FAVOURITES - don't mention the word to Newport and Swansea because you won't get far.

It was going to be a Newport-Swansea cup final, the east-west rivals carrying too many guns for Ebbw Vale and Neath.

I wrote on the morning of the semi-finals that the formbook would be out of the window. You can say that again as it came within a whisker of being a Neath-Ebbw Vale final.

Neath have made it after the upset of the season in their victory over Swansea, and well deserved it was.

Swansea were supposed to be heading for the double, but Neath took them by storm and sent those dreams crashing.

And Ebbw Vale played out of their skins, particularly in the second half when they dominated Newport.

They feel aggrieved they were not allowed at least one try and they came desperately close to another shock victory.

But Newport are there, and it will be a worthy swansong for skipper Gary Teichmann at the Millennium Stadium on May 13.

Having said that, if Neath can beat them with 14 men for all but five minutes of their league game in December, then goodness knows what they will do with 15 men in the final.

Neath play just the kind of aggressive, in-your-face rugby, which the Newport team don't appreciate very much.

One thing's for sure, Neath will be up and at Newport from the first whistle and they will maintain it to the last.

Newport had better prepare for a huge physical onslaught because that is just what they are going to get.

And if Newport show the same lack of appetite for that kind of head-on confrontation as they did at the Gnoll, they will be rolled over in the cup final, big time. Neath coach Lyn Jones will prepare his troops like Custer for his last stand.

Jones is a one-off, a character, a straight talker and a real motivator. Who will forget his reaction as Neath scored their match winning try in the semi-final?

He really ought to be involved in the Wales set-up, though on second thoughts he might be too much of a loose cannon.

There's a fair bit of water to pass under the bridge between now and the final, like the small matter of Heineken Cup qualification.

Newport ought to be there anyway. They will probably put everything into beating Caerphilly in their final home game and Cross Keys away to those and ensure qualification.

But the Swansea match away next Saturday night and Glasgow away midweek may be another matter altogether.

A shadow team will probably make the trip to Scotland as Newport conserve their energies for those two league games and the cup final.

Neath, on the other hand, face a real struggle to make the Heineken Cup next season, especially after their setback against Llanelli in their previous league match.

They will have to put all their resources into the final league games to try to secure a place in Europe, which could prove a drain. Some hope, then, for Newport. But don't mention the word favourites to them.