"Lots of clubs in west Wales started in a similar position, right at the bottom," says Evans. "Through hard work, you look around and the caravan site is helping us grow things.

"The junior Drovers is going from strength to strength. We're hoping to get the second team going again and the 3G pitch will help with that. We're a community club with a first-team that has really high ambitions."

What comes with the new EDC remains to be seen. Some are less convinced than others that the change in structure will bring about success.

Evans is hopeful that the new format can work for Welsh rugby - and that the Drovers will remain at the head of it when the change does come.

"There's a little bit of continuity there," he says. "But we're all challenged about making the next competition better, with the focus on developing younger players ready for the regions.

"The financial climate now makes it all the more important to grow your own. We've always been closely aligned with the Scarlets anyway so from that perspective, it doesn't change greatly.

"But we understand the importance of making our environments better and making sure we develop the younger academy players but also those who maybe aren't in academies. We're too small a nation to be turning our backs on any talent.

"Our challenge is to make the competition and standard better so when they're playing regularly for us, they're getting closely to playing regional rugby. There's a big drive in physical stature and everything else.

"We've got to make sure we're developing a culture that is allowing them to grow there as well. Tuesday Thursday probably isn't enough anyway. We need to increase our contact time with these players and making sure we're able to improve them as players holistically.

"It's exciting, but I think we understand that we need to change. It's exciting we're being allowed to start that progress. It probably needs more investment if I'm honest in order to service the players in the way we'd want to do so, but that's probably true in all aspects of Welsh rugby.

"What we've got to clearly understand is we've got a responsibility to have an environment and structures in place to grow and develop players in Wales. If we're looking over the bridge for them to develop our players, then we're failing.

"We've got a responsibility to make this league work for us and we've all got to buy in to that. If we can do that, this will be the start of it so it grows into something that's fit for purpose."

But as one era ends and another begins, the Drovers remain steadfast in their determination to sign off - for now - on a high.

"There was a great feeling last year, winning the league," says Warren. "With how this year has gone, we set that as our standard and it'd be the perfect icing on the cake."