“IF there is a better young flanker than Toby Faletau on the Premiership circuit then I have yet to see him.”

Those were the words of Cross Keys coach Greg Woods after the Pandy Park side slid to a disappointing defeat against former champions Neath at The Gnoll.

Young Faletau is hoping to catch the eye of Wales U-20 coach Phil Davies, and on this form he is destined to make it into his international squad.

Not only did Faletau get the only Keys try in the 35th minute, but his work-rate was also impressive in both attack and defence.

“Toby Faletau is a superb young prospect, who the Dragons have placed with us for the season,” explained Woods.

“Hopefully, the weekly tapes of league matches that Welsh Premiership coaches now receive also reach Phil Davies.

“His try was a fine solo effort and to ultimately leave The Gnoll without a point was bitterly disappointing.’’ Two penalties from full-back Ryan Lee, compared to one from Gareth McCarthy, were the prelude to the 50-metre sprint to the try-line from Faletau that made it 13-3 on 35 minutes.

And at this juncture Keys seemed on course to record only a second Gnoll victory since the 3-0 success of March 23, 1963.

But the Pandy Park side who brought the long wait for a win at the ground to an end in October 2006 via a 10-6 success were then guilty of shadow tackling.

McCarthy returned from the sin bin to score three amazing tries in the space of just five minutes, adding the conversions for good measure.

However, Neath were aided by the yellow-carding of Keys flanker Tom Lampard during first-half injury time – and it turned into a 14-point binning.

By the time normal service was resumed the damage had been done, and Keys were on their way to a fourth league defeat of the season.

With the curtain having come down on the McCarthy show, the last half an hour proved a drab affair.

Keys made valiant attempts to salvage a losing bonus point from the debris, but late pressure failed to yield the desired five-pointer.

However, it wasn’t just the five minutes of McCarthy mayhem that coach Woods cited for the defeat.

He continued: “Our lineout play, especially during the first half, wasn’t up to scratch while we also suffered in the scrums.

“But our concentration then let us down, and it gifted Neath the three tries in five minutes that settled the issue.

“This made things all the more disappointing, as our pace and aggression had caused Neath problems.

“It has left us with plenty to work on this week ahead of Saturday’s important derby clash at Ebbw Vale.’’ Neath: K Morgan (G King 76 mins); K James, S Thomas, J Spratt, K Phillips; G McCarthy, T James (K Farrell 58), V Lott, A James (A Littlehales 60), M Jones, N Edwards, E Evans (P Sidoli 58), G Gravell (capt), J Bowd (A Whitney 63), C Price (M Collins 69).

Scorers: Tries – G McCarthy (3); cons: G McCarthy (3); pen: G McCarthy.

Cross Keys: R Lee (G David 54); N Davies, L Andrews (C Pocock 69), P Williams, N Trowbridge (W Johnstone 58); R James, O Jones (capt); J Price, R Emms (L Burns 50), C Gould (R Cornock 19), C Bridges (R Peebles 62), B Watkins (T Crandon 59), T Faletau, J Groves, T Lampard.

Scorers: Try: T Faletau; con: L Andrews; pens: R Lee (2).

Referee: Gwyn Morris (Cardiff).

Yellow cards: G McCarthy (Neath) 37 mins, T Lampard (Cross Keys (40+5).

Cross Keys star choice: Toby Faletau.