For the third time the arch-rivals clashed in the final of what was then the Swalec Cup and the Scott Gibbs inspired Whites had a point to prove against the Scarlets – especially as they had lost in the two previous finals in 1976 and 1992.
The 1998-99 rugby season was something of a watershed for the club game in Wales, with both Swansea, the reigning champions, and Cardiff, the runners-up, stepping out of the Welsh Premier League to play friendly fixtures against the English Premiership clubs.
The big city rebel clubs, as they were described, wanted to be part of an Anglo-Welsh League and were mortified when the WRU rejected plans to take part. So off they went, in what everyone else perceived as a giant huff, to play what became an increasingly frustrating series of matches against the top English clubs.
Having refused to sign up to a loyalty agreement with the WRU committing them to the current league set-up, they lost their places in European competition and were later each fined £150,000 for three breaches of WRU regulations. They returned to the Welsh rugby fold the following season and have remained there ever since.
Llanelli, meanwhile, continued to ply their trade in the domestic competition and in the Heineken Cup. They won the Premier League, captured the WRU Challenge Trophy went to the quarter-finals in Europe and reached the final of the SWALEC Cup at Ninian Park.
They arrived in the Welsh capital chasing the ‘Treble’, but knew the size of the task that faced them when they went head-to-head with their oldest and bitterest of rivals in what, rather unusually, was their only meeting of the season.
A Month earlier the two great Scotts, Gibbs and Quinnell, had combined so magnificently to create one of the greatest Welsh tries of all-time to win the game against England. On this occasion there was no love lost as eight, five Whites and three Scartlets, of the Wembley heroes went head-to-head in front of a slightly smaller crowd of 13,500.
Swansea reached the final at a canter, scoring 34 tries and 262 points in their five games. For the Scarlets, the semi-final against the other rebel outfit, Cardiff, was their first big moment to shine – and they didn’t disappoint!
A thumping 39-10 triumph at Bridgend, a game in which current Wales defence coach Byron Hayward kicked 24 points for the Scarlets, earned them their first ‘Rebel’ scalp. Next up was the big one.
THE LINE-UPS AT NINIAN PARK
LLANELLI 10 – 37 SWANSEA
Llanelli: Byron Hayward; Wayne Proctor, Salesi Finau, Nigel Davies (Craig Warlow 78), Garan Evans; Stephen Jones, Rupert Moon (Aled Thomas 78); Martyn Madden (Phil Booth 72), Robin McBryde (captain), John Davies, Chris Wyatt, Mike Voyle (Tony Copsey 72), Hywel Jenkins (Vernon Cooper 72), Ian Boobyer (Marcus Thomas 39-45, Iwan Jones 78), Scott Quinnell
Scorers: Try: W Proctor; Con: B Hayward; Pen: B HaywardSwansea: Dave Weatherley; Richard Rees, Mark Taylor, Scott Gibbs (captain, Clinton van Rensburg 78), Matthew Robinson; Arwel Thomas (Lee Davies 78), Rhodri Jones (Andy Booth 79); Darren Morris, Garin Jenkins (Chris Wells 79), Ben Evans (Chris Anthony 72), Tyrone Maullin, Andrew Moore (James Griffiths 79), Paul Moriarty (Dean Thomas 70), Colin Charvis (Dean Thomas 59-70), Lee Jones
Scorers: Tries: C Charvis 2, T Maullin, D Thomas; Cons: A Thomas 3, L Davies; DG: A Thomas 2; Pen: A ThomasReferee: Robert Davies (WRU)
THIS WAS HOW THE INDEPENDENT REPORTED THE GAME
It was bound to end in tears for one team, but nobody thought Llanelli’s bold attempt to win the treble would be so brutally and comprehensively thwarted.
The post-match view of the skipper Scott Gibbs that it had been a case of “men against boys” was perhaps overstating the case. But there can be no doubting that Swansea’s foray into England this season has given them a more battle-hardened edge.
All last week John Plumtree, the Swansea coach, was privately predicting his side would scrum Llanelli off Ninian Park to win the Swalec Cup. This they did with ease and they were too strong for them at the line-out, too. Starved of possession, Llanelli had no platform on which to build a game plan to retain their cup.
It did not help their case, either, that Byron Hayward was successful with only one out of five penalties. No ball, no points, no way could they add the cup to the Premier Division title and Challenge Trophy already safely locked away at Stradey Park.
Swansea drafted in the Wales flanker Colin Charvis, who since fracturing his cheekbone in three places last month against England, had seemed unlikely to play again this season. But the back row man came up trumps with two first-half tries which helped the All Whites into a commanding 24-10 interval lead.
Arwel Thomas drove more nails into the Scarlets’ coffin after the break with a drop goal and penalty before Dean Thomas triggered off Swansea celebrations with a fourth try.
A BAD START FOR THE SCARLETS
All the talk in the build up to the game was of Swansea skipper Scott Gibbs missing the game. There seemed no likelihood of Charvis taking part and he wasn’t even mentioned in the team that Whites’ coach John Plumtree announced.
But cometh the hour, cometh the big dogs! Gibbs and Charvis took the field, set the tone and exemplified the difference between the two teams. It also didn’t help that Hayward, the semi-final hero, obviously left his kicking boots at home.
Colin Charvis scores for Swansea
Arwel Thomas was named as the man of the match. He set up a try for Maullin with a huge dummy and his second drop goal, part of his match haul of 15 points, was from 40 metres.
It all added up to a day of complete and utter misery for Gareth Jenkins and his beloved Scarlets, who found themselves on the end of their biggest hiding in 141 Welsh Cup ties.
Gibbs’ verdict post-match encapsulated what his team had been feeling all season: “Our games have been far more meaningful than any games in the domestic league in Wales. From what I have seen, Llanelli have been playing against boys all season. They were outweighted, outmuscled and outplayed today,” he said.
Hence the ‘Men v Boys’ description. Ouch!
