Judgement Day 2

Far more important than the goings-on at the Millennium Stadium was what was taking place at Pontypool Park. After last week's surprise victory at Llanharan, we wanted to judge whether Pooler had actually turned the corner and could make it two in a row. Bonymaen were the visitors and they were only a couple of places above Pontypool in the Championship although the gap in terms of points was huge. Still with home advantage this was a good test to judge Pooler's progress.
The early signs were not encouraging as the Bonymaen scrum looked dominant and scrummage pressure led to an early unconverted try for the visitors. Pooler managed to shore up their scrum and the contest became more even with both sides keen to throw the ball about with gay abandon. The trouble was that this led to high error count for both sides with knock-ons and forward passes abounding. The home side scored a good try when Goodman galloped over from 20 yards after some good combined play and the conversion took Pooler into the lead. Bonymaen quickly hit back with another unconverted try to retake the lead. A Pontypool penalty left the score at 10-10 at halftime and it was truly anybody's game.
The second half was frenetic and error strewn with neither side managing to sustain any kind of dominance and the result was in doubt until the final whistle. Bonymaen scored a try when right wing Joseph scurried up the touch line. Cunliffe converted expertly from the touchline. Pooler replied with a penalty and an unconverted try by Cook to take a narrow lead at 18-17. This was quickly reversed when Bonymaen were awarded a peanlty virtually from the restart to make the score 18-20. Time was running out and the Pooler faithful feared the worst. The home side presses and missed a kick at goal that would have retken the lead. Undeterred they continued to exert pressure and they were rerwarded with another penalty that Gullis duly converted to make the score 21-20 in injury time. Pooler managed to ride some late Bonymaen pressure and clung on to take the spoils.
Make no mistake this was a poor quality game that at times looked like the Keystone Cops versus the Trumpton Fire Brigade. The  decision making and passing from both sides was pretty poor. Fortunately the referee applied the advantage law liberally and stopped it becoming a scum fest. Still it was another much-needed victory for Pontypool and we can make the visit to Glamorgan Wanderers with a degree of confidence.
I didn't manage to see much of the other Judgement Day but what I did see looked pretty good and the games were a lot more evenly contested than many people expected. I am not sure whether the half full stadium will be judged a success and whether the matches acually judged anything. I am sure the Dragons' fans were amazed at actually being able to watch their team play rugby at 2.30pm on a Saturday afternoon.

You turn your back for a moment ....

Just got back from a week's holiday in Lanzarote and I find out the Pooler have actually won away from home and I missed it! By all accounts, it was a well-deserved victory at Llanharan (10-19) - never an easy place to win. Well done boys!
Would someone like to finance a few days in Barbados so I don't break the winning streak?

Wales wheel-clamp the chariot

What an absolutely brilliant win for Wales. We thought that Wales could possibly sneak it but this was beyond our wildest dreams. The awesome power of Wales' defence eventually turned England into a dejected rabble. It is incredible to think that at the end of the first half against Ireland we were getting ready for the wooden spoon and now we are Six Nations champs.
Everyone in a Welsh shirt played their part yesterday and I include a passionate crowd in that. The atmosphere was pulsating and it will be a day that will live long in my memory.
Lets hope that the Pooler can be inspired by the turnround that Wales have managed.

