Pooler Power to Victory

The post Christmas fare this year pitted Pontypool against RGC 1404 from North Wales. These teams represent the most easterly and most northerly locations in the Championship and the visitors managed to make the long trip despite the wintry weather. I certainly don’t envy them the amount of travelling that they have to do during the course of a season. The pitch was in remarkably good condition considering the heavy rain that had fallen on the previous day.

Pooler made a sluggish start to the match and RGC quickly camped out in the home 22. The visitors looked a well drilled side and their three quarters probed strongly. It was no more than they deserved when they opened the scoring with a converted try after concerted pressure. If Pooler didn’t know that RGC meant business, it had been brought home to them in no uncertain manner.

The home side began to liven up as the last morsels of Christmas pudding were digested and forced their way up to the RGC line and won athe put in at a scrum 5 metres out. The Pooler pack applied tremendous scrummage pressure and were awarded a penalty try at the second attempt to tie the score up at 7-7. Even better was to follow when an intricate three quarter move led to a try for Thorley converted by Gullis to give Pontypool a 14-7 lead.

The game was closely fought until halftime and with both sides looking to move the ball it was enjoyable to watch. Pooler had the edge in the tight but the RGC backs looked dangerous when they had the ball. A rather clumsy late tackle by RGC skipper Davies resulted in a yellow card just before the half ended with the score still at 14-7.

Pontypool had the advantage of the slope in the second half and took firm control of the match as the rain started to fall. The home side penned RGC in their own half with the pack, ably led by Nash, storming forward. An astute cross kick by Mills found Ryan Thomas on the left wing and the lock gathered the ball to score in the corner. The conversion failed but Pooler had a useful lead at 19-7 and their tails were up.

Pontypool continued to press hard and a break by Quick found the other lock Porter in support and he galloped in for the bonus point try. The try again went unconverted but the home side had built up what looked a winning lead at 24-7.

Pontypool weren’t finished and it was probably fitting that their fifth try came from their dominant scrum when Matthew Thomas touched down after the RGC pack had been dismantled at a 5 metre scrum. There was a late flurry from RGC but Pontypool held out for a well-deserved 29-7 victory.

This was a fine victory for Pontypool against strong opposition. It was a robust performance from the pack that laid the foundations of the win. The set piece was mighty effective and the loose play showed total commitment. We will need a repeat performance and a bit more if we are to end Bargoed’s unbeaten record next Saturday.

I have to say I was impressed with the Dragon’s victory against the Blues. They certainly looked hungry for it and applied remorseless pressure on their more illustrious rivals. It would have been a travesty if the Blues had managed to sneak a last minute win. The West Wales derby was far more open in approach with the all-action Ospreys building up an early lead. Their scrum looked vulnerable and the Scarlets exploited this and closed the gap with a series of penalties to get within an ace of pinching an unlikely victory. Whilst both matches had decent crowds, the 80,000 plus at Twickenham puts things in perspective.

Come on Pooler let’s make it a great start to 2015 with a victory against Bargoed.