S4C’s Super Rygbi Cymru Team of the Year takes some understanding now that the season has come to its end.

I am well aware that there will be allegations of bias against the views of a journalist based in Llandovery, but for the Super Rygbi Cymru 2026 champions to have one lone player in the select XV leads to one of two conclusions.

The first is that if you base a choice on televised games, then that will lead to an unbalanced picture of the season at large, given the fact that the vast majority of games were not televised.

Secondly, the influence of a panel of people who end up choosing players they may have seen on no more than a handful of occasions through the season is not proportional to reality.

There is a suspicion that the cold interpretation of the end-of-season statistics may have been the criteria for many positions.

As someone who has reported on the Premiership and SRC for over 30 years, I can say, without fear or favour, that there are some startling mischoices in S4C’s XV.

The criteria for their selection is confused, as academy players such as the Cardiff pair of brothers Ioan Emanuel and Steff Emanuel find a place, but the brilliant attackers Tom Bowen and Matt Young are excluded.

Llandovery’s outstanding trio of Scarlets - full back Jac Davies, prop Josh Morse and hooker Harry Thomas - Swansea and Ospreys exciting back Harri Houston, along with Pontypool and Dragons livewire hooker Sam Scarfe, find no place in the line-up.

It would have been a better balance to keep to trusted and genuine semi-pro players who have turned out consistently and to good effect over the nine months of SRC competition.

How can a select XV not include Ebbw Vale flanker Sion Parry and Llandovery’s Stuart Worrall?

Capped 13 times by his mother’s native Canada, Parry won turnover after turnover in one game after another and, even in the SRC Trophy final, he was the star of the show despite being on the losing side.

Worrall has for 10 years had few equals as a grafting, perpetual-motion, utterly brave and fearless open side blessed with an extra-terrestrial knack of forcing turnovers in desperate situations.

How can a select XV leave out scrum half Lee Rees, the most exciting and entertaining scrum half to play semi-pro rugby in the last 20 years?

Rees led Llandovery to SRC glory in his last and 402nd game for the Drovers, scoring a remarkable solo try in his final game before retirement.

I have no axe to grind with two of the 15 selections.

RGC wing Caio Parry was the quickest and most elusive wing on the semi-pro circuit and his fly half team-mate Billy McBryde the best controller and confident goal kicker (over 200 points).

In the minds of Llandovery supporters, there are sound claims to include a clutch of players from the side that won the SRC Trophy and were SRC Cup runners-up.

Backs in wings Harri Doel and Aaron Warren, centres Adam Warren and Rhodri Jones, and fly half Ioan Hughes have been the model of consistency and the occasional brilliance for the Drovers.

No one scrummaged better nor got around the park quicker than loose-head and try-scoring prop Jamie Hughes and only Sion Parry has performed better than Llandovery’s indefatigable No 7 Stuart Worrall.

The forward of the year in the SRC has been lock Joe Powell – the one Drover in the S4C XV – a soaring athletic line-out presence, strong at ruck and maul, quick and direct in the loose and wonderful in defence.

The Narberth product was a vital part of Llandovery success.

Other clubs, too, will bemoan the lack of representation.

Was there a better all-round No 8 than Carmarthen Quins’ Lewis Myllin, a more threatening counter-attacker than Pontypool’s Carrick McDonagh and a more rounded fly half than Bridgend’s Ben Burnell?

Be that as it may, here is my team based on the performers seen in covering the league this season (academy players excluded).

No one will dispute that the Euros Evans/Gareth Potter coaching duo has had huge success at Premiership/SRC level with cup wins and league titles galore in the last decade, ahead of Steve Law, Jason Strange and Tyron Morris.

They would be my choice to coach the putative XV.

Full back: Dion Jones (RGC)

Wing: Lloyd Lewis (Newport)

Centre: Adam Warren (Llandovery)

Centre: Rhodri Jones (Llandovery)

Wing: Caio Parry (RGC)

Fly half: Billy McBryde (RGC)

Scrum half: Lee Rees (Llandovery)

Prop: Jamie Hughes (Llandovery)

Hooker: Ieuan Morris (Ebbw Vale)

Prop: Garin Harris (Newport)

Lock: Joe Powell (Llandovery)

Lock: Craig Hudd (Cardiff)

Flanker: Sion Parry (Ebbw Vale)

No 8: Ben Fry (Cardiff)

Flanker: Stuart Worrall (Llandovery)