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Sam Mills' performances have contributed to Pontypool's Premiership safety this season

NOTHING ever eclipses the aura that surrounds a legendary Welsh rugby club. Not time, nor hard times. Pontypool Rugby Club has faced plenty of both, and another season has passed without the team coming close to revisiting the glories of the past, the days of Ray Prosser’s near invincible team and of the Viet Gwent.

In fact, this was another tough season for the Pooler, which is becoming somewhat used to having to fight for its position in the rugby pantheon. Injury-strewn, the club managed to avoid the ignominy of relegation just one year after it was promoted to the Premiership, finishing second from bottom with less than half the points of champions Cardiff.

Some of the credit for their survival goes to the boot of outside half Sam Mills. Remembering the early optimism among players at the start of last autumn after being promoted unopposed from Division One East, the 23-year-old recalls how it swiftly led on to a horrendous run of injuries and the shock of “having to compete against clubs with far bigger budgets and access to numerous regional players. We soon found out that the Premiership is a highly competitive league.”

At one point, the first team has no fewer than 12 players injured, including two leg breaks and three serious knee injuries. “I truly believe that if we had managed to keep everyone fit, we could have achieved a top six position,” adds Mills.

Pontypool forged a well-deserved reputation for producing tough forwards, but the fly half has broken that mould. Despite having played for a string of different sides, Mills has a long association with the club.

“I started playing mini rugby for Talywain (outside Pontypool) aged seven, when I developed my love for the game. As juniors, we got moved from pillar to post which saw me play for Abersychan Alexanders and Garndiffaith, all the time learning new things and meeting new people.”

Then, having only turned up to watch Pontypool United play, he was asked to replace an injured player. His performance was excitedly discussed among the local rugby community, which believed there was a raw talent among them. Pontypool RFC didn’t have a youth team, so Mills honed his skills level with Pontypool United juniors. He believes it was a crucial, golden time, adding: “I thoroughly enjoyed my youth years and made some friendships that will last forever.”

In 2005, in his last year of youth rugby, Mills was drafted into Pontypool RFC. Like many local boys, he still believes that playing for the Pooler is a “massive” honour. It was a promising debut season for Mills, but disastrous for the team, as they were relegated. Mills moved on, to Ebbw Vale, where his high points haul helped the side finish second and break the Premiership monopoly among the big clubs.

Many fans across Gwent thought Mills had presented a good argument for his inclusion in the Newport Gwent Dragons, but the call never came. Instead, Llanelli RFC were keen to sign. “Being offered a contract with Llanelli was a huge moment for me and one which I am glad I took. I was unfortunate – I had a couple of bad injuries that meant I never really cemented my position in the side, and found myself on the bench most weeks,” he said.

“Llanelli was a different world to anything I had previously experienced and the level of professionalism is something I will take with me and try to instil in any team I play for in the future. West Wales has a different rugby culture to Gwent, with the focus being on skills and speed as opposed to brawn and power.”

Mills returned home to Pontypool when the club were promoted back to the Premiership. He was not without his critics, attracting a somewhat frosty reception, but he soon proved his worth in the relegation dogfight, “regaining my passion for the club” in the process. The Pooler refuses to resort to the ringer practices of some clubs and would not pull in fringe regional players to help out. “It speaks volumes that for the defining game of our season in Cardiff there were 22 Pontypool players in that squad,” said Mills. “Something we are very proud of.”

There remains an abiding belief among fans that Mills is good enough to play at regional level. Mills is more sanguine. “I’ll always have dreams to making it professionally and you have got to trust the system. But it is hard when you are playing with quality players week in, week out who you know are good enough to make the step up, and they seem to be overlooked by our region.”

Mills believes proper games benefit players far more than the friendlies often played by regional development sides. “I’ve seen the Premiership get stronger every year and these fringe regional players should be plying their trade in the league instead of sitting on benches for the region. But many regional players don’t stand out in the Premiership games, which speaks volumes for the quality of the league.”

However, Mills’ main concern for now is Pontypool’s future. He says that the club has “excellent owners who are committed to taking Pontypool forward and have made me realise just how big the Pontypool brand is.”

And there’s the history again. Behind Premiership survival and regional indifference, Sam Mills and his fellow Pooler players will always have to contend with the ghosts of legends, and the long shadow they once threw across Pontypool RFC.