Knock Out Cup? Don’t make me laugh!

This year’s Knock Out Cup Final is again between Narberth and Whitland, as it was last year and is likely to be each season unless the teams are drawn together in the earlier rounds – or a sensible compromise is reached so that every club in  District ‘H’ could start competing again!
I am very sorry to return to this old grumble again but when the teams meet they will have played one game apiece to reach this stage and so the very idea of a knockout competition is a misnomer as teams drop out of the competition, rather than receiving a hammering from either of the current giants of our county’s oval ball game. A measure of the gap that now exists can be gauged from the fact that Narberth made the long journey to Aberystwyth for their semi-final and won 68-5 against arguably the third best team in the district, alongside Crymych and Cardigan, with the referee calling an early halt with the Otters so on top.
Whitland didn’t even have to play in the semi-final because Pembroke couldn’t field a team to take them on and so conceded the fixture.

Looking back at how it was

Could you imagine that happening 20 years ago, when the KO Cup Final was played in front of huge crowds as everyone vied for a place around the touchline and the club awarded the final was guaranteed a huge pay day in terms of beer sales? Nowadays it is likely to be the hard-core supporters from Narberth and Whitland who will turn up at Crymych, plus a few die-hard locals who might pop in for a look.

Don’t blame the top clubs

Now one mustn’t criticize the two clubs over much because they did drop out on one occasion and there was a cracking final between Crymych and the Quins at Whitland which the Quins won. But then some dope at a county meeting suggested that Narberth and Whitland shouldn’t be considered for hosting the final if they weren’t in the competition and so back in they came the following year and Whitland beat Crymych at Haverfordwest to return to the current format.

Two competitions – two trophies

I did once suggest, along with others, that the competition be divided into two parts, with the top teams taking part in one event and the rest competing in another competition. I would call the match between the top sides the ‘Prestige’ or ‘Gold’ Cup and let the others vie for the old KO Cup. I know that there are some sticklers at Narberth and Whitland who feel they should battle for the original cup but by the very nature of the name that is not how it should be because it is for a ‘Knock Out’ competition. Give them a brand-spanking new trophy (I’ll even chip in the first tenner for it!) and let the rest have the joy of lifting the magnificent old silverware.

Rumblings of progress

It is great to hear rumblings that the administrators at Narberth and Whitland are talking about the matter again and I hope that they see reason and enjoy a special cup open only to the very top clubs. The County administrators can well afford the new silverware out of their funds and then perhaps cup rugby in Pembrokeshire can begin again in earnest so that we are treated to a cracking match between the two top sides in the county to see which can boast of winning a ‘Prestige Cup’ and another real competition for the KO Cup – like in the old days!