Last weekend, Artemis-2 safely returned from its journey to the far extremity of the Moon at awe-inspiring speed – it may take Neath RFC, the dark side, a little longer to come back down to Earth.

They will need to as a demanding challenge at Cardiff Metropolitan quickly awaits them but, on Sunday at the Principality Stadium, Neath invoked that old All Black spirit to overcome red-hot favourites Merthyr and lift the WRU Cup for the seventh time – a real triumph of the will if ever there was.

Merthyr sit proudly atop the WRU Premiership with 18 wins out of 19 – that one defeat coming at home to Neath in January. Injuries meant that the Iron-men were missing scrum-halves Dafydd Land and James Soanes and they surprisingly left hooker Ellis Shipp on the bench.

But Neath were even worse hit by injuries. Unluckiest was wing Morgan Meaclem who fell victim at Llanelli Wanderers the previous week and joined long-term absentees in centres Sam Harris and Kieran Charles and outside-half Paul Short on the inactive list.

The All Blacks have soldiered on too without three props Owain Watts, Jack Powell and Tarik Dabeh thus placing an unholy burden on Mason Morgan and Marley Lovell who deserved this success as much as anyone.

Several players went into the final carrying injuries but bravely turned out and, severely depleted behind the scrum, Neath switched centre Luke Davies to full back and had Aled Davies at centre – a big call on a big stage for the two teenage All Blacks – while another fledgling scrum-half Kaden Davies was on the wing… all three acquitted themselves admirably.

Despite all their absences, Neath took the game to Merthyr and in the fifth minute the Iron-men lost a key forward in Paddy McBride who was stretchered off with a head injury and suffered the double dignity of being awarded a yellow card for his troubles thus depriving his side of their captain and line-out totem.

The Neath forwards, recognising a weakness, piled onto the offensive and a sizzling driving maul ended with hooker Sion Jones touching down for his 16th try of the season and outside-half Iestyn Morgan (normally a full back) converted to make it 7-nil.

But Merthyr showed their quality as they made light of their deficiency and blasted Neath in 20 minutes of one-way traffic as they powered away to a 21-7 lead courtesy of three fine tries by flanker Dan Phillips, full back Jack Kathrens and centre Cole Swannack (with just a hint of a block by Locke) who all raced over the Neath line.

Accomplished outside-half Ben Jones converted them all and Neath were reeling. There was no respite and props Mason Morgan and Marley Lovell caught the eye with their heavy defensive commitment for the All Blacks who lost flanker Steff Lewis with an ankle injury to be replaced by non-stop Casey Williams.

But as half-time approached there was a discernible shift of momentum as suddenly  Neath took over and gained a toe-hold in Merthyr territory. Two terrific line-out surges had Merthyr defending and live-wire flanker Gethin Tremlett had the ball stolen from his grasp on the line.

But Neath continued their quest for a score and worked right then left where a super long pass by centre Aled Davies and a slightly shorter but tellingly accurate one by full back Luke Davies sent winger Kaden Davies (normally a scrum-half) flying to the left corner for his 10th try of the season.

Neath’s resurgence continued before the interval and they might have scored again when Ben Williams’ scoring pass to wing Jon Bayliss was not gathered and Merthyr took a 9-point lead into the break.

Half-time – Merthyr 21 points, Neath 12 points

 Turning around, Neath still had much to do and they surged onto the attack with some heavy carrying by the forwards with Ben Williams, Mason Morgan and Sion Jones held up on or near the line. Neath had squandered a certain three points when they opted for a tap penalty of dubious calibre in front of the posts but a further award on the 22 eight minutes in saw Iestyn Morgan step up to land a penalty and make it 15-21.

The momentum shift was firmly in Neath’s favour : eager replacement Ki Morgan was soon into the action off a fine pass by centre Sean Wilcox, the bubbling Sion Jones went close again and Neath narrowed the deficit to a single point when a bobbing pass reached full back Luke Davies who, displaying the skills of the fine centre he usually is, sent a perfectly-weighted long pass to the heavily-strapped Jon Bayliss who crossed in the right corner for Neath’s third try.

Neath were on a roll; the Iron-men’s defensive discipline deserted them and they were reduced to 13 men when firstly impressive No. 8 Aled Evans for a high tackle on the increasingly dangerous Connor Tantum and then prop Jamie Savery were sent to the bin by referee Mr. Gareth Newman (Abergavenny) who accentuates the positive and applies the advantage law sensibly.

