FROM THE MATCH PROGRAMME:
Newport's Timely Revival
by Steve Bale
Newport have come an awfully long way from November 15, 1980, the day when the bottom dropped out of their world, with the well-remembered humiliation of Schweppes Cup first round defeat at Penclawdd. This was a timely reminder of how the mighty can fall in the cup, but the fact that this famous old club are now in the final for the first time in eight years clearly indicates how times have changed in their favour.
It's been a long haul! For some years Newport relied on solid forward virtues for their revival, and the process has been slow, occasionally agonisingly so, and unspectacular - but real for all that. Debacles of the Penclawdd kind have been rendered virtually impossible. Not that anyone regarded such an awful eventuality as at all likely at the time. Only a month earlier the Black and Ambers had raised their game enough to present the All Blacks, touring during the Welsh Rugby Union centenary, with an unyeilding challenge. Newport lost that match by an unlucky 14-3 and had they kicked their goals may well have won it. It was a typical example of the way Newport sides, down the years, have produced something special against even the best touring sides.
Cockles and bad weather
No need for concern, therefore, at the threat - modest by comparison - posed by the cockle village club, although Penclawdd were then unbeaten in the West Wales Championship and the bad weather conspired to make it as awkward as possible for Newport.
The howling wind and driving rain hammered in off the Llwchwr Estuary, and Penclawdd showed the way to use these conditions by booting the ball as far as possible, and as often as possible, downficld throughout a first half which turned into a fraught Newport holding action.
Newport seemed to spend most of their time dropping out, and once No. 8 Dillimore had charged down outside half Keith James's clearance and ecstatically followed up for a try after 10 minutes the Cocklemen's unquenchable resolution in adversity became absolute. They had plenty of assistance from Newport, who determinedly refused to put boot to ball when conditions were in their favour after the interval, and unaccountably adopted a doomed handling policy in preference to the obvious kicking option they duly lost 4-0.
For a club of Newport's stature this result - they became the first member of Wales's elite top 10 to fall to junior opposition - was an unmitigated disaster. Coach Adrian Hearn later described it as the worst day of his life, and it still haunts Newport every time they are drawn at a village ground in the cup!
Sinking but not sunk
Anyone, at that time who had the doubtful privilege of covering Newport, who since 1875 contributed as much as any club, and more than most, to Welsh rugby's development, remembers them as a club pitched into crisis and unable to do much about it. The previous season had been the worst in their history, stacked full of players departing from what in their wisdom they saw as a sinking ship, but salvaged by an unlikely but courageous run to the cup semi-finals, where they lost to Swansea, their final conquerors of two years earlier.
And then after the apparently justified optimism generated by a superb show against the New Zeaianders, Penclawdd had to happen. Having been one of the great clubs year after year, they now seemed stuck at the bottom, and Newport's stock in the rugby world declined accordingly.
Hearn, who had the unenviable task of promoting a ressurection when Newport appointed him in midstream during that horrendous 1979-80 campaign, declined. He had had enough at the end of the season which included Penclawdd an individual and collective disaster.
He departed at the age of 36, with the comment "Next season the work Newport have had to do will come to fruition" - and then the Tony Faulkner regime began. "Charlie", as he is known, has had his critics at Rodney Parade, but the very fact that the outstanding former Pontypool prop forward's home town club are in the cup final again, underlined the effectiveness of the tremendous work he has put in.
It's been anything hut a smooth path for the 19-times capped loose-head prop. Newport have suffered some awful defeats during his period at the helm - although none as traumatic as the one at Penclawdd - but only this season has the requisite blend of single-mindedness and dedication been achieved.
