Well
we have arrived at the last home game of the season. The visitors to Pontypool
Park were local rivals Blackwood on a beautiful spring day. Blackwood have
suffered a sharp decline in fortunes lately following internal issues in the
club and have rather become the Championship’s whipping boys. We therefore took
our places on the sun-drenched Bank expecting a substantial home win. Nothing
really prepared us for what was to follow.
It
all started normally enough when Blackwood took the lead with a penalty and
Pontypool replied with two unconverted tries from Thorley and Norton. Pooler’s
lead was quickly cancelled out by a Blackwood interception try and the score
was 10-10. The signs for Blackwood had been ominous, however, with their scrum being
pushed back yards and the ease with which Pooler had scored the first two
tries. From then on it was absolute carnage as Pontypool ran riot in the
perfect playing conditions.
Even
though Pooler’s handling was not totally accurate they racked up tries at
regular intervals and a flurry of tries just before half time left the score at
48-10 at the break. Pontypool had scored 8 tries and had easily secured a bonus
point. Blackwood were trying their hardest but were outpaced and overpowered by
a rampant home side. When you thought about all the tough battles that the two
sides had fought in the past, it was rather sad to see Blackwood’s demise and
you rather feared for what might happen in the second half.
What
actually did happen was even more one-sided than in the first half with Pooler
continuing to accumulate tries. If this had been a boxing match, the Blackwood
corner would have thrown in the towel but there was no such respite available
for the battered visitors. To their credit, they kept battling away as the
scoreboard approached the three figure mark. Pontypool’s play was breath-taking
at times as their confidence soared and Brookes on the right wing helped
himself to 4 tries in the match. Even when Pooler passed the 100 point mark
they kept going relentlessly and eventually ran in an incredible 10 tries in
the second half to leave a final score of 112-10.
At
the end of the match, there was no feeling of jubilation as it had not really been
a contest at all. You had to feel sympathy for Blackwood and we at Pontypool
know only too well how sharp a decline can be when things go against you off
the field. Let us hope that they manage to bounce back next season.
For
Pontypool’s part, this should have them brimming with confidence for the visit
to North Wales next week for the final game of the season against RGC 1404. One
thing is certain it will be a far tougher encounter with both sides anxious to
finish as near to the top of the league as possible.
When
I got home I just caught the tail-end of the Clermont v Saracens match and it
was as if you were watching a different sport. The intensity was incredible but
the ambition to score tries through guile was low. It was all about whether the
bludgeon-like attack could overcome the monstrous defence. Sure it was close
and tense but hardly a spectacle. The scintillating play on the last day of the
Six Nations Championship has soon been forgotten.
Sad
to see that the Dragons’ renaissance was soon stopped dead in its tracks at
Edinburgh thus bringing a pretty miserable European season for the Welsh
regions to an end. It is hardly surprising when you see the roll call of talent
available to the French and English sides.
We
all hope for better fortunes next season but come on Pooler let’s finish this
one in style.
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