Kicks Nations fails to inspire

It was bitterly cold at Murrayfield on Saturday and the match did little to warm the cockles of your heart. It was a good job I had a hipflask in my pocket to stave off an icy wind. The great news is that Wales managed to win a third consecutive away match against a stubborn Scottish side that never made it easy. The bad news is that neither side played with any real ambition and some pedantic refereeing meant that it turned out to be a slugging match between the two goal kickers. Honours ended up virtually even in the kicking stakes but I think I would rather have spent the 20 minutes that it took for the penalties to be taken watching paint dry in the warmth of my home. Wales did manage a try after probably the only line break in the match by George North that led to Hibbard pigging over. This in itself meant that they probably deserved to win.
Despite the cold, there was a festive atmosphere before the match with fancy dress the order of the day. For some dressed up as furry animals this was a blessing but for others it will probably lead to pneumonia. I don't think that I have ever seen so many fastfood outlets in one place but I failed to find one selling the legendary deep fried mars bars.
After the game, I wish I had been given a pound for every Scotsman who implored us to beat the English next Saturday. It might have gone some way towards paying for the cost of the trip.Losing to Wales seemed vaguely irrelavent to the Scots in the grand scheme of things.
We watched the Ireland v France game in a bar and even managed to get home in time for the England v Italy match. I have to say that this Six Nations has been really low on entertainment value and pretty low in terms of quality. Possibly the most exciting moments of the weekend were when Italy had a real go at England and could have snatched a draw or even a win. Overall four tries in total in the three matches and three of them as a result of pigging rather than artistry. Yes defences for the main were well on top. If you add to this the time watching endless kicks at goal and scrums collapsing it really wasn't a good advertisment at all. The weather was blamed by some - perhaps we should consider moving the Six Nations to April although that is no real guarantee that it would be any better.
The pundits keep saying that winning is more important than entertaining but what do the paying public think. Already the major English hype has started up about the game against Wales next Saturday. Last year when Wales won the Grand Slam, the English press played it down saying that the standard overall was low. Well this year the standard has been even lower particularly since France have been pretty awful.
Let's hope we get a bit more enterprise from both sides on Saturday but I somehow doubt it. Come on Wales let's see what you've got.
(I've had a gutsful of everyone picking their Lions team so note I have not mentioned it.)

Pontypool Defeat in the Sandwich

Sandwiched in between Italy v Wales and Scotland v Wales, normal service was resumed at Pontypool Park. Blackwood were the visitors on a beautiful sunny afternoon and the Park looked a picture. Since Pooler had already lost twice to Blackwood this season, our expectations were not high - perhaps a losing bonus point.

When the teams ran out, I was amazed to see that Pontypool had not changed their strip. The red, white and black stripes of Pontypool were hard to tell apart from the red, black and yellow stripes of Blackwood when looking into the sun. I don't think the yellow tint on my sunglasses helped! If Pooler had changed to white shorts it might have helped.

In the two previous encounters of the season, Blackwood had stormed away at the start and the game was over by half time. We were startled to see Pooler take the early initiative and even take a lead through a Gullis penalty. My fears of not being able to tell the two sides apart were soon allayed as the tactics unfolded. Pooler were content to kick the ball away (often badly) virtually every time they got possession while Blackwood mixed it up far better with Emanuelli controlling the game effectively. Whilst Blackwood did not run away with it, they gradually gained the ascendancy and turned possession into points with two well taken tries and a penalty. The home side managed to stay in touch with two more penalties and the half time score of 9-17 was a distinct improvement on the matches at Blackwood. Pooler had actually "won" the second half in those games so all was not lost particularly as we were playing down the slope.

In the second half things did not get any better as Blackwood scored another converted try and a penalty to push their score up to 27. Then unexpectedly, after a rash of substitutions, Pooler suddenly gained ascendancy in the scrums and pushed Blackwood all over the park. Blackwood were conceding a penalty at every scrum and Pooler were camped in their half. A yellow card and Blackwood were a man short. Pontypool quickly amassed 8 points through a try on the corner by Morgan and another penalty form Gullis. With the score 17-27, Pooler looked threatening and Blackwood looked nervous. Unfortunately the Pontypool backs lacked penetration and did not seem to have any "strike moves" to trouble a strong Blackwood defence. A tremendous driving maul was stopped just short of the Blackwood try line but unfortunately the defending side were awarded the put-in at the ensuing scrum and managed to scramble the ball away. More substitutions followed and Pooler's ascendancy at the scrum disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. A rare foray by Blackwood into the Pooler half led to another penalty for Emanuelli and the game at 17-30 was put firmly beyond the home side's reach.

This was a more spirited performance than of late from Pontypool and one that deserved at least a losing bonus point. On the plus side the scrummaging is much improved and Pooler won plenty of possession but on the minus side the backs lack penetration. At the start of the season it was the reverse - is there a lesson there somewhere?