CRISIS is nothing new in the beleagured town of Ebbw Vale in North Gwent. The once flourishing area at the head of the valleys has long since given way to gloom and doom.

The mining industry has been laid waste, the steelworks has gone, the football team folded and county cricket ceased.

That leaves just rugby and even that proud club which has kept the Ebbw Vale flag flying is now in grave danger of being blown away.

Times have been hard for a long time, but the 122-year-old club which has boasted players of the calibre of British Lions Arthur Lewis and Denzil Williams plus Welsh internationals Clive Burgess and Kingsley Jones has been in real danger of going under altogether.

Back in the '50s, when the mining and steel industries were kings, Ebbw Vale even attracted players from far and wide, like Arthur Smith, the former Scotland and British Lions wing who came to work at the steel plant.

John Powell, boss of the works and a really benevolent man, forged close links between the steelworks and the rugby club, hence the nickname of The Steelmen.

Stalwarts like Roy Lewis and Ivor George remember those heady days well. They are still around, contributing when and where they can, but they, like everyone else, are wondering just what is going on.

Surely the club which produced so many good players and nurtured so many hundreds more can't really be in such mortal danger?

Given that the club's problems are more to do with cash flow than anything else, they would argue the Welsh Rugby Union are duty bound to hold out the welcome mat and ensure that they survive and even prosper.

But this is 2002 and we are in the harsh world of professional rugby. It's no longer the friendly, affable, social sort of world it once was. It's a ruthless, cut-throat existence with little or no sympathy for anyone.

Look at what has happened to once leading valley clubs, great ones even, like Pontypool, Newbridge, Cross Keys and Abertillery.

They once played the Cardiffs, Newports, Llanellis and Swanseas as of right, now the only way they get to meet them is if they are drawn against them in the cup competition. Pontypool may be fighting back, but Abertillery are not even in the second tier any more. The club which once paraded Welsh rugby greats like Alun Pask, now sadly departed, Haydn Morgan and Allan Lewis are down in the third tier.

Money is the new god, in fact it's all that counts in the professional age. If you've got it there's a chance, if you haven't, forget it.

And given that Ebbw Vale are struggling for cash there is no divine right they stay where they are. The club is out there in the market pace and they've got to sink or swim - harsh but true.

The Welsh Rugby Union are in no position to offer large, or any, handouts because they have crippling debts themselves.

Much of that is of their own making, down to their own incompetence, but that's another story.

The fact is Vale have become increasingly dependent in recent years on the financial support of the Russell brothers.

Marcus and Paul are from the Rassau area of the town and have both made it in the big wide world, Marcus in the entertainment business as manager of super group Oasis, among others, and Paul is a high-flying financial tycoon.

As huge rugby fans and Ebbw Vale loyalists, they have both seen fit to plough back some of their own resources into the rugby club.

They have poured hundreds of thousands of pounds into what many consider the big, black hole that is rugby.

Perhaps it should not come to that, it should not be down to individuals to keep rugby afloat at the top level, but that again is another story.

The fact is the Russell brothers choose to do it, and they are backed up by a significant, loyal band of workers at the club.

Under the circumstances it is little short of miraculous the club has not only kept going, but remained in the top flight.

They were the last team to be promoted from the First Division and stay up there. Indeed, little over two years ago, they even topped the Premier table for a short spell.

But for much of the time it's been a struggle to stay afloat, it's been backs-to-the-wall. I have been full of admiration for their efforts as they have fought the good fight. They have been forced to lose players to bigger clubs because they haven't been able to match the wage scales of their rivals.

But they have started again and rebuilt. They're still there -- though only just as the past ten days have turned into a desperate fight for survival. They deserve to succeed.