Newman pledges more Munster suffering

NEATH second row forward Andy Newman could hardly take it all in as the Northampton forward collected a Heineken Cup medal at Twickenham three years ago.

The victims were Munster and Newman intends to make Alan Gaffney's men suffer again tomorrow in Cardiff's Celtic League final this time in the name of Neath pride.

The Welsh All Blacks are in the midst of a Welsh RFU muddle at the present time and Newman believes that will work in favour of Lynn Jones' side.

"We know we are going to do well. We are going to come out firing and starve Munster of the ball. If we can play mistake-free rugby, we will win."

Newman watched the video of Munster's victory over Gloucester and was impressed. "It was a bloody marvellous victory. Our pack have a huge task and we have to disrupt their lineout and scrum to have a chance."

But, he warned: "We blew Cardiff away in the semi-final and I know we can reproduce that form if required. If we do that, we are in with a really big chance."

The irony is that, despite the fact Newman has a European medal in his trophy cabinet, he is preparing to make his first appearance at the Millennium Stadium.

Munster played Leicester in last year's European decider and while Neath played Newport in the Welsh Cup final there two seasons ago, the big second rower had not joined them at that stage.

Newman warned: "If we cannot get up for a cup final then there is something wrong.

"Munster will be favourites, particularly after their win over Gloucester. That suits us just fine.

"We met earlier in the competition at the Gnoll and we made a lot of mistakes. If we do that again we will be in trouble but, if we cannot lift ourselves for a major occasion like this, then there is certainly something wrong. We know when we are playing well, we can beat anyone and that includes Munster."

There will be a major battle between Neath and Munster for support. At the present time it appears the All Blacks will have more shouting them than for Munster.

Neath quickly sold 10,000 tickets for the game while Munster have managed to shift just over 6,000.

Ticket sales have, however, exceeded 30,000 up to yesterday and the view is that many more thousands of Irish people, many of them living in Britain, have snapped up those in advance through the Welsh Rugby Union website.

The WRU are not quite sure but believe the final attendance will exceed 40,000 in a stadium capable of holding 72,000 and that, eventually, it will be a 50-50 split between the two sides involved in the final.

Meanwhile, as Munster prepare for another huge day in their illustrious history, they are keeping a low profile.

Coach Alan Gaffney dismissed the idea that Munster could go one better than beating Gloucester.

"We have to keep things in perspective. We have had a great few days celebrating that win but this is a new challenge, and we regard it as a major challenge. We have won nothing yet and these guys are desperate to get their hands on a trophy after all the hard work of the last few years."

A further warning, however, came from Neath: "It's not rocket science. A cup final is a one-off game and anything can happen," said coach Lyn Jones.