Newport RFC v Llandovery RFC – 7th March 2026 by John Evans
Super Rygbi Cymru Cup Final at Cardiff Arms Park, 5.30pm kick-off
Victory in a turbulent match against our friends from Ebbw Vale RFC saw Newport reach the Super Rygbi Cymru Cup final, played on the neutral venue of Cardiff Arms Park, against an imposing Llandovery RFC. The Drovers have been consistently good for many seasons now and nobody expected anything other than the stiffest of tests for the Black & Ambers today.
The previous week’s shock news was the return of powerful wing Oli Andrew; Oli has had some time away from the game to pursue his University studies but has lost none of his fitness as he had taken up boxing. More shocking, potentially, was him being cast into the starting XV for this game. Kyle Tayler was preferred to start at 7, his style being more suited to the way Llandovery play, but other than that, injuries notwithstanding, it was as strong a squad as the club could muster.
Prior to the Newport game spectators were treated to a ding-dong battle between Swansea and RGC in the SRC Plate Final. Congratulations are due to the Whites of Swansea RFC on their 29-13 victory.
Jac Lloyd kicked off, lofting the ball into the Cardiff evening sky. Oli Andrew sprinted hard, caught the kick, setting Newport up nicely. The ball went wide, but a tough tackle on Ben Roach dislodged the ball. Llandovery responded at pace. Playing with an advantage, Llandovery kicked to the corner, but with none coming, the full penalty was awarded and outside half Ioan Hughes slotted the kick to make it Newport 0 Llandovery 3 with 2 minutes played.
Newport replied quickly; from a set piece, the Black & Ambers went through the hands before a grubber kick allowed Morgan Williams to chase, latch onto the ball and cross in the corner. Jac Lloyd added the conversion to make it Newport 7 Llandovery 3 with 4 minutes played.
Newport continued working hard, regaining the ball from a previously lost line out. Quite how the refereeing team missed an out-in-the-open stamp on Callum Bradbury is anybody’s guess, but that was compounded when the Drovers were handed the advantage from a knock-on.
Llandovery made their attack count with a try by wing Llien Morgan. Their big forwards went through phase after phase of heavy attacks, slowly sucking in the Newport defenders before going left when an obvious overlap had developed, allowing the wing to canter in virtually unopposed. Ioan Hughes added the conversion to make it Newport 7 Llandovery 10 with 12 minutes played.
Newport were pinged for a free kick on 16 minutes for not engaging at a scrum. Llandovery kicked long, Morgan Williams responded in kind, but things weren’t going Newport’s way as a blatant knock on by the Drovers was waved away. The Black & Ambers were up in the faces of their red and white shirted opponents, eventually forcing a knock-on that the referee couldn’t ignore.
The Drovers extended their lead on 24 minutes through wing Harry Doel. They attacked briskly down their right before an ingenious kick by their talismanic scrumhalf, Lee Rees, had centre Corey Baldwin take the bouncing ball before feeding his teammate Doel to run in. Ioan Hughes added the conversion to make it Newport 7 Llandovery 17.
Newport fought their way back upfield, only for Morgan Williams to be devoid of support and overturned on the ground. Still, the Black & Ambers looked for attacking avenues, Jac Lloyd seeming short of options at one point, until Llandovery gifted Newport a way in by going offside. Jac Lloyd kicked to the corner, but there was still plenty of work to do; Ben Roach, as usual, led from the front, Callum Bradbury had a lunge forward, Dafydd Buckland sniped close, but Henry Palmer was able to bludgeon his way across the line. Jac Lloyd added the conversion to make it Newport 14 Llandovery 17 with 31 minutes played.
Newport continued to attack; a ‘funny’ line out, just twenty metres out seemed a good opportunity, however, the move wasn’t the best executed and the chance was gone.
Carwyn Penny was busy at fullback, running from deep, kicking long, then encouraging the team to keep Llandovery at bay, which they did admirably for long spells.
Ben Roach carried into contact, and, once the ruck broke up, two Drovers remained on the floor. Play continued until Llandovery kicked the ball away but play came back for a knock-on and a Newport scrum. Llandovery failed to engage so, being consistent, Ms Amber Stamp, awarded Newport a free kick which was booted to touch for the half time break.
Half Time: Newport RFC 14 Llandovery RFC 17
Hunter Ward caught Ioan Hughes’s restart. Newport were displaying lots of energy as they sought to overhaul the Drovers, Henry Palmer and Josh Skinner covering lots of ground as they went. Carwyn Penny looked to keep the ball moving as Harri Ackerman made inroads into the Llandovery defence. Dafydd Buckland was smart in choosing his options, but the Drovers straying offside in defence allowed Newport the opportunity to get within striking distance. The lineout was loose, but Ms Stamp spotted a knock-on by the Red and Whites, offering Newport a scrum, just as Wade Langley took over from Henry Palmer. The referee found a penalty against Newport, but the venom in the attack at the resulting lineout was tremendous, and Newport regained possession, Jac Lloyd punting wide for Carwyn Penny to hunt down, but the Drovers were first there and carried the ball into touch.
