Aberavon were bolstered with the signing of Neath flanker James Davies before the start of the season whilst Bedwas Coach Ian Gardener had the services of twelve new players at his disposal, including four Dragons Academy members. Bridgend also saw a host of new recruits at the club including Will Kershaw-Naylor from Newport and Llanelli prop Kevin Jones.

Wales U21 cap and former Scarlet Craig Evans joined Cardiff, among others, for the 2006–2007 Principality Premiership alongside impressive Merthyr centre Tom James, a certain Welsh star of the future. The Cardiff backroom staff was also bolstered with the addition of ex-player and physiotherapist Steve Cannon. Will Thomas became the new captain at Cross Keys; new charges under his leadership included Fijian back row Sitaveni Rabuli and Spanish international prop Sergio Padrisa.

Patrick Horgan, part of the back-to back Premiership-winning Neath coaching staff, joined Ebbw Vale in 2006 to coach the side alongside Alex Codling. Another major change at the club saw a new captain enter the fray, No.8 Craig Cleaver. Glamorgan Wanderers also encountered a coaching change, as Bob Newman accepted coaching responsibilities at the club.

Llandovery secured the signing of Mark de Marigny, brother of Italy outside half Roland, as well as a trio of players from the Carmarthen Quins whilst Llanelli saw the greatest shake-up of all for the new season. New Director of Rugby a restructured backroom staff consisting of General Manager Gren Cole, Head Coach Kevin George and Coaches Rob Appleyard, Paul Fisher and Aled Walters; Chris Rowe would take on the Captaincy for the season. Maesteg recruited a new Rugby Development Manager, Maesteg-born Kevin Tee, while previous year’s champions, Neath, appointed former Wales U18 Coach Gruff Rees as Assistant Coach, to replace the departed Horgan. Newport acquired the services of new Coach Ian Hembrow with Sven Cronk as his assistant and Mike Sage in charge of the backs.

Pontypridd acquired a new conditioning coach for the season in the shape of Mark Powell, who had used pre-season training to put his new side through their paces. Pontypridd also gained new players in Neil Burnett, Ryan Harries and Rhys James who all joined from Merthyr, and Wales U19 loose head prop Nicky Eaves from the Blues Academy. Blues prop Martin Jones switched allegiances to Swansea for the upcoming season together with a trio of Newport players; back row Marc Popham, centre Richard Payne and fullback Ricky Williams.

The 2006-2007 Principlity Premiership kicked off in emphatic style on September 2nd with a number of heavyweight bouts. Reigning champions Neath travelled to Glamorgan Wanderers for their opening round tie whilst Cardiff faced bitter rivals Swansea at the Arms Park. Previous season’s Konica Minolta Cup champions Pontypridd took on Llandovery whilst Aberavon and Newport clashed in another pick of the bunch on the initial afternoon of competition. Neath, looking for a third successive Premiership title, were condemned to an opening day defeat by the plucky Wanderers. Using home advantage to its full extent the Wanderers clinched the 33-30 victory as Gareth McCarthy slotted over an injury time penalty to scrape the win, having scored a remarkable 28 points in the match.

In a day of giant killing both Bridgend and Pontypridd fell to Ebbw Vale and Llandovery respectively, Llandovery outscoring the Cup holders by four tries to one. Cardiff, under new Captain Gareth Gravell, failed to defeat Swansea as the scores closed 36-30 in favour of The Whites while Aberavon claimed victory at Rodney Parade for the first time in 22 years, defeating Newport 19-6. Llanelli were lucky to claim victory over Maesteg, the winning margin just a single point, whilst Cross Keys opened their season with a win over derby opponents Bedwas.

Following the exciting and unpredictable opening weekend of action results took a more predictable turn as September continued. Neath gained comprehensive wins over Pontypridd (57-17) and Swansea (42-19) and a narrow home win over Llanelli but Ebbw Vale managed to pull out a draw on home soil. The former enjoyed a mixed bag of results in September as they encountered defeat against Newport and Maesteg but overcame cross Keys at the end of the month.