The ghosts have been laid
That combination wasn't exactly evident, for instance, when Newport lost 54-14 at Llanelli towards the end of Faulkner's first season in charge. "Certain players are not committed, and I'm not prepared to tolerate that," he said in calling a crisis players' meeting after the Stradey defeat. Lack of commitment is the last thing of which the latest generation of Newport players could be accused, particularly during the irresistible run to this season's cup final. At last, it seems, the ghosts of the early Eighties have been laid to rest. Swansea and Aberavon would testify to the all-embracing nature of the scrummage drive Faulkner and Newport captain Mike Watkins, have developed at a club historically famed more for the dazzling and innovative nature of their back play.
Newport have another precious commodity riding in their favour which was notably absent during those miserable lean years and which struggling clubs habitually find more elusive than a defence-splitting threequarter - luck. Once the draw for the first two rounds of this season's competition had been made, with Newport guaranteed a home tie in both games, the chance of a Penclawdd-style upset had been reduced to near zero and Abertillery and Mountain Ash were both comfortably beaten.
Home, home and home again
Indeed, until they had to play Aberavon on neutral territory in the semi-final at the Cardiff Arms Park, Newport had been blessed with home draws all the way. That's precisely the cup fortune prospective champions need! Thus Mountain Ash were followed to Rodney Parade by Wrexham, who found the strength of North Wales rugby put firmly into perspective, and then Swansea, whose clever tactical plan was the nearest the Newport applecart had come to being upset.
Although Newport built a handsome set-piece advantage, the All-Whites had done their homework on the area through which Newport would attack them, in an attempt to utilise the superb strength of their formidable front five. Focussing their defence on the dangerous Newport back-row, Swansea somehow succeeded in resticting Newport to a 10-4 win. But although it was a flawed Newport performance, it was handsomely developed and refined in the semi-final against Aberavon.
The Faulkner experience
Conditions on March 22 were almost as foul as they had been in 1980 at Penclawdd, but with five-and-a-half years experience under Faulkner, Newport had come a long way from the complacency and naivete they demonstrated in their cup comedown. This time the weather was perfectly attuned to the Newport style of method rugby, and the Wizards were outplayed. It was satisfying proof that Faulkner's way, with that of assistant coach Roy Duggan, had been successfully tailored to the priorities of cup football. If there is a side in Welsh rugby capable of taking on Cardiff's forwards it is Newport, adopting the well-established Faulkner style. And Cardiff need no reminding of what Newport can achieve when the mood takes them. Cardiff were comfortable favourites when they met Newport in the 1977 final but lost 16-15, Rhys Morgan and David Waters survive from that Newport side and Alan Phillips from Cardiff's. Again Cardiff are favourites, but who's to say history won't just repeat itself?
THE MATCH ...
Cardiff's Adrian Hadley scored the first ever hat-trick in a Cup Final and this helped him win the Welsh Writers' Association Man-of-the-Match and the Lloyd Lewis Memorial Award. Many however felt that this should have gone to Newport's Paul Turner who was only rated third behind Hadley and Gareth Davies by the writers.
Newport hoped for a good start and their forwards had been playing well up until the final but surprisingly their front 5 were well held by Cardiff and consequently Newport had little to offer in attack with only Paul Turner possessing the necessary creativity to cause Cardiff problems and he scored a scintillating try to delight the 30,000 crowd on a perfect Spring day.
However the match was over as a contest when Cardiff stretched their lead to 22-6 early in the second half. Wing forward Gareth Roberts set a fine example in attack and defence and was well supported by Owen Golding. Whitefoot, Phillips and Eidman had the upper hand in the scrums and Norster and Edwards supplied the power house. Gareth Davies, playing his last game for Cardiff - apart from the end of season tour to Canada - gave a polished display at outside-half while his partner Neil O'Brian scored an excellent try.
The second of Hadley's tries came from a Davies penalty rebounding from the post into the wing's arms. Davies converted 3 tries and kicked 2 penalties. Mark Ring gave David Pitt a gift try after a quick drop-out went wrong. Turner and Collins crossed for tries and Turner converted all 3 and kicked a penalty.
In a last gasp effort the Newport pack stormed into Cardiff but it was too late to prevent Cardiff from winning the Cup for the 4th time in 6 years.