KEVIN Ellis comes to The Halliwell Jones Stadium a very proud man today.

For the first time, he will be in the role of an assistant coach against his former employers from his professional rugby league playing days.

And for that club to be his hometown club is a very special honour for Ellis, who is as enthusiastic and bubbly about the 13-a-side code as ever.

Ellis, who switched from Bridgend Rugby Union to Warrington Wolves on a five-year deal in 1990, said: “When I signed for Warrington in 1990 no-one would have dreamed 19 years down the line that Super League would be in Wales.

“For a Bridgend boy to be involved in Super League with my hometown club is a dream come true.

“And people are really getting behind the team. We had 5,500 people watching our Hull KR home game and more than 6,000 for the St Helens game and we’re still in the rugby union season, nationally and regionally.”

And it’s not just Super League that is taking off in south Wales according to the 44-year-old.

“The development is coming through. There are 110 schools playing rugby league in south Wales, and there is the Welsh Conference League in the summer too.”

Ellis has had his eyes on this fixture since the club’s first Super League licence was granted and the former scrum half says everyone involved with the Welsh club is looking forward to their second experience at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, having previously met Salford there in the Co-operative Championship Grand Final last year.

“We like coming over to Warrington,” he said.

“It is one of the traditional places for Welsh rugby players, going back to Mike Nicholas, Bobby Wanbon, Clive Jones and then Rowland Phillips, Allan Bateman and myself.”

Ellis could also of cited the likes of John Bevan, Jonathan Davies, Phil Ford and Dennis Curling, too.

Bateman, a fellow dual-code international who will be playing alongside Ellis in the Bridgend Blue Bulls team in this summer’s Welsh Conference competition, is also in town for the match this weekend.

“It’s great coming back to our old club, we always get a great reception,” he concluded.