Cardiff fought back with a 36-24 win over Llanelli and also defeated Bridgend at the Arms Park but two losses away from home against Aberavon and Pontypridd left the side with a lot to build on in October. Newport recovered from their opening day shock loss to overcome Ebbw Vale, narrowly by 12-7, and they gained positive results at Rodney Parade over Maesteg and Bridgend, rounding off the month with another away win over Bedwas.

Glamorgan Wanderers, despite their opening day win over reigning champs Neath, went down to Swansea and Cross Keys but wins over Bridgend and Llanelli raised hopes at the club. Surprise outfit Aberavon continued their good form with victories over Llandovery, Cardiff and Maesteg to claim the berth at the top of table as the Premiership entered its second month of competition.

Early October saw Neath return to the top spot of the table as Aberavon’s winning streak was put paid by Ebbw Vale. However, Newport also took a turn at the top in these initial stages of the Premiership after a 68-15 trouncing of Llandovery, and a much narrower victory over Pontypridd

Notable October performances came from Llanelli, who lifted themselves from the bottom of the table as they ran out 64-22 winners over Bridgend including a hat-trick of tries from Craig Richards. They followed this up with victories over Aberavon and Bedwas. Cross Keys also continued their development, under new Captain Will Thomas, with an impressive 39-6 win over Pontypridd and pulled out a fantastic result as the month closed with a 10-6 triumph over Neath at the Gnoll. Neath also suffered a loss to Bridgend, which meant that the reigning champions had incurred more defeats in two months as they had done throughout the previous season.

The competition entered November with a depletion in the action-packed calendar due to Welsh international matches. Aberavon regained form by overcoming Swansea 33-12, taking advantage of a double Swansea sin-binning, and Ebbw Vale continued in the same winning vein as they defeated both Cardiff and Glamorgan Wanderers. Neath suffered another shock defeat, this time to Bedwas, but did pull out a win over Cardiff to regain composure. Newport started the month well with a win over the Wanderers but later felt the wrath of Llanelli. The West Wales side, who were dwelling at the basement in September had reached fourth in the table and put a 27-13 success past Newport which knocked the Gwent side from the top of the table, letting the impressive Ebbw Vale occupy the prestigious spot.

The start of December provided a crunch match between Newport and Neath at Rodney Parade whilst top team Ebbw Vale sought to protect their status as most successful team in the Premiership thus far in the season, having won eight out of the eleven games played.

The Steelmen failed to make the total nine though, as an on-form Llanelli sided delivered a 17-13 result to allow Newport to reclaim pole position as they powered past Neath in a 25-21 victory. Early December also saw a fantastic and high-scoring game as Glamorgan Wanderers notched nine tries against Llandovery to ride out 57-35 winners.

Pontypridd gained a successful last month of the year as they gained five victories out of five games played, over Bridgend, Aberavon, Swansea, Glamorgan Wanderers and Cardiff on New Year’s Eve. Neath encountered a draw and loss, against Ebbw Vale and Llanelli, before they could reverse their recent bad fortune; they ended the year on a high beatign both Aberavon and Swansea. Newport, meanwhile, followed on from their defeat of Neath to gain victories over Maesteg and Bedwas but sustained a loss to Bridgend and a draw with Cross Keys, on Boxing Day.

Other notable displays saw Llandovery gain a precious home win over Cross Keys and the Wanderers pull out two more wins, again over Cross Keys and Bridgend. Those enduring poor spells and hoping for a brighter New Year included Maesteg, who lost all games played in December, Swansea who won only once against Bedwas, and the aforementioned Bedwas who won only one game when they hosted Llandovery at Bridge Field.

