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Holding out during those final moments against Nant Conwy in the National Plate semi final had us Penallta supporters watching through our hands. It was a real nail-biter, and for the boys to see it out, experience was key.

The win sent Penallta to the club's third National Plate final at the Principality Stadium. If we include the 2001 Brewers win and the two Youth cup finals, this will be the club’s sixth visit to the National Stadium since the turn of the millennium. That’s an incredible achievement.

It’s a hell of privilege and we should rightly feel spoiled. But spoiled or not, it’s hard to argue that the achievements aren’t richly deserved.

During this season's cup run Penallta faced four sides who were top of their respective Division 1 leagues when the draw was made. Add the Silver Ball draw, where top of Division 1 East Central Treorchy were drawn, and the Pitmen have faced the toughest possible draw five times on the trot. The odds of this happening are in lottery-winning territory. Penallta - despite the illusion of inevitability our successful history conveys - have had to do it the hard way.

None of the victories – past or present – have come easily. Back in 2001, Penallta finally won the Brewers trophy after decades of trying. We started that season as favourites, but we were forced to battle through desperately close games against Trefil and Deri. It was skin of our teeth stuff.

Then In 2012 a last minute try saw us past Rhydyfelin in the first round, where we could easily have fallen at the very first hurdle. And during the very final moments of the final, only a last minute hook against the head by Gregg prevented Nant Conwy from lifting the trophy.

The years in between the Millennium Stadium triumphs of 2001 and 2012 witnessed Penallta’s most triumphant era. League, Cup and Silver Ball trophies seemed to arrive every year, from the 1sts and the 2nds. But again, nothing was ever easy. Even the star-studded Division 5 team had to battle to their first WRU league title, suffering setbacks in games that allayed any over-confidence. That year the improvement in performance was incredible, as the squad buckled down to WRU league rugby by out-training and eventually out-classing all their rivals, culminating in a magnificent Silver Ball victory against Rhydyfelin at Sardis Road.

We’ve always had players willing to put in the hard work, and players who, as a group, are determined to get over that crucial final hurdle together. That ability to win gets better with the most key of all key ingredients: experience.

You can only have experienced players seeing out those vital moments in huge matches if you allow young players to gain experience through playing. Then you need that squad to become successful enough to play in lots of big, crunch games.

Over the past twenty years Penallta has done that brilliantly. We are a club that backs young players and we are a club that competes frequently for big trophies. Year after year we’ve competed for the big prizes and the player statistics, in terms of appearances and trophies won, is fascinating.

This current Penallta squad is still relatively young but the level of experience is mightily impressive. Ex skipper Kieran Mahoney will make his 250^th appearance at the Principality Stadium, matching Geraint Thomas, who made his 250^th appearance at the Principality Stadium in last year’s final. Kieran made his debut for the 1sts in 2005 (as a back rower – he’s now a front rower) and was captain of the club when he lifted the Plate in 2012. He’d already won Division 4 and 3 titles before that, and added the Division 1 and Silver Ball titles in 2015. Alongside him at hooker is Gregg Haines. Gregg made his debut in 2009, and has 180 appearances. Gregg is a superbly durable player in the front row and has been a rock in the forwards. Like Gypsy, Gregg has a fantastic winning record.

Lloyd Bridges is a bit younger at just 23, but already has an incredible 120 appearances to his name. An amazing achievement for a prop, but not quite as amazing as his title-winning record. Lloyd has won the Plate, Division 1, the Silver Ball and the Premiership (with Ebbw Vale) and is sure to add even more titles to his tally. And let’s not forget that other evergreen front rower, Matthew Angel. Angel just gets better with age and is currently on 92 appearances. Angel has won the lot in his career and considering he missed four seasons when he moved to Somerset (he played 100 games for North Petherton.... along with the 100 appearances he has for the 2nds), it's some going.

Another ex-captain bolstering the experience in the squad is Lee Rowlands. Lock forward Rowley has made 153 appearances at second row and has been absolute key to the successes, along with his front row buddies. He lifted the Division 1 East and Silver Ball trophies during a fabulous few seasons as skipper. He packs down with super-talented newcomer Corey Tucker, who is closing in on 50 appearances himself, despite being regarded as the new boy.

