Iron Men Too Strong

It was like old times with the floodlights illuminating Pontypool Park and a sizeable crowd gathered to watch a crucial match. Pontypool were playing Merthyr RFC, long-time leaders of the Championship, who had only recently relinquished top spot to Swansea. Merthyr were sure to be fired up, not only because of this which came about as a result of their recent loss at Bargoed, but also a desire to exact revenge for Pooler’s stunning victory on their home patch.

Pontypool also came into the game on the back of a loss at RGC 1404 and, with the North Walians and Bargoed breathing down their necks in the battle for promotion, they too had every reason to be desperate to win. The tough encounter with RGC 1404 had left Pooler with a formidable injury list but we were glad to welcome back former player Geraint O’Driscoll who slotted in at full back.

Pