Pooler Battle to Beat ‘Em

When I arrived at Pontypool Park for Pooler’s Championship fixture against Newcastle Emlyn I sensed a change in the atmosphere on the Bank. We are approaching the business end of the season and the optimists and the pessimists were in avid debate about Pooler’ prospects for promotion. Yes the tension is definitely mounting and the smart phones would be in action to monitor the progress of our two deadly rivals Bargoed and RGC 1404. All this is very well but what really matters is that Pontypool take care of business and win the match against improving Newcastle Emlyn.

The sun was shining but there was a cold wind blowing down the valley and the pitch looked heavy after all the recent rain. Pontypool played up the slope and against the wind in the first half. From the outset it was abundantly clear that Newcastle Emlyn were a lively and well-coached outfit who were going to prove a handful for the home side. Pooler started well enough and moved the ball probing for openings. The Emlyn defence shut the door firmly on a number of occasions and it didn’t look as if the home backs were going to outpace their opponents. Cue the forwards and after some powerful driving play in the Emlyn twenty two, Ben Parry eventually barged over. The conversion missed narrowly but Pooler had first blood at 5-0.

The away side started to show what they could do and their tricky backs found some gaps in the Pooler defence. Emlyn were rewarded with a penalty to close the gap in the scores to 5-3. Pontypool responded with an attack of their own and Tu’ipolotu suddenly broke through a maul on the Emlyn ten metre line and fed the ever alert Quick who raced in for a try. The conversion from Gullis made the score 12-3.

The Emlyn backs again gave Pontypool problems as they continued to find gaps to exploit. It was no more than they deserved when they broke through to score a try near the posts. The conversion left the score at 12-10 and Emlyn had gained the initiative. The away side did not seem to be as bogged down by the heavy pitch as the heavier Pontypool players. They nearly scored a second try but had to settle for a penalty attempt. The kick just missed and Pooler held a slender 12-10 lead at half time. Pontypool were playing with the elements in the second half so must have felt that they were in a reasonably strong position.

Pontypool dominated territory in the second half but found it hard to break down the tenacious Emlyn defence that buzzed around the field. A Gullis penalty gave some breathing space (15-10) as the pacey away backs looked like they could feed on turnover ball and break out of defence at any time. As in the first half, you felt that it was the Pooler forwards that were the more likely to give Emlyn problems and so it proved when a powerful scrum resulted in a penalty try. This gave the home side a significant lead at 22-10 and also moved them to within one try of a bonus point.

Emlyn were far from finished and hit back with a penalty (22-13) and had certainly not given up hope of gaining at least a losing bonus point. Pontypool went in search of the crucial fourth try and as time went on they seemed to get more and more anxious and made far too many errors as they got themselves into promising positions. Just as the fans were beginning to despair, up stepped the redoubtable Nash to score a try in Goff’s corner with the last play of the game. Oh ye of little faith! The conversion failed but the bonus point had been secured with the final score 27-13.

This was certainly not a vintage Pontypool performance against stubborn opposition. Nevertheless they got the job done and secured the vital five points that keeps them just ahead of their rivals. There is a break of a few weeks and this should give the squad a chance to recharge their batteries for what is sure to be a tough and exciting last part of the season.

The news from the smart phones was that Bargoed had lost narrowly at Swansea but had gained two bonus points. This leaves Bargoed twenty three points behind Pooler but with three games in hand. The much strengthened RGC 1404 side recorded a comfortable home win against Beddau leaving them nine points behind Pooler with one game in hand. It may seem that Pooler are in the box seat but when you take into account the remaining fixtures between the five top teams the battle is still far from over.

Next week sees the first round of the Six Nations Championship. Suddenly the failure of the Northern Hemisphere teams to make any impact on the RWC is forgotten and we are playing in the greatest rugby tournament in the world. It is tough to predict a winner and when I was working through a sweep entry I ended up predicting that Italy would not win a match and the other five sides would win three matches each. I have never won a sweep in my life so I wouldn’t put much store on my predictions but an exciting last day like last season could be on the cards. Incidentally I have predicted Wales to lose in Ireland so I fervently hope that I am wrong. With the exception of the back three, the Wales team virtually picks itself so we will have a pretty settled team anyway.

Come on Wales!

Come on Pooler!

No Scrums of Comfort

After last weekend’s tough encounter with Bedwas in the Cup, Pontypool were back in action in the Championship with a trip to Llanharan. Over the years, an away fixture at Llanharan has been anything but easy. Indeed, as recently as last season Pontypool came a cropper there. Sadly things have turned sour at the Dairy Field and Llanharan find themselves adrift at the bottom of the league. Rather like Blackwood last season they have been on the end of some fearsome beatings and so Pooler were optimistic about a much-needed bonus point win.

The sun was trying hard to break through when I arrived although it certainly was not shining on the home side. Llanharan were unable to field a front row and so the match would have uncontested scrummaging from the start. The sanction for this was that Llanharan would not have any replacements available. Now Pontypool regard their scrum as a potent weapon so it was not really clear whether the situation was advantageous to them. Still rules is rules - but it a sad reflection on the prevailing conditions in the Championship.

From the kick off, you got the distinct feeling that both sides felt that the result was a foregone conclusion. Pontypool would try and claim the four try bonus point as quickly as they could and Llanharan would fight a brave rear-guard action. This made for a strangely unsatisfying first half.

It was clear that if Pooler managed to string a decent number of phases together they would probably score. The lightweight Llanharan pack, not taxed by scrummaging, were lively and committed and certainly made things difficult for Pooler and this coupled with a lot of errors made for a frustrating opening stanza. Once they settled down to life without active scrums, Pontypool seemed to have most joy down the left flank and soon they were scoring at regular intervals with Hurley and Gullis looking particularly lively. After half an hour they had secured the bonus point and by half time they had scored six tries to lead 0-36. You feared for Llanharan in the second half especially as they were reduced to fourteen men by an injury.

The second half was a strange affair with Pontypool unable to establish the level of control that they really should have. True they scored another four tries but they left a lot more out there as good approach play too often didn’t deliver an end product. The introduction of all the replacements probably didn’t help but there was a lot of inaccuracy in the passing that would be severely punished against stronger opposition. Llanharan for their part never gave up trying and were rewarded with a couple of converted tries following Pontypool mistakes.

The final score was 14-64 with for the record Pontypool try scorers; Hurley(3), Thorley, Tu’ipolotu, Mills, Jeune, Nash, Thomas and Lewis. Gullis kicked 7 conversions.

This was a bit of an unsatisfying match played in strange circumstances but Pontypool did what they had to do and served up some really good rugby at times. I am sure if this had been a match with contested scrums the result would have been even more convincing. It was good to see Thorley and Jones back after long absences and as the injury list shortens the squad looks to have more strength in depth than at any time during the season. This will certainly need this as the battle for promotion hots up. Both Bargoed and RGC 1404 had good wins yesterday so it looks like it might go right to the wire. The final few weeks of rearranged fixtures will probably be decisive with the contenders playing each other in tense circumstances.

Next week Pontypool play Newcastle Emlyn at home and certainly cannot afford to take them lightly. A slip up even at this stage of the season could be costly.

The Welsh Squad for the Six Nations contained few surprises. It seems that Gatland’s law has been repealed with no fewer than ten of the squad playing for clubs outside of Wales. It will be a tough opening match in Ireland although the Irish Provinces have not exactly been setting Europe alight - a bit like their Welsh counterparts.

Still my thoughts are with Pontypool v. Newcastle Emlyn next week.

Come on Pooler!

Pontypool Just Fall Short

Rugby at last. The monsoon has finally subsided in the Gwent Valleys and we can get back down to business. On the agenda for a cold grey Saturday afternoon at Pontypool Park was the little matter of a SWALEC Cup match between Pontypool and Bedwas. Bedwas are in the Premiership and so this would be a decent yardstick to use to measure how far Pontypool have developed.

Of course the Cup is not what it used to be and it has become a pretty low key affair with even finding out the results proving difficult these days. A far cry from those dramatic matches against Cardiff in a packed Pontypool Park all those years ago. I still have nightmares about Gerald Davies and his four lucky tries. Nevertheless with so little rugby since Xmas it was an important match for both sides.

Bedwas played down the slope in the first half and if they had spoken in the changing room about the importance getting a fast start then their wishes came true. They scored a try under the posts through fullback John within the first few minutes as Pontypool were trying to cope with the strong ball carriers that Bedwas possessed. It looked pretty ominous for Pooler as Bedwas played at a higher pace than they were used to in the Championship.

Pooler are made of stern stuff these days and gradually they got up to speed and began to compete strongly in all phases of the game. Indeed there was little to choose between the two sides as the first half progressed. Pooler got on the scoreboard with a Hancock penalty to make the score 3-7 and it was game on. At times things got a little fractious as both sets of forwards struggled to get ascendancy and this eventually led to the sinbinning of Nash and Lee who had been having a bit of a debate about something or other. Both sides had some decent attacking opportunities but the defences held firm. Bedwas did look the more dangerous and towards the end of the half they scored a try after some good approach play put John in for his second try in the corner. The conversion failed but the Premiership side had opened up a significant lead at 3-12. The home side were unlucky not to reduce the deficit when a long range Hancock penalty hit a post but the score remained at 3-12 at half time.

So to the second half and this time it was Pooler who got the fast start and gave Bedwas a dose of their own medicine with the forwards carrying strongly right from the first whistle. After a series of powerful drives close to the Bedwas line Tu’ipolotu squirmed over for a try. Unfortunately the conversion sailed wide but Pooler were back in the game at 8-12. Indeed it was the home side who looked the more lively as they sensed that an upset might be on the cards. Unlike in Championship matches the teams were allowed to have eight replacements on the bench and Bedwas began to bring on fresh legs as they sensed the danger.

The home side worked their way deep into the Bedwas twenty two and gained a penalty in front of the posts to close the gap to 11-12. Then came the moment that eventually decided the match. Just as Pontypool were gathering themselves for a further assault on the Bedwas line, the visitors showed their class and scored a try just when they really needed it. Their backs again showed real pace with Pooler old boy Budina scoring in the corner. The conversion from the touchline put Bedwas two scores clear at 11-19. Pooler had it all to do again.

For the rest of the half Pontypool tried their hardest to get back into the game. Frustratingly every time that they worked themselves into a decent field position Bedwas seemed to get a turnover. The choke tackle law can certainly be annoying for an attacking team. In addition, the referee’s interpretation of what is happening at the breakdown can be mystifying to those watching from the Bank. Bedwas were reduced to fourteen men by a sinbinning but Pooler still couldn’t get the score they needed to set up a tense finish to the match. Bedwas held out until the end to leave the final score 11-19.

Pontypool can be immensely proud of their performance and they pushed a good team from a higher league all the way. The whole team played with tremendous commitment with some really ferocious defence knocking the Bedwas attackers back time after time. The final score line is quite flattering to Bedwas who had to work really hard for this victory. In the final analysis the difference between the two sides was that Bedwas took their chances more effectively. Bedwas managed to score their tries at exactly the right time – right at the start, just before half time and when Pooler were really pressing. Pontypool can take a lot from this game and use it as a platform for a strong end to the season.

Congratulations to the Ospreys and the Dragons for two really good performances against tough French opposition. Some of the performances by the younger players were extremely encouraging. Let us hope that both can go on and qualify for the next phases of their respective European competitions.

Next week it is back to Championship action. Pontypool have a visit to struggling Llanharan but should take nothing for granted.

Come on Pooler!