The start of the New Year saw an injury-stricken Maesteg pull out a shock result over Llanelli, which ended the ten game unbeaten run of the West Wales side. Ebbw Vale continued their excellent reign at the top, beating Bridgend 37-23 to take a six point lead at the helm of the Premiership. Although they encountered a rampant Aberavon in their next game, conceding a 39-19 defeat, they continued well in January including an 18-23 away win at Swansea. Neath gained a successful January with three wins from three, over the Wanderers, Maesteg and Bridgend. Newport had a mixed month; they secured a win over Swansea but Llandovery pulled out the stops to notch a 25-13 win over the Men of Gwent; man-of-the-match centre John Elrick scoring all of the Drovers’ points. Pontypridd also strengthened their position in the upper half of the table as they secured wins against Llandovery and Cross Keys and a 27-all draw with Bedwas, with previous season’s Premiership Player of the Year Phil Dolman kicking six goals in the match.

A depleted February fixture list saw surprise outfit of the season Ebbw Vale, under the new coaching couple of Horgan and Codling, maintain their lead at the top with a 25-19 success over Bedwas at Eugene Cross Park. Cross Keys pulled out two fantastic wins, beating Llanelli 27-24 at Stradey Park and defeating Aberavon 16-10 at Pandy Park. Meanwhile, Neath gained a convincing seven-try win, 48-13, over bottom side Llandovery at the Gnoll. The win put the side second in the table as a match between title-chasers Newport and Pontypridd was postponed due to inclement winter weather.

As the Principality Premiership entered March the tournament began to hot up with crucial matches at both the top and bottom of the table to be played out.

At the bottom end of the table Bedwas encountered a mixed bag of results with wins over Llanelli and Cross Keys but losses to Neath and Bridgend. The win over Bedwas was the only success that March brought for Bridgend as they suffered defeats to Swansea and Llandovery. The latter added to their success in the Konica Minolta Cup with this win over Bridgend and another over fellow strugglers Maesteg but narrowly lost out 16-19 to Swansea at the Church Bank. Swansea maintained a one hundred per cent record throughout March with successes over Bridgend, Aberavon and Llandovery.

At the summit, Ebbw Vale lost their hold on the table top spot after incurring three defeats on the bounce in March, to Pontypridd, Cardiff and Newport. The last day of the month saw the side pull out a draw against the Wanderers but this proved scant solace as their chance of Premiership glory seemed to have slipped through their fingers. Newport, as well as the important win over the Steelmen, gained a victory over Cardiff but fell to the Wanderers while Pontypridd enjoyed similar success over Ebbw Vale and Llanelli but were downed by Maesteg.

Neath, meanwhile, enjoyed a run of form as they overcame Bedwas and Cross Keys and subsequently regained their perch at the top of the Premiership. However, the vultures of Ponty, Ebbw Vale and Newport were lurking in the immediate places waiting for a slip-up. Neath obliged, and fell to a 25-21 defeat to Cardiff at the Arms Park in the last match of the month, so Ebbw Vale retook the shaky lead as the Premiership remained a four horse race.

As April dawned competition remained fierce at the top of the table. An early win for Neath, over Aberavon, and successes for Newport, over Llanelli and Cross Keys, put the teams level on points as they clashed mid-month. Ebbw Vale remained close behind after defeating struggling Llandovery at the start of the month but Pontypridd failed to keep up with the leading figures as they were defeated 10-8 by the Glamorgan Wanderers. Neath won the war won they met Newport, defeating their rivals 30-12 at the Gnoll to edge ever nearer to the top spot. However, just days later Newport defeated Aberavon to remain close to snatching the title away from the two times champions.

In their final game of the season Neath took a giant step toward claiming their third successive title with a narrow 20-18 defeat over Pontypridd in their final game of the season. Former Wales outside half Arwel Thomas, who had earlier kicked four penalties, kicked an 87th minute drop goal to secure the victory for the Welsh All Blacks. Ebbw Vale secured a 19-12 victory over Llanelli in their concluding game of the season to finish just two points away from Neath’s total. Newport kept up the pressure on Neath with a 28-21 win over Aberavon in their penultimate game but the Black and Ambers would require a 15 try victory at home to Pontypridd in their final game to prevent Neath from taking the crown.

