NANT Conwy’s hopes of WRU National Plate glory were dashed following a 50-29 loss to Brynmawr.

Sunday’s showcase at the Principality Stadium saw a huge crowd from North Wales descend on the capital, and the all-conquering side were unable to build on a positive start and fell at the final hurdle.

The Pirates were first to cross the white wash when Jordan Congreve burst clear to score in the opening exchanges, with Geraint Langdon adding the extras.

This provoked a strong response from Nant, who replied instantly when Jack Moriarty went over for an unconverted score, and they went ahead for the first time soon after when Carwyn Ellis powered over after good work from Ifan Hughes. Arthur Lennon was successful with the conversion.

The WRU National League Division One North leaders pulled further clear midway through the half when a sensational dummy from scrum-half Cai Jones fooled everyone leaving him with an easy score. Lennon added the extras.

Brynmawr fought back through two quick scores from Congreve and Craig Filier to tie up the contest, and after the break saw them run riot against a tiring Nant rearguard which enabled the remainder of the contest to be relatively one-way traffic.

The duo of Congreve and Filier both added to their collections to seal their respective hat-tricks, and they also managed to cross the 50-point mark in what was Nant’s heaviest defeat of the campaign by a comfortable margin.

Attention must now turn to their pursuit of the top-flight crown, and they are currently three points ahead of Pwllheli at the summit with a game in hand.