After such a close finish between Aberavon and Pontypool in 2001-02, many expected the Division One Title to be decided between these two sides again. And so proved to be the case. With the future of the structure of Welsh rugby up-in-the-air, nobody knew if any teams would be promoted again, with the only certainty being that there wouldn't be any unfair playoff as in the previous year if there was to be any promotion into the top flight.
The Wizards won their first three league games before suffering consecutive defeats in Gwent to Pontypool and Cross Keys within a week of each other, with the Keys game being lost in injury time at the end of the game. Aberavon then went through the next fourteen games unbeaten with three of the wins sticking out from the rest. In October at home to Newbridge, the Wizards found themselves 26 - 8 down after 40 minutes, but in an amazing turn around won 36 - 26 to keep their unbeaten home record going. In December, in wintry condition, and with injuries taking their toll, the Wizards showed alot of character in their hard fought 16 - 14 win at Bedwas. At the beginning of the year, an injury strewn Wizards side trailed 24 - 8 inside the final quarter at Llandovery, but a magnificent team performance pulled the game out of the bag 30 - 24.
A late comeback by Carmarthen Quins on Valentines night saw Aberavons winning run come to an end as they lost by one point at Carmarthen Park - the Quins had beaten the Wizards by one point late on in the Principality Cup just a few weeks earlier too. However, Aberavon climbed their way to the top of the Lloyds TSB Division One table winning their next eleven games. Second placed Pontypool were next up, and with the Gwent side rattling up alot of tries in their final few league games against bottom-of-the-table clubs, the season was going to be decided on the winners of the Aberavon v Pontypool game. The Wizards suffered an injury blow just minutes into the game that disjointed their backs and despite the hard work done by the pack, a third consecutive title was not meant to be as Pontypool went on to win the game and the Division One Title (on try count) for the first time. The game marked an end of a record 29 consecutive home wins in the league for Aberavon, beating the previous Division One record of 22, set by Dunvant.
While Aberavon failed to win the Division One Championship for a third consecutive time, their second place meant that the Wizards have finished in the top two of the Division seven times out of the nine times they've played there. An impressive record indeed. All was not lost either, as the professional tier of Welsh rugby was being reorganised for the 2003-04 season meaning that the top seven teams from Division One would be joining the nine premier division teams to form a new semi-professional premier league for the 2003-04 season.
Club Records Broken By The 2002-03 Wizards
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Most team points in a season (all games): 1643
points
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Most team points in season (league games only): 1260 points
-
Most team tries in a season (all games): 222 tries
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Most team tries in a season (league games only): 161 tries
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Top seasonal points scorer (all games): Jamie Davies with 515 points
(14T, 72PG, 5DG, 107C)
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Top seasonal points scorer (league games only): Jamie Davies with 451 points
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Top seasonal try scorer for a forward (all games): Richard Morris with 25 tries
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Post war top seasonal try scorer (all games): Lee Abdul with 28 tries (joint record with Dennis Curling 1971-72)
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Record win (all games): 108 - 0 v Chepstow (Away)
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Record win (cup games only): 93 - 0 v Abertillery
(Home)
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Most consecutive wins at home (league games only): 29 games
League Records Broken By The 2002-03 Wizards
Welsh National League Division One
| Pos |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
PF |
PA |
Tries |
Points |
| 1 | Pontypool | 34 | 30 | 0 | 4 | 1437 | 490 | 194 | 90 |
| 2 | Aberavon | 34 | 30 | 0 | 4 | 1260 | 519 | 161 | 90 |
| 3 | Llandovery | 34 | 25 | 0 | 9 | 1111 | 729 | 141 | 75 |
| 4 | Carmarthen Quins | 34 | 25 | 0 | 9 | 1139 | 595 | 140 | 75 |
| 5 | Newbridge | 34 | 21 | 0 | 13 | 741 | 568 | 87 | 63 |
| 6 | Bedwas | 34 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 954 | 633 | 110 | 61 |
| 7 | Cross Keys | 34 | 19 | 2 | 13 | 788 | 643 | 80 | 59 |
| 8 | Narberth | 34 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 957 | 825 | 119 | 57 |
| 9 | Whitland | 34 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 656 | 692 | 70 | 57 |
| 10 | Llanharan | 34 | 16 | 0 | 18 | 797 | 802 | 116 | 48 |
| 11 | Blackwood | 34 | 15 | 0 | 19 | 775 | 914 | 87 | 45 |
| 12 | Tredegar | 34 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 691 | 983 | 88 | 43 |
| 13 | Bonymaen | 34 | 13 | 1 | 20 | 608 | 635 | 67 | 40 |
| 14 | Tondu | 34 | 12 | 2 | 20 | 749 | 978 | 88 | 38 |
| 15 | Glamorgan Wanderers | 34 | 12 | 0 | 22 | 729 | 1000 | 86 | 36 |
| 16 | Beddau | 34 | 7 | 1 | 26 | 555 | 1261 | 62 | 22 |
| 17 | Rumney | 34 | 3 | 2 | 29 | 503 | 1167 | 69 | 11 |
| 18 | Treorchy | 34 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 384 | 1400 | 45 | 3 |
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Club Awards
- Richard Morris (Player of the Year)
- Andrew Clatworthy (Most Promising Player of the Year)
- Richard Morris (Clubman of the Year)
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