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The Wizards were one of the teams tipped for honours in
1999-2000. Alot of people, including the press expected them to challenge for, if
not win promotion back into the top flight of Welsh rugby. However, it was not
to be. 1999-2000 will go down as one of Aberavon's toughest seasons even though
it was not in the top division (now named the Welsh Scottish League after
Edinburgh and Glasgow joined the eight other Welsh clubs in the Premier
Division).
The Wizards opened the season with five straight league defeats.
Their first win was away to Llandovery at the end of September. The Rugby World
Cup came to Wales in October with the Wizards managing to string together a few
victories. By mid November Australia were crowned World Champions while at the
Talbot Athletic Ground enough was enough with coaches Steve Brown and Roger
Powell making way for former Wizard and British Steel coach Chris O'Callaghan. By
now Aberavon were languishing near the bottom of the table having played almost
half of their league fixtures. Although nobody would admit it, relegation was on
everyone's minds. However, O'Callaghan brought a breath of fresh air to the club
and in December/January the Wizards scalped the top three teams in the Division
- Pontypool, Treorchy and Cross Keys. February proved to be a quiet month due to
the weather with the Wizards playing just one game - a friendly against British
Steel. In March, Aberavon faced Neath in the Cup on a damp and foggy night at
the Talbot Athletic Ground. No love was lost in the match as the Wizards went
down 17 - 6. As the season entered it's final stages, the Wizards "fell
over" on several occasions but managed to pull something out of the fire by
ending the season in mid-table after spending so much of it too close to the
relegation zone for most peoples liking.
Welsh National League Division One
| Pos |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
PF |
PA |
Tries |
Points |
| 1 |
Cross Keys |
30 |
24 |
0 |
6 |
779 |
476 |
89 |
72 |
| 2 |
Pontypool |
30 |
22 |
1 |
7 |
845 |
450 |
104 |
67 |
| 3 |
Blackwood |
30 |
21 |
1 |
8 |
688 |
507 |
86 |
64 |
| 4 |
Bonymaen |
30 |
19 |
2 |
9 |
730 |
655 |
90 |
59 |
| 5 |
Tondu |
30 |
16 |
2 |
12 |
650 |
568 |
74 |
50 |
| 6 |
Newbridge |
30 |
14 |
2 |
14 |
783 |
742 |
98 |
44 |
| 7 |
Treorchy |
30 |
14 |
1 |
15 |
611 |
565 |
72 |
43 |
| 8 |
Aberavon |
30 |
13 |
0 |
17 |
776 |
666 |
101 |
39 |
| 9 |
Rumney |
30 |
13 |
0 |
17 |
672 |
783 |
95 |
39 |
| 10 |
Abertillery |
30 |
12 |
3 |
15 |
563 |
665 |
65 |
39 |
| 11 |
Llandovery |
30 |
12 |
2 |
16 |
639 |
730 |
83 |
38 |
| 12 |
Llanharan |
30 |
12 |
2 |
16 |
617 |
676 |
68 |
38 |
| 13 |
Abercynon |
30 |
12 |
1 |
17 |
544 |
669 |
67 |
37 |
| 14 |
Merthyr |
30 |
13 |
0 |
17 |
632 |
709 |
81 |
36 * |
| 15 |
Tredegar |
30 |
11 |
0 |
19 |
588 |
798 |
73 |
30 * |
| 16 |
U.W.I.C. |
30 |
3 |
1 |
26 |
646 |
1104 |
87 |
10 |
* Tredegar and Merthyr deducted 3 points for not fulfilling
fixtures
Club Awards
- Chris Kinsey (Player of the Year)
- Paul Bamsey (Most Promising Player of the Year)
- Steve Jones (Clubman of the Year)
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