The final showdown will be in the semi-final of the WRU Premiership Cup on 26 March at Sardis Road and Matt O’Brien’s men will go into that game with confidence sky-high after a six-try, 38-6 demolition job on their under-strength visitors.
They’ve been throwing the kitchen sink at each other since December, 1876, and this season the Black & Ambers appear to have got the upper hand. Matt O’Brien’s men are now in the running for a league and cup double after stretching their lead at the top of the Premiership table to seven points with four games to play.
The significance of the four matches is that over the past 146 years Newport has never been able to achieve their Holy Grail of winning all four. Cardiff have managed it four times – 1897-98, 1905-06, 1947-48, 1951-52 – while the best Newport has managed is three wins and a draw in 1950-51.
The third match in the 1950-51 season drew a world record club crowd of 48,500 to the Arms Park to witness a game that was won 8-3 by the visitors. The final game in the series that season ended 3-3, while in the 1968-69 season it was a 9-9 draw in the fourth and final fixture at the Arms Park that denied Newport a clean-sweep.
“Everybody is thinking about it, but not is talking about it,” was the way in which Newport team manager Mark Workman summed up the situation. They will be shouting from the roof tops about it if they do manage to finally make it four out of four!
Tries from centre Cameron Lewis and full-back Ioan Davies helped the home side into a slender 12-6 half-time lead. While at that stage the home side were clearly on top, there was no sign of the one-sided 40 minutes that was to follow.
Alex Everett of Cardiff is tackled by Matt O’Brien and Ioan Davies of Newport
Further scores after the interval from outside half Will Reed, wing Elliot Frewen, and replacement backs Che Hope and Oli Andrew, saw the Black & Ambers home with a mountain of room to spare as they added 26 unanswered points in the second half. Cardiff could only manage two first half penalties from No10 Dan Fish.
The loss of many of the Cardiff Rugby academy players, who are on duty with the regional side in South Africa, meant the visitors were below par. There won’t be any excuses when they next meet later this month with everyone available again.
Llandovery snapped up the fourth and final place in the WRU Premiership Cup semi-finals with a 12-3 home win over Pontypridd. The visitors had won 34-18 in a league encounter at Church Bank on 27 February, but this time things were different the time in a tight and tense tussle.
The visitors soaked up a lot of early pressure but eventually went behind to a 40 metre penalty by home fly half Kristian Jones after a Ponty offside in midfield. Wing Aaron Warren came near to extending the lead as the Drovers continued to have the better of the play and Jones kicked another penalty for a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A third Jones penalty in the 34th minute put the Drovers further ahead before a penalty by wing Dale Stuckey brought it back it back to 9-3.A marvellous try saving tackle by Warren denied Stuckey a try after a break by full back Cole Swannack and Jones then made it 12-3 with his fourth penalty,
The visitors started to get better possession going into the last quarter but a crunching tackle by Jones on outside half Ceri Morris kept Ponty out.
Ponty had all the play in the last 10 minutes but the Llandovery defence with flanker Stuart Worrall magnificent held out for a famous win.
