There were rapturous scenes at Cardiff Arms Park at the weekend as Llandovery RFC were crowned Indigo Premiership champions for the first time, having brought nearly the whole town with them to cheer them on.
Two tries from scrum-half Lee Rees in each half helped the Drovers to a convincing 24-8 win over table-topping Cardiff RFC in Sunday's play-off final, with the victory marking the club's greatest achievement in their 145-year history.
The visitors, who finished the regular season six points behind Cardiff in second place, outclassed the Blue & Blacks on the day with a dominant performance which also saw full-back Jack Maynard, facing the team he won the league with last season, score 14 points from the kicking tee.
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But Llandovery were undoubtedly helped to victory by the coach-loads of fans who made the 55-mile journey to the capital to show their support, with pubs around the stadium packed with red and white shirts ahead of kick-off.
Hundreds of supporters made the trip and they certainly made their voices heard inside Cardiff Arms Park, with Drovers coach Euros Evans telling WalesOnline how he was proud that his side put in a performance to match the "incredible" atmosphere.
"The town obviously has a big part to play as it's the area we represent," he said. "The numbers there, to have that travelling support was incredible. It made for a great atmosphere and I'm just happy that we put in a performance that they could all be proud of. I'm not sure how many were there exactly, to be honest, but I do know they were certainly noisy!"
Club chairman Peter Rees said the win was a "great end to a great season" as well as "the accumulation of a lot of effort over a long period of time" from those at the club. He added that while the numbers on Sunday were "unbelievable", the club's dedicated support has been there for them right throughout the season.
He said: "As a small club, we've had to work hard with the resources that we've got, but we've got a fantastic group of coaches, a fantastic team and as you saw, fantastic support too. It was unbelievable, really.
"I think there were more people there from Llandovery than there were from Cardiff. Our population is only about 2,000 yet there were hundreds and hundreds of fans who made the journey. Our junior Drovers section were there in strength too so to have that variety of people of all ages was brilliant to see too."
Mr Rees added: "We were a bit concerned ahead of the game because it was a Sunday kick-off in a school week and we thought that maybe some people wouldn't be able to make it. But we need not have worried because they came out in force, and that's typical of the support we have all year round. As a club, we're very much part of the community and when we're involved in something they'll support us in exchange. It was a really great day - some are still celebrating this morning!"
While Cardiff may feel hard done by having finished the regular season top of the pile and chasing a league and cup double, they were outplayed in the final against a side which their head coach Steve Law had previously admitted had been a bogey team for his men. Despite starting well, they began to fall apart as the game progressed, struggling to keep their discipline at set-pieces and also losing key men to injury and the sin bin, while Llandovery remained well-organised in defence and dangerous going forward.
Coach Evans said the historic win was a reward for his side's consistency throughout the season, which saw them win 18 out of 22 games in the league, including a 37-20 victory over Cardiff back in March.
"It was a great performance from us and to win it in Cardiff's back yard is special," he said. "We've won the cup twice before but this is the first time we've won the league. To get into the league play-offs in the first place, you have to be consistent throughout the season and we've shown that in our performances. But yesterday was very special and a day that we'll never forget".
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