Evans’ indiscretion led to a line-out from which Savery collapsed one of Neath’s rapidly advancing, dynamic mauls and the All Blacks were correctly awarded their seventh penalty try of the season to make it 27-21 with a quarter of the match remaining.

The game was now in the balance but Neath’s set-piece was crucial and Matthew Davies and Jon Barley provided aerial control. Skipper Ben Williams led superbly and Neath introduced worthy forward replacements Kian Jones, Josh Hughes and Jacob Blackmore as players began to cramp up.

As time ticked on, Neath’s positive approach shone through and when replacement winger Llewellyn Hawkes kicked up the touchline, Merthyr scrum-half Adam Hoskins (normally a centre) covered back and tried to keep the ball in play rather than yield a 50:22 and give Neath another attacking line-out.

Hoskins deflected the ball infield and Hawkes – proving the value of always chasing the kick – collected and slid over the try-line to dab down. Had Hoskins put a foot on the line ? The Stadium was hushed, the TMO thought not and Neath’s third wing try – their fifth of the game – was confirmed and all but secured The Gnoll as the Cup’s destination.

There was still time for Merthyr to attack but a grand intervention by scrum-half Connor Tantum, another of the walking wounded, and then a retrieval by Josh Hughes saw Neath reclaim possession,  kicked to touch, the final whistle blew and the Cup was on its way back to The Gnoll.

It had been a remarkably steadfast showing by determined Neath whose injury-stricken heroes produced a fierce display of resolution and no little ambition especially during a dominant second half which rattled the favourites’ poise.

There was a tear in the eye of many a supporter and for older ones it was all rather reminiscent of the first (1971/72) triumph when Martyn Davies’ similarly undercast  centenary-celebrating Neath overcame star-studded Llanelli who were equally as favoured as Merthyr.

This time Neath’s captain Ben Williams was named Man of the Match for his rousing leadership and unswerving ball-carrying; time after time he ran the ball back at the Merthyr hunters and his team-mates fully matched his dedication to the cause as Neath scored the last 25 points of the match – 20 of them without reply in the second-half.

Neath’s last success at the Stadium was the Championship Cup win against Bargoed in 2021/22 and this is the seventh time that Neath have lifted the WRU Cup itself, skipper Ben Williams following Martyn Davies (in the inaugural version of 1971/72), Kevin Phillips, twice in 1988/89 and 1989/90), Paul Jones – (2003/04) and Lee Beach (twice in 2007/08 and 2008/09) in lifting the trophy.

The Cup has long held a special place in Neath’s annals – no wonder the Club sold its ticket allocation in under 4 hours ! – and the Stadium echoed once more to the chants of NEATH ! NEATH ! NEATH !

As big occasion performances go, it was rather special and once again demonstrated Neath’s indomitable spirit. A squad overhaul meant that of the side which beat Bargoed not quite four years ago, only Jon Barley started both games although the other ‘J.B.’s – Jon Bayliss and Jacob Blackmore – were on the bench that day.

Another grand day for the Town, another grand day for Neath RFC and an unforgettable one for the many black-clad youngsters who will remember this day into their dotage – just as the writer remembers 1972 !

It was a day when the repressed underdog bit back – and who knows ? Maybe one or two of those WRU people guilty of omitting one of Wales’ finest, old clubs from the SRC were left questioning their decision … or perhaps not !

“Veni, vidi, vici” as old Julius Caesar might have said.

MERTHYR – J Kathrens; K Stone, C Swannack, T Hughes, Joseff Jones (J Lloyd); B Jones, A Hoskins; T Hawkins (J Savery), R Hughes (E Shipp), R Lewis (H Rock); C Locke, P McBride (capt) (F Thomas); D Phillips (Z Lynam), A Evans, J Perkins

NEATH – L Davies; J Bayliss (L Hawkes), S Wilcox, A Davies, K Davies (K Morgan); I Morgan, C Tantum; M Morgan, S Jones (K Jones), M Lovell; M Davies, J Barley (J Hughes); S Lewis (C Williams), B Williams (capt), G Tremlett (J Blackmore)   Other Replacements – Josh Jones, Chris Thomas

Referee – Mr G Newman (Abergavenny)