Cardiff's pain at missing out on silverware for the second successive season will be all the more acute if their most consistent player, the Wales second-row Craig Quinnell, leaves the club in the summer.
The 26-year-old is stalling on a new contract and Cardiff, who in his absence lost to Pontypridd 31-25 in Saturday's Principality Cup semi-final, fear the former Richmond forward will head for Gloucester, Saracens or Harlequins.
"We offered Craig a new contract a fortnight ago and he has still not got back to us," said Cardiff's director of rugby Rudy Joubert. "We can only give him another week."
Cardiff released their head coach, Lynn Howells, a year ago and he exacted revenge by unexpectedly taking Pontypridd to the May 18 final against Llanelli, who defeated Ebbw Vale 34-17 in the first game of the afternoon's double-header. Cardiff scored three tries to one, all coming in a 23-minute spell in the first half after they had conceded 13 points in the opening 14 minutes, but their discipline was so lacking that the Pontypridd full-back Brett Davey landed eight penalties out of nine as his side overcame a 25-19 interval deficit.
Some of Cardiff's back play was exhilarating and they counter-attacked with gusto, but their set pieces were poor and the club cannot afford to rebuild a pack which is showing its collective age.
When Howells joined Pontypridd six months ago they were one off the bottom of the Welsh-Scottish League, but they have lost only two games this year and face London Irish in the Parker Pen Shield semi-final next week. "Beating Cardiff was special . . . because they are one of the best sides around," said Howells. "We are a young side and capable of beating the big boys on a one-off occasion but not staying with them over the course of a season. That will come."
If Pontypridd pulled off a surprise, few gave Ebbw Vale a chance of defeating Llanelli, who will face Leicester in the Heineken Cup semi-final this month. Vale led 11-10 at half-time, a poor reward for their territorial superiority, and the scores were tied at 17-17 with 20 minutes to go before Vale's try scorer, the second-row Ockert Booyse, dropped a pass on his own line and the flanker Ian Boobyer scored the softest of tries.
"It was a loud wake-up call," said the Llanelli centre Leigh Davies. "We had a rollicking at the interval for playing the wrong tactics. We are going to have to play a lot better if we are going to beat Leicester."
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