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Locke ecstatic after special Merthyr cup win

Locke ecstatic after special Merthyr cup win

Merthyr skipper Craig Locke was ecstatic as he capped off a memorable week by leading the Ironmen to a 41-7 victory over Newport in the WRU National Cup final.

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Lock was originally supposed to miss the final due to his wife expecting to give birth on the same weekend. But George William Locke was born a week early meaning his dad could lead Merthyr to their first ever cup win at the Principality Stadium.

“It’s been a tremendous week for me with the arrival of my first child, we played really well in the final and to win it is the icing on the cake for me,” he said.
“We knew what Newport would bring and we knew they would make it very, very difficult for us if we didn’t perform. Luckily for us, we did. 

“Our defence was phenomenal and the boys gave it everything in that area which proved very important. We were disappointed to concede a try right at the end, but we can’t let that distract from the win. 

“The key was to stay patient and we showed that with our experience. We didn’t panic when the chances came our way and we took our points when they did.”
Tries from Locke, Craig Trevett, Adam Hoskins and a Kyle Evans brace was enough to see them home.

Locke insists achieving the biggest winning margin in the history of Welsh Cup finals is up there with the biggest moments of his rugby career.
“This is up there there with anything I achieved with Pontypridd, but for Merthyr this was their first cup final and it’s history for the club,” he said.

“A few of our boys have been in finals before, but I have lost one too and it’s not a nice place to be. That’s what I told the team before the game and they took that to heart to ensure we didn’t end up in that position. 
 
“We stayed patient even if Newport did break our line a few times.”
 

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