A Christmas Cracker

Pontypool visited Championship new boys Merthyr on a crisp and clear afternoon. Merthyr have started the season really well and, having only lost twice, were a couple of places above Pontypool in the league. They were also defending a longstanding unbeaten home record so this was going to be a tough encounter.

Pontypool had picked a jumbo back row for the game and they started really strongly pushing the Merthyr scrum back yards and penning the home side in their 22. Pooler actually drove a scrum over the home try line but frustratingly knocked on in the act of scoring. It was all Pooler and they deservedly opened the scoring with an unconverted try from Number 8 Ryan Thomas. Even though they had limited possession, Merthyr looked dangerous on the break and scored an excellent try from deep in their own half with backs and forwards combining well. This too went unconverted to tie the score at 5-5.

Pontypool continued to dominate territory but were guilty of making too many mistakes with the three-quarters not quite firing as we know they can. This allowed Merthyr a toehold in the game and an exchange of penalties left the score at 8-8. The Pontypool scrummage dominance began to ebb away and the game became much more even and flowed from end to end. It was Pontypool that broke the deadlock just before half time with Jordan Williams popping up on the wing to finish some good combined play. The conversion again failed to leave Pooler with a narrow 8-13 lead at the break.

Merthyr started the second half the stronger and they had changed their tactics. The forwards carried the ball strongly and made big inroads into the Pontypool defence. Pontypool defended stoutly but in the end their defence was breached with the Merthyr loose head prop driving over near the posts. With the conversion, the home side edged into the lead at 15-13.

Pontypool went back on the offensive and the Merthyr scrum half was given a yellow card as they defended their line. The successful penalty from Gullis put Pooler back in the lead at 15-16. A raft of substitutions followed with Pontypool putting Mills at scrum half and bringing on Hancock at outside half as well as changes in the tiring pack. Pontypool gave away a penalty at a ruck in midfield and the successful long range kick meant that Merthyr regained the lead at 18-16.

Yet again the away side responded and hammered away at the Merthyr line. A lack of discipline led to Mills being yellow carded and the opportunity was lost. The game became frenetic as the tension mounted and the large crowd became increasingly vocal. A successful penalty from Gullis put Pontypool back in the lead 18-19 and set up an exciting last 10 minutes.

Spurred on by the crowd, it was the home side that looked the livelier as the Pontypool forwards tired. Some slick handling from the Merthyr backs left their right wing Howard with some room to work with and he beat two men to score in the corner. The conversion failed but Merthyr had a useful lead at 23-19. The away side were not done and injury time saw a series of Pontypool scrums close to the Merthyr line but, to the immense relief of the home fans, Merthyr just about managed to hold out for a victory.

This was a great game of rugby and a fine advertisement for the Championship. It was a game that Pontypool could and, some would argue should, have won. A few wrong options, a few handling errors and an occasional lack of discipline made the difference between winning and losing.  Merthyr are a decent workman-like side and losing narrowly to them away from home is certainly not a disgrace. It would have been nice to win though!

After the tension of the match, I had to take myself to the pub for a drink so didn’t really see much of the European rugby.  I just happened to catch the end of the Leinster v Harlequins game which looked a pretty boisterous affair. European rugby is certainly not a beautiful thing to watch and it is all about attrition rather than artistry. It really does need a massive squad of top players to succeed and that means money. Even with the recent changes to regional rugby in Wales, it is difficult to see how the regions will ever be able to compete with the likes of Toulon and Northampton.

Still all I have to worry about is the trip to Blackwood next week! Come on Pooler.