Team – Swansea RFC
Position – 9th
Hugh Gustafson’s first season as head coach of Swansea RFC saw the Whites finish in a respectable 9th place after a season disrupted by a mumps outbreak, then the Covid-19 pandemic which has seen the premature end of the season for all Welsh club sides.
Swansea were coming off the back of a successful 2018/19 campaign where they reached the National Cup Quarter Finals and comfortably avoided relegation from the then 16 team Premiership, surprising many people who had tipped the Whites for relegation at the beginning of the campaign.
Richard Lancaster, the man who guided Swansea to their successful 2018/19 campaign departed the club which gave last season’s forwards coach, Hugh Gustafson, the opportunity to take over as Head Coach.
Swansea made a bright start to the season with a 33-5 bonus point victory over old rivals Llanelli on the opening day of the season before a squad heavily impacted with Ospreys Celtic Cup callups lost three games in games in a row on the road.
The Whites got themselves back on track when they made it a full calendar year unbeaten at home with a victory over Newport at St Helens. However, four consecutive defeats meant the Whites were at the wrong end of the table going into December.
December proved to be a decisive month for Swansea with victories over Ebbw Vale, Pontypridd and Llanelli helping to create some breathing space between themselves and the relegation zone. The clash with Llanelli at the end of December proved to be Swansea’s last game until February with a mumps outbreak meaning their campaign had to be put on hold.
When Swansea’s season finally re-started only five games were played before the season was cancelled. The Whites picked up wins against high flying Merthyr and Aberavon, but losses to Newport, RGC and Llandovery saw the Whites finish their disrupted season in 9th place.
Head coach Hugh Gustafson had this to say on his first campaign in charge of the Whites “It’s a transitioning period for the squad. A lot of the old guard left the club last year and we had to recruit players.”
“There have been narrow losses but brilliant wins. We are changing the culture and mentality of Swansea and this has taken time since I started coaching at the club.”
“We must keep on building and our young players must mature and adapt in a tough league.”
This campaign can provide Swansea with optimism for the future with a young squad and a solid first season under Gustafson’s reign. Wins against the likes of Merthyr, Pontypridd and Aberavon show Swansea are more than capable of pushing up the table next season with consistency being key for their progression.
Swansea will be looking to break into the top six next season with qualification for the newly created Welsh-Scottish cup being the goal.
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