The men from Pandy Park were bidding to become the first team to reach the British & Irish Cup final in the third season of the competition and in a thrilling last-four clash with Cornish Pirates, Greg Woods’ side were successful in front of a raucous home crowd. It truly was a day to remember.
History will look back on the 2011-12 campaign as one of the best in Keys’ history and it is fondly remembered by former head coach Woods and his then assistant Mark Ring.
In the end Keys were defeated by Munster A in the final before rousing themselves from the canvas to beat Pontypridd in what was then known as the Swalec Cup final.
That game at Principality Stadium was watched by Wales football star Gareth Bale – a friend of former Keys scrum-half Rhys Dyer.
The forwards were always our strength at Keys. Gerwyn Price was an unbelievable player for us. We knew he was very good at darts, but there is a big difference between him being good in the pub and being a professional which he is now!
Looking back on the British & Irish Cup semi-final win over Pirates, former Keys back coach Ring said: “We played Cornish Pirates in the group and were well beaten. We knew before that game we’d already qualified and I don’t think we were mentally up for it as we should have been.
“We got well beaten and deservedly so, but we came away from there thinking that if we played them again we’d have a good chance.
“We did a little bit of work on DVD and against Pirates we decided to move the ball to the wing and then keep it in the 15-metre channel. We committed more people to that channel and then we went wide when all the opposition big hitters were at the ruck. It was a copycat tactic of something the All Blacks had done against England a few years previously and they had a lot of success.
“Just before the half-time whistle we got within five metres and popped the ball left and right before we had a run around and dropped Kristian Baller under the posts. That lifted our spirits at the right moment and gave us momentum. We had some quality players for a small village side.
“The forwards were always our strength at Keys. Gerwyn Price was an unbelievable player for us. We knew he was very good at darts, but there is a big difference between him being good in the pub and being a professional which he is now!
“Rob Nash was captain fantastic and we had Jevon Groves who was a superb player.”
Cross Keys celebrate as they go through to the British & Irish Cup final in 2012
Keys got off to a flying start against Pirates with a penalty from outside-half Steff Jones after three minutes and then the first of wing Baller’s two tries which came just two minutes later.
Jones added the extras and Keys were 10 points up in the blink of an eye in front of a crowd of 2,500. They never looked back to claim a 20-16 victory.
Woods added: “It was a fantastic experience in the British & Irish Cup that year. We started well with a good win against Moseley and then we went to Ayr and dug out a really, really tough away win.
“That set us up really well to qualify from the group stages. We did lose to Cornish Pirates in our group, but I remember thinking if we did play them again we would have a good chance of beating them at home.
“We beat Llanelli in the quarter-finals in an all-Welsh affair – Steffan played really well at 10 for us that day and you could really feel the momentum building after that.
It was a fantastic experience in the British & Irish Cup that year. We started well with a good win against Moseley and then we went to Ayr and dug out a really, really tough away win
“Mark was our backs coach and he produced a great move for a try for Kristian against Pirates in the semi-final. It was straight off the training ground and a Ringo special!
“Mark turned around to me after Kristian scored and smiled – that was a great memory!
“We had a great crowd at Pandy Park that day and I remember the last five minutes being the longest five minutes ever! People really got behind that competition and the Pirates fans travelled in great numbers. We celebrated that win long into the night because we had set ourselves the target of doing well in the British & Irish Cup.”
Cross Keys’ Steffan Jones opened the scoring against Cornish Pirates with a penalty
Unfortunately for Keys, they went on to lose the British & Irish Cup final 31-12 to Munster A at Cork’s Musgrave Park. It was a disappointment partly made up for with the Swalec Cup win at the home of Welsh rugby in front of a young Bale – now a global football superstar with Real Madrid.
“We had a really good squad of players – guys like Rob who was our captain, Gerwyn and Leon Andrews,” Woods said. “In the final against Munster A in Cork we felt we left something out there. We were very disappointed.
“We didn’t perform as we could have done even against a good Munster side who had future internationals in their ranks. We were still competitive, but I remember coming home the next day thinking what might have been.
“Still, the Cornish Pirates game was a great memory and for a Welsh village side to play against fully professional teams made me very proud.”
Rhys Dyer of Cross Keys (left) talks to Gareth Bale after winning the SWALEC Cup against Pontypridd in 2012
Ring said: “Ayr away in the group stages was our best performance for many years. We were outstandingly good and I was so proud of the display. That gave us real belief.
“We got well beaten in the British & Irish Cup final and to be honest we played poorly. Talk about choosing a bad time to play your worst game.
“I was expecting more from us on the day so it was bitterly disappointing and then we had to get ourselves up for the cup final. We picked ourselves up to win which is hard to do and highly commendable.”
