Up For the Cup

A History of Neath RFC’s Cup Exploits

By Alan Williams

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Neath RFC, 1972 WRU Challenge Cup Winners

Back Row: K. Collier, N. Rees, G. Shaw, B. Thomas, B. Davies, W. Williams, G. Ball, W.D. Morris, J. Poole, George Jones (Trainer)

Front Row: W. Davies, M. Thomas, R. Davies (Hon. Sec.) D. Parker (Vice Capt.) R.B. Jones (Chairman), M. Davies (Capt.) H.M. Powell (Team Sec.) D. Jenkins

Inset: W. Lauder, H. Morris (Hon Tres.)

Up For the Cup

A History of Neath RFC’s Cup Exploits

By Alan Williams

In 1972 Neath RFC were the first ever winners of the WRU Cup, the final was played on Cardiff Arms Park before a crowd of 10,000 which is a far cry from the 55,000 who filled the National Stadium in May 1996, the last time that Neath reached the final, only to lose to a Pontypridd team inspired by Neil Jenkins and Paul John. Many pundits felt the key moment of the game was the loss of fly half Paul Williams to injury from which the All Blacks never recovered. Paul is now a member of the Bridgend Squad.

The side that defeated Llanelli in 1972 included Brian Thomas, Glyn Shaw, Walter Williams and captained by Martyn Davies. The smallest man on the field Dai Parker scored the games only try. In the semi final Neath had defeated hot favourites Cardiff who included Gareth Edwards and Barry John in their Team. In 1973 Llanelli gained revenge at the semi final stage.

There were then eleven long barren years before the All Blacks visited Cardiff for a Cup Final. By this time the Club had undergone a great change in 1982 when a new Management structure was put into place and included three former Gnoll favourites Brian Thomas, Ron Waldron and Glen Ball. These three stalwarts of the Club led Neath through the most successful period in the Club’s history. In 1984 Neath again reached the Final, after defeating neighbours Aberavon in a hard fought, low scoring match, which was held at the Brewery Field, Bridgend. The opposition for that day was Cardiff who were victors in a close match. The Neath team that day included a young Jonathan Davies.

In 1987 the Club lost a semi final to Cardiff at St Helens. The following season saw the Club reach the first of three successive Cup Finals. The semi final saw the All Blacks defeat Pontypool at St Helens, whilst the Final was lost this time to the Scarlets of Llanelli, kicked to defeat by the same Jonathan Davies who had been hero worshipped at the Gnoll. 1989 saw the Club win the Cup for the first time since 1972. Hooker Kevin Phillips became the first Neath Captain since Martyn Davies to lift the Cup when the All Blacks defeated Llanelli by one point; Neath scrum half Chris Bridges was awarded the Lloyd Lewis Trophy for being named man of the match.

The end of the 1990 season saw the only Cup Final so far between Neath and Bridgend. The All Blacks were the victors in a hard fought contest between two evenly matched teams. The Bridgend team that day included proven match winners in Aled Williams, Arwel Parry, Glen Webbe and man of the match Kevin Ellis, while the Neath team that day had amongst its members Paul Thorburn, current Captain Gareth Llewellyn and a young Alan Bateman, who is set to return to the Club after 11 years plying his trade successfully in both codes. In 1991 Llanelli defeated Neath at the semi final stage with an inspirational performance from fullback Ian Jones who later joined Neath.

Two seasons later the All Blacks returned to the National Stadium where the opposition was once again the old Cup foes of Llanelli. But first there was the small matter of a semi final at Stradey Park against a Robert Howley inspired Bridgend, tries by James Reynolds and Rhodri Jones were enough to see Neath into their fourth Cup Final in six years. Although the Final was lost to the old nemesis Llanelli it was a pulsating affair, which was only decided by a dubious Emyr Lewis drop goal. In the Turks side that day was current Neath Coach Lyn Jones.

The 96 semi final was also a nail bitter for the followers of the All Blacks, Newport were defeated on Cardiff’s ground with current scrum half Patrick Horgan kicking a last gasp penalty to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, this was achieved despite former Neath wing Richard Rees scoring a try within the first ten seconds. The Final was played in 90-degree heat with both sets of supporters enjoying their day in the sunshine. The turning point came early in the second half when Neath outside half Paul Williams was forced to leave the field with a shoulder injury. The Neath side that day also had another current Bridgend player in centre John Funnell in their team. The Pontypridd half back partnership of Jenkins and John took control of the match and Ponty were victorious, Pontypridd were Coached that day by Dennis John who is of course now in charge of coaching at Bridgend, whilst Neath’s assistant Coach was Lyn Jones. These two old adversaries met again at the quarter-final stage, Neath RFC having the edge on this occasion.