EBBW Vale were beaten 48-21 by champions Neath at Eugene Cross Park in a match that was both their last before dropping out of the Premiership and their final 80 minutes under the coaching team headed by Rowland Phillips.

The Steelmen will not be guided by Phillips (who has not been paid for his stint in Gwent), backs coach Matthew McCarthy, forwards coach Christian Loader and director of rugby Steve Lewis (who fulfilled his role on a volunteer basis) next season.

They were told after Saturday’s win over Glamorgan Wanderers that their services would not be required when Ebbw start life in Division One East.

It is the final chapter in a turbulent season for the Steelmen, who were condemned to the drop by Pontypool’s excellent late run of form.

Ebbw have shown signs of improvement recently – helped by the influence of Phillips, the Premiership’s most successful coach, who joined at the end of 2009 – but it has come too late to save their place in the top flight of club rugby.

McCarthy and Loader would be the first to acknowledge that they have made mistakes but, as well as having to do tasks that other clubs have specialists for, they have also had to work with one arm tied behind their backs.

Ebbw’s budget was dwarfed by their Premiership rivals and their threadbare squad was ravaged by injury at the start of the campaign. They have used a remarkable 59 players this term after starting the season with a 28-strong squad.

But it could well get worse before it gets better for the Steelmen – many of their players have already been snapped up by other clubs and Ebbw’s precarious financial plight will not be helped by their Welsh Rugby Union funding plummeting as a result of the drop.

Nonetheless, Vale wanted to show some spirit in the final game of the campaign, though a win was a big ask against a Neath side that sealed the title with a 109-21 weekend win against Bedwas.

Ebbw made a strong start on a surprisingly cold evening and got their reward when number eight Andrew Llewellyn powered over from close range after just three minutes, Gareth Bowen adding the extras.

But Neath came roaring back and were rewarded for their dominance with a brace from scrum-half Tom James and 10 points from the boot of fly-half Gareth McCarthy for a 20-7 lead just past the quarter mark.

It was hard enough with 15 men but Vale hooker Mathew (CORR) Williams was yellow carded on the half-hour and Neath had the four-try bonus point in the bag before the break thanks to efforts by wing David and James' hat-trick score.

It was 34-7 at the break but the Steelmen started quickly again and scrum-half Andrew Jenkins burrowed over for his first try in Ebbw colours on 41 minutes.

And not only did Vale hold firm against Neath but they went on the attack, pummelling at the champions line before being awarded a penalty try from a five-metre scrum on 63 minutes.

That stung the visitors into action and Kristian Phillips and Jonathan Spratt crossed for converted tries before they kept Vale at arm's length, denying them a shot at only their second four-try bonus of the season.

Ebbw Vale scorers: tries – A Llewellyn, A Jenkins, penalty; conversions – G Bowen (3).

Neath scorers: tries – T James (3), D Evans, K Phillips, J Spratt; conversions – G McCarthy (4), K Phillips (2); penalties – G McCarthy (2) Argus star man: Andrew Jenkins