THE Dinas Powys RFC second team, affectionately known as the Dingoes, won the historic Mallett Cup by beating St Josephs 25 - 24 in a thrilling final at Cardiff Arms Park.

The Mallett Cup, is the second-oldest rugby cup in Britain and was first played for in 1894, and Dinas Powys snatched victory in the final minutes to win the 111th final.

The Dingoes only led once in the entire match but crucially that was at the final whistle and a large group of spectators from Dinas Powys celebrated wildly as captain Morgan Williams lifted the trophy.

The game was fiercely competitive and the Dingoes trailed by 18-8 at half-time and showed great resolution to claw their way back into the game before proving to be meritorious victors outscoring their opponents by three tries to two.

The first of the tries for the Dingoes was scored by veteran second row Matt Knibbs after 20 minutes of the first half which allowed the Dingoes to hang onto the tailcoats of a well drilled opponent.

At half-time coach Andy Vesey and his assistant "Chunky" Boyland implored their charges to put more width into their game and soon after the restart full back Ben White was to benefit from this more expansive approach as he gathered a pass from replacement scrum half Tom Davies to cross for the Dingoes second try.

St Joseph's were resolute and maintained their lead through a series of penalty kicks and time was running out for the Dingoes. A series of inspirational runs by captain Morgan Williams, replacement hooker Tom Baister and loose head Tom Paterson proved decisive, and fly half Gavin Cooper was now being provided with quicker ball and was now controlling his backline competently.

A series of sweet passes released right wing Mark Goode who cut back against the covering defenders to crash over 10 metres from the touchline. Goode punched the artificial surface of the pitch through sheer delight, but the Dingoes still trailed by a single point.

The pressure moved to White who strode forward to attempt the tricky conversion, his strike was true and White advanced his tally for the evening to 15 points and crucially the Dingoes led by a single point. The remaining minutes comprised of desperate defending by the heroic Dingoes, flanker Lewys John and replacement number eight Josh Dunleavy were to the fore in this frantic action.

Fittingly it was Lewys John who regained a loose ball that allowed scrum half Davies to kick the ball into the crowd and allow the referee to bring the contest to an end and allow the celebrations to begin.

An emotional evening for all associated with Dinas Powys RFC and especially to second row James Walters who had to bid farewell to his boots that had failed to survive the rigours of the artificial surface at the Arms Park.

Former chairman Keith Bryan surveyed the celebrations from the committee box with a large smile beaming across his face, a well deserved reward for his industry over a long association with the club.

Gareth Thomas, Cardiff and East District RU, said, "Most of us agree that it was on of the best finals we’ve ever seen, and some of our more 'senior' guests have been going to finals since the 1960s, and to have such a dramatic ending as well just put the icing on the cake, certainly from a neutral observers point of view."