WRU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
PLAYER-COACH Alex Webber was the toast of Ystrad Rhondda after he scored two of his five tries to send the village side to the Principality Stadium next month for the WRU Championship Cup Final.
Former Wales Sevens and Pontypridd star Webber scored two of his side’s five tries as they turned a 17-8 interval deficit into a 40-22 winning margin over Cross Keys in their semi-final clash.
Keys had first use of a very strong wind and made the most of their advantage as they notched two tries, one of them a penalty try, in the first half.
But back came the minnows to overtake them and book their ticket to the home of Welsh rugby with a brilliant second-half showing.
As well as two tries from Webber, Kurtis Williams, Mason Roderick and Jarred Llewellyn also crashed over the Keys try line. Outside-half Rhys Truelove converted three of them and also banged over a hattrick of penalties.
Having changed ends nine points in arrears, Ystrad scored three second-half tries without reply as they piled on 25 unanswered points to turn the game on its head.
They were last at the Principality Stadium in 2015, when they won the WRU Plate, and will now have to meet the winners of the second semi-final, between the top two teams in the Admiral Championship, Pontypool and Neath on Saturday.
Pontypool warmed-up for the semi-final with a 93-3 home win over Tata Steel. Having beaten the bottom side 62-0 away from home the previous weekend, they piled on the agony with 15 tries.
Four of them went to Amosa Nove, while Matthew Powell helped himself to a hat-trick, Deon Smith and Matt Powell both crossed twice and there were other tries from Dai Jones, Dan Bobos, Ieuan Jones and Dai Langdon