The breakthrough came on 52 minutes as Carwyn Penny tried a cross-kick to Harri Ackerman. Newport worked incredibly hard, players making themselves available, changing points of attack and angles, Dafydd Buckland keeping all the plates spinning until an overlap emerged on the left. Buckland pulled the trigger and two simple passes allowed Josh Skinner to stride in and score, Jac Lloyd added the two-pointer to make it Newport 21 Llandovery 17.
Llandovery were penalised for crossing, blocking Morgan Williams, tempting Jac Lloyd to go for the corner again. Once more, Newport pushed the energy levels up, Kyle Tayler going close, but Llandovery could get hands across the ball, and they were off the hook.
Indeed, it was Llandovery who went on to score next. A penalty at a scrum saw Ioan Hughes kick to 20-metres out as Ioan Rhys Davies replaced Callum Bradbury. Newport went offside in defence, so Hughes went to the corner proper. Newport threw up a huge wall of defence, hitting players backwards. Scrumhalf Lee Rees was running out of options quickly as the Black & Amber wall pushed outwards. It felt like there was three solid minutes of tackling by Newport, but the wily Drovers eventually managed to unlock the door, and Llien Morgan was through for his second try, and his teams third. Ioan Hughes conversion sailed across the face of the posts, so the Arms Park scoreboard read Newport 21 Llandovery 22 on 65 minutes.
It was time for fresh legs; Hunter Ward’s all-action display was replaced by the raw power of Josh Reid. Props Garin Harris and Tom Devine were relieved by Harry Fry and Ollie Drake, while Tom Hoppe came on for Harrison James.
Llandovery were patient in attack, trying to tempt Newport offside and, on 72 minutes, they got their wish. From the Newport 22, Ioan Hughes nodded at the sticks and extended his side’s lead by three points to Newport 21 Llandovery 25.
Lucas Welch came on for Oli Andrew on 73 minutes, Dafydd Buckland going to the wing, just as the temperature on the field reached boiling point.
Kyle Tayler broke through a loose Llandovery lineout to carry Newport into the opposition half. Jac Lloyd kicked to the corner for Dafydd Buckland to chase, but the bounce evaded him.
With 77 minutes played, the intensity levels were through the roof; breathless Newport attacking as Carwyn Penny looked for space, Lucas Welch popped the ball to big Ollie Drake who charged onwards, Kyle Tayler burst through the middle, making the Llandovery defence panic as they infringed. With momentum swinging Newport’s way, Jac Lloyd kicked for the corner, Ben Roach took the lineout ball as a huge rolling maul started in motion, backs joining in to add their muscle. The mass of bodies eased forward and nudged across the line, Ms Stamp seeing clearly enough to award Newport the try, which has been credited to Wade Langley. Jac Lloyd added the conversion to make it Newport 28 Llandovery 25 with the clock just hitting 80 minutes and the ground resounding to chants of “Newport! Newport!”. What a time to go ahead.
Llandovery restarted but Newport just had to play smart and not let the Drovers get their hands on the ball. Ty Morris was up on his feet bellowing instructions line “No sealing!” and “4s!” as the players did just that, break off into small-numbered pods and take the tackles. With minimal stoppage time, the referee indicated time was up, so the ball was gleefully belted into touch and Newport RFC were the new Super Rygbi Cymru Cup champions.
Full Time: Newport RFC 28 Llandovery RFC 25
Newport RFC have a week off to recover before we visit our friends at the top of the valley, Ebbw Vale RFC. We can be sure of a warm welcome when we arrive at Eugene Cross Park on Saturday March 21st. Our next home game is on Saturday March 28th when we host Bridgend RFC at Newport Stadium, kicking off at 2.30pm. Both fixtures are Super Rygbi Cymru League games. As readers may be aware, following these games, Newport’s away fixture with Cardiff RFC has been moved to a Thursday evening for S4C coverage, so it’s now on April 2nd, while our home game against Pontypool has moved both date and venue; It’s now on Thursday April 9th at out ancestral home of Rodney Parade. Both games kick off at 7.30pm. See you there!
Onwards and upwards Newport.
Your City. Your Colours. Your Club
#cotp
Final Score – Newport RFC 28 Llandovery RFC 25
Seren y Gem – Kyle Tayler