In the back row Rhys Stephens will be one game away from 100 appearances at the Principality, not far behind current captain Ross Morgan who is on 114 appearances. Ross has won just about everything, and scored two of the matchwinning tries in the Plate final of 2012. Now he has the chance to do it as captain.

Even Fitzy, still a pup, has over 50 appearances and 22 year old Geraint Capel – despite being in Uni for years – is on 30 appearances. Dotted around them are the younger, new breed of players like Rhys Spanswick (37), Max George (24), Gezza Dallimore (35) and Matthew Davies (19). Then we have grizzled old Luke Purnell, 25 going on 40 years old, who is just three games away from his 100^th appearance milestone. The names roll off the tongue; some of the most talented back rowers in the business. The oldest among them is just 26, and the amount of crunch games they’ve already played is extraordinary.

So when we see the boys getting over the line in those fiercely tight, must-win games – games we nonchalantly expect the boys to just win, because of the amazing track record down the years – the experience they’ve gained is absolutely crucial. Even young men like Lloyd Bridges, relative newcomers to the side in terms of age, are playing in their fifth or sixth or cup semi-final. That’s a hell of a lot of accumulated big-match knowledge. The wins don’t just nonchalantly happen, they happen because these boys know exactly how to do it.

And in the backs the appearances also stack up. Andrew Jenkins and Jonny Wright in the centre have played 193 and 170 games respectively. Jenkins could’ve added 50 more to that if he hadn’t lost two seasons with Gonky up the Lindsay. But between them, just think how many trophies they’ve won. Aeron at scrum half already has 76 games under his belt. Joseph Scrivens has 43 appearances at outside half to go with his 50-odd appearances in the Premiership with Bridgend. And Joseph is just 22 years old; already a Silver Ball and Division 1 East champion, as well as Welsh Youth Cup champion in 2014. Gareth Edwards, another player who has won plenty of trophies, has passed his 100 cap milestone and sits on 112, and that’s despite spending 100 games on the sidelines covered in plaster-cast. Elliott Keep has raced to 83 (with a brilliant 58 tries in that time…) whilst newcomer Lloyd Rowlands, who has been superb this season, is on 32. Seb Toms – another 2012 Plate winner – is on 53 (he could’ve doubled that if he’d stayed off the BMX) and Bleddyn and Grant, starting out on their 1^st team careers are on 16 and 20 respectively. Whilst Matthew Brewer (39), Zak Cusack (13), Lewis Barnett (41), all magnificently talented players, are new boys already racking up the appearances. Brewer, Keepy, Barney, Jenkins, Scrivs, Lloyd and Aeron have all played Premiership rugby too.

The coaching staff don't do bad either. This will be Stevie Richard's fourth personal visit. Stevie was captain when Penallta won the Brewers in 2001. Then he went there as Youth Team Head Coach in 2014, to go with his trip there as 1st Team Head Coach last year. Team Manager Paddy and Fitness Coach Dickie are the same, this will be their third time there together as part of Stevie's coffee-morning-tactics-talking-triumvirate. Kate and Mark will be going in there as physios for the third time with the squad they are now an integral part of. Geraint Thomas played there last year and is now back as coach, whereas Head Coach Matthew Tucker - back at the helm this year - is hoping to match his 2012 win, by bringing the trophy home for a 2nd time.

So it’s a squad bursting with experience and it’s that experience which helps sees these talented players through the crunch moments. But along with the experience is the loyalty. These Penallta players – like the decades of Penallta players before them – aren’t mercenaries. They stay loyal to the club, despite the option of going elsewhere to make easy money. They’d rather create a trophy-winning legacy and be part of something special here. Better that, they understand, than live out a career at a club which isn't theirs, filled with games with far less soulful emotion. Far fewer triumphs.

When these boys look back on their careers, they will look back with immense pride and probably a large part of amazement at what they’ve achieved. Some players slug out a twenty-year career and fail to win a bean. Their efforts amounting to nothing in the trophy cabinet.  As we’ve said before, there is a small margin but a huge difference between winning and losing. These Penallta boys are winners. Let’s hope they can add to their trophy haul at the Principality Stadium this week.

*All appearance figures were correct before Saturday just gone.