Newport held on to win 13-8 in a close match to lift the Welsh Cup for the second time in their history. It was 3-3 at HT with penalties from Shane Williams and Shane Howarth who had been felled with a head high tackle by Neath fullback Gareth Morris in the 35^th min. Howarth kicked the penalty and Morris went to the sin-bin.

Former Springbok prop Adrian Garvey then scored following a line-out drive and the score was 10-3 to Newport but back came Neath with a Kevin James try to make it 10-8. Howarth's dropped goal made it 13-8 and desperate defence and tackling - including a last ditch try saving tackle by skipper Gary Teichmann on speedster Shane Williams - saw Newport home.

And so the team that Englishman Tony Brown had assembled, Welshman Allan Lewis had coached and Springbok Gary Teichmann had captained, had won the Welsh Cup. The team may have come from all parts of the rugby world but on this day they represented Newport and proudly wore the Black and Amber. There were former Springboks Gary Teichmann and Adrian Garvey, former All Black Shane Howarth, the consummate professional who nursed injury stricken Newport home, Canadian Rod Snow, one of the most popular players ever to play for Newport, Fijian captain Simon Raiwalui, Australian / Italian Matt Pini and Irishman Matt Mostyn. There were also of course Welshmen - Ian Gough, Matthew Watkins, Andy Marinos and Jason Forster - all were to play for Wales in the future, as well as youngsters, Emyr Lewis, Dale Burn, Jamie Richards and Peter Buxton. Last, but not least, there was replacement lock Gareth Taylor, a very underated player but not at Rodney Parade where he will always be held in high regard. Fittingly Gareth had the last touch of the ball when he kicked it long and hard out of play to signal the end of the match. After a lap of honour and a shower it was back to Rodney Parade to be greeted by thousands of ecstatic Newport fans. Gary Teichmann had to address the crowd with a megaphone.

Some after-match quotes :

Gary Teichmann : " There is pressure of playing for your country, but this is totally different."

Tony Brown : " I found it an emotional experience from all aspects. It puts a belief and pride back into the town."

Adrian Garvey : " I've never known anything like this."

Andy Marinos : " In 11 yrs of playing rugby all over the world I've never seen anything like it."

Simon Raiwalui : " It was awesome. This was the icing on the cake."

A giant banner held aloft at the Millennium Stadium said :

" And on the eighth day, God created.......Teich ! "

Sorcerer