Ultimately this feat, and even a win, proved too much for Newport as Pontypridd recorded a 28-25 victory over the title chasers. Rowland Phillips’s Neath had clinched the Principality Premiership for the third successive year under the guidance of Captain Steve Martin, who had been involved in every Premiership title-winning team since the regions were set up as he was with Newport before he changed allegiances to Neath.

Ebbw Vale, who had led the Premiership for a large chunk of the season, claimed second place following Newport’s loss, who settled for the third placed position. Pontypridd, who claimed a 28-17 success over Bridgend in the last match of the season, claimed fourth place, just a point behind Newport; the top four teams were separated by only four points which is testament to the fiercely competitive nature of the Premiership.

Fifth, sixth and seventh places were occupied by teams who had all finished on thirty-eight points with twelve wins each. Llanelli finished top of the cluster with late successes over Llandovery and Cardiff helping the side to fifth position. Glamorgan Wanderers claimed sixth place as they remained unbeaten in April and May with superb victories over Pontypridd, Swansea and Llandovery.

Aberavon, who enjoyed a purple patch early in the season, clinched eighth place after securing two victories at the close of the season over Llandovery and Maesteg. Cardiff and Swansea sat at the top of the lower half of the table, separated by a single point with Cardiff nudging ahead after gaining an autumnal draw with Newport, and so the crucial extra point. Both teams had incurred a mixed season which was typified by their end of season results. Cardiff lost their final three matches of the season after beating Neath in a crucial March match whilst Swansea convincingly beat Llanelli and Cross Keys before losing 44-27 to the Glamorgan Wanderers.

The lower half of the table also proved a tight affair with just five points separating the teams in tenth to thirteenth places. Bedwas and Bridgend both finished on eleven wins each with Bedwas’s sole draw of the season with Pontypridd edging them the resultant one point ahead into tenth place. Bedwas finished the season strongly with victories over Cardiff, Aberavon and Maesteg whilst Bridgend incurred a last day of the season defeat to Pontypridd, but gained a valuable success away from home against Cross Keys in late April.

Maesteg and Cross Keys also finished a point apart in twelfth and thirteenth; Maesteg’s extra win over the course of the season ensured they finished higher than the Keys. Maesteg attained superb wins over Bridgend and Cardiff in early April but sustained late losses to Cross Keys, Bedwas and Aberavon; the win over Maesteg was the highlight to the end of Cross Keys’s season.

Llandovery rounded off the table in fourteenth position eight points adrift of Cross Keys. Despite their last-place finish in the Principality Premiership, Llandovery put their lowly position in the league to one side as they created Konica Minolta Cup history when they overcame Cardiff to clinch the title. Only the twelfth team in the tournament’s history to do so, the country boys fully deserved their Millennium Stadium showpiece finale after some tough bouts of competition and showed the city boys what they were made of.

The Principality Premiership season climaxed with the second Annual Awards Dinner held at the Millennium Stadium. As with the previous season, the Awards Dinner paid tribute to the rising stars of the Welsh rugby, who once again were impressing not only at club level, but also for their regions and some for their countries.

Morgan Stoddart, whose Premiership displays for Llanelli had earned him Player of the Month status during the season and seen him called up to the Scarlets for a crucial Heineken Cup clash won the Player of the Year Award.

Tom James, who had stepped up from Cardiff to play for the Blues during the season won the Best Newcomer Award, which was claimed on his behalf by Alyn Wyn Jones as James himself had earned a call up to the Wales squad in Australia.

Alex Codling won the Coach of the Year Award whilst Roy Evans picked up the Services to Rugby Award. Ebbw Vale took home the Fair Play Award.