Ravens swoop for another of Cardiff’s stars

BRIDGEND Ravens are set to sign Cardiff full-back Edd Howley as the capital side’s playing stock continues to plummet.

With Cardiff Blues seeking to turn the Blue and Blacks side into a development team for their academy players, Howley’s departure will leave only 17 players from the squad that was on course to complete a Welsh Premiership and Cup double before Covid-19.

Howley will be following in the footsteps of centre Joe Gatt, back row Zac O’Driscoll and lock Kieron Martin in leaving the Arms Park to head to the Brewery Field for next season.

The Ravens have been recruiting hard during lockdown and have already added Hemi Barnes from Merthyr, Reuben Tucker from Newport and Swansea scrum-half Tom Lucas.

There is no start date for the Premiership as yet and many coaches fear there won’t be any competitive rugby for their players until the New Year.

With no sign of crowds being allowed back into grounds by the Welsh Government as yet, many clubs don’t want to trigger players’ contracts by asking them to return to full-time training with no prospect of income streams available.

The central funding of Premiership teams from the WRU has been slashed from £100,000 to £50,000-ayear and without crowds, the dozen leading club sides in Wales fear they won’t be able to make ends meet without a return to normal.

“We haven’t been able to get a start date for the Premiership as yet. That’s the most vital thing for all of us,” said Aberavon coach Jason Hyatt.

“The word was that we could start at the end of November, but there is so much going on that doesn’t seem likely. We have asked for a six to eight-week notification of when the season is likely to start so we can prepare properly.

“There is talk of keeping the league local and playing in an east and west league with a play-off at the end. It will depend on how long we have left in the season.”

ROB COLE