By David Parsons
Dan Fish masterminded a narrow 13-10 win for Cardiff over Newport in the WRU Premiership Cup final, picked up the man of the match award and then promptly announced he will be retiring as a player as the end of the season.
It as his boot, both off the kicking tee and in a tactical battle with opposite number Matt O’Brien, that kept Cardiff in a fight before he created enough space for replacement full back Joe Goodchild to win the game with a spectacular corner try.
That edged Cardiff in front at 11-10 and then Fish landed the conversion off the right touchline to make it 13-10.
“I’ve been at Cardiff Blues and Cardiff for 14 years and I’m going to retire at the end of this season. That means I’ve got two league games left, a semi-final and hopefully another final,” said the 32-year-old outside half.
“I’m delighted for all the boys because we’ve worked hard all year. We could have fallen apart in the second half like some Cardiff teams have done in the past, but we didn’t, we showed real resilience.”
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Having changed ends 6-3 in arrears – two Fish penalties to one by O’Brien – Newport struck first after the break with a try by No 9 Ben Roach that was converted by O’Brien to take them into a 10-6 lead.
Fish slipped on his approach to a penalty on the 22 that could have cut the gap to a single point, but then came Goodchild’s moment of magic in the 72nd minute.
Fish picked him out with a long pass on the narrow side of a bridgehead in the Newport 22 made by a burst from Aaran Pinches. The full back took the ball and pace and launched himself in a high dive to reach the right corner just ahead of the covering tacklers.
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He got hit in mid-air, crashed into the corner flag, yet still managed to dot the ball down for a try worthy of winning a final. Fish added the extras and Newport had cracked at the death.
There was no way back for the Black & Ambers, who had beaten Aberavon in the final at Principality Stadium in 2022, and they could have gone further behind had Cardiff elected to kick a simple penalty in the 75th minute. That would only have taken them six points clear, and vulnerable to a breakaway try, so skipper Morgan Allen instructed Fish to kick to the corner.
That was the last Newport saw of the ball as Cardiff won the lineout, and kept it up their jumper for the final few minutes to record victory over their biggest rivals.
Scorers: Cardiff: Try: J Goodchild; oCn: D Fish; Pens: D Fish. Newport: Try: B Roach; Con: M O’Brien; Pen: M O’Brien
Double-chasing Pontypool lifted the WRU National Championship Cup final with a 28-16 triumph over Ystrad Rhondda at the Principality Stadium.
The lead changed hands three times before Pooler, who won the Welsh Cup in 1983 when they were one of the best club teams in Great Britain, used their superior strength to pull away during the final half hour.
Centre Deon Smith, right-wing Matthew Powell and hooker Peter Lloyd scored the Championship leaders’ tries with play-maker Matthew Jarvis successfully converting two and landing three penalties for a 13-point haul.
Ystrad had taken the lead inside four minutes with a spectacular score from their half. They broke away and the ball went through numerous hands before scrum-half Callum Phillips was in support to cruise over for the try. Outside-half Rhys Truelove converted and they were 7-0 up.
Pooler had a try from skipper Scott Matthews disallowed for obstruction but Ystrad centre Cole Morgan, the son of Wales international Craig Morgan, was sin-binned for foul play.
Fourteen-men Ystrad were under the cosh and something had to give. It did at the end of the opening quarter as a move culminated in Pontypool full-back Geraint Walsh putting centre Deon Smith over for Jarvis to convert to level matters.
Pontypool had Lloyd binned for a deliberate knock-on but still managed to move ahead for the first time with Powell making an outside break before lunging for an unconverted try to lead 12-7.
Ystrad quickly responded with a successful penalty from Truelove to reduce the arrears to two points at the end of an all-action half.
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Jarvis and Truelove exchanged penalties early in the second half. Ystrad upped the tempo and Truelove put them back in front by a point with a sweetly-struck penalty.
It didn’t last long, however, as Jarvis put a penalty into a corner, Pontypool won the line-out for Lloyd to be driven over, Jarvis converting for a 22-16 advantage.
They lost a third player to the bin with wing Amosa Nove this time guilty of a deliberate knock-on but it didn’t prevent Jarvis putting over another penalty for a nine-point buffer before wrapping it up with the final kick of the clash.
Ystrad Rhondda: J Williams; K Williams, M Rowley, C Morgan, A Webber; R Truelove, C Phillips; T Foulkes, L Wiggins (capt), J Pritchard, N Hughes, G Davies, M Roderick, J Llewellyn, K Jones.
Subs: C Dawe, C Evans, M Burgess, R Dauncey, J Harris, C Green, C Davies, N Jones.
Try: Phillips; con: Truelove pens: Truelove (3).
Pontypool: G Walsh; M Powell, D Smith, J Mahoney, A Nove; M Jarvis, D Jones; K Best, P Lloyd, K Williams, I Jones, A Sweet, M Herbert, C Davies, S Matthews (capt).
Subs: D Hughes, D Kelleher-Griffiths, T Piper, O Leonard, D Langdon, D Thomas, G Price, A Brown.
Tries: Smith, Powell; cons: Jarvis (2); pens: Jarvis (3).
Stuart Vokes scored a hat-trick of tries as Newbridge completed the first leg of their bid for a treble by beat Nant Conwy 29-13 in the WRU National Division One Cup final at the Principality Stadium.
The hooker went over twice in the first half with his third, at the hour mark, putting them out of sight against the north Wales side.
The touchdowns took Vokes’ try tally for the season to 15 with Newbridge averaging four per match in an unbeaten campaign with the Division One East title firmly in their sights and a Ben Francis Cup final clash with Bedwas looming.
It was Division One north pace-setters Nant Conwy first defeat of the season. They had opened the scoring with a penalty from captain and centre Caron Davies.
But Newbridge controlled proceedings and piled on the pressure with Conwy requiring a brilliant try saving tackle from winger Carwyn Davies and a turnover from No 8 Carwyn Ellis to hold them out.
Newbridge eventually scored their first try of the afternoon, when a lineout move down the blindside saw Vokes dot the ball down in a corner.
But Davies put over a second penalty as Conwy re-took the lead nine minutes before the interval. However, the sin-binning of locks Aron Jones and Carwyn Roberts told as the penalties mounted with Newbridge applying pressure in the 22.
Congratulations to Newbridge on winning the WRU Division One Cup at the Principality Stadium, beating Nant Conwy 29-13 in the final. Great scenes! pic.twitter.com/CSPFyVLxxH
— Simon Thomas Rugby (@simonrug) April 23, 2023
Newbridge took the lead for a second time when Vokes went over from short-range following several penalties and a period of pressure. Full-back Eamonn Rees added the simple conversion to give them a 12-6 advantage at the break.
Rees extended it to nine points with a penalty early in the second half. Nant Conwy’s ill-discipline was starting to hurt them in the second half with Newbridge openside flanker Luke Morgan and tighthead Jordan Reames-Williams winning turnovers at the start of the second half.
Newbridge thought they had added a third try with wing Sam Watkins crossing in the corner but the pass in the build-up, from outside centre Jonny Paynter, was deemed to have gone forward.
Eventually they got their third try with hooker Vokes rumbling over for his hat-trick. Rees added the conversion to give them a 22-6 lead.
Newbridge added a fourth when referee Aaron Parry awarding a penalty try following a dominant set of scrums.
Nant Conwy got a consolation try with replacement Anthony Kirkham powering over from close range with Caron Davies converting but it wasn’t enough as Newbridge claimed the spoils to secure their biggest prize since winning the unofficial Welsh Clubs’ title in 1965.
Newbridge: E Rees; C Jones, J Paynter, M McGovern, S Watkins; S Veall, M Davies (capt); M Kavanagh, S Vokes, J Reames-Williams, L Ford, J Duffy, G McDonnell, L Morgan, M Preece.
Subs: J Gilbert, G Young, S Evans, Z Stuart, M Jefferies, J Bennett, L Birch-Perry, R Turley.
Tries: Vokes (3), pen try; cons: Rees (2); pen: Rees
Nant Conwy: S Pringle; R Jones, G Jones, Caron Davies (capt), Carwyn Davies; E Fon, G Dafydd; D Davies, R ap Gwyndaf, I Pyrs, C Roberts, A Jones, G Vaughan, B Dafydd, C Ellis.
Subs: A Kirkham, S Metcalfe, D Williams, I Williams, T Taylor, Cai Jones, Carwyn Jones, Ifan Jones.
Try: Kirkham; con: Caron Davies: pens Caron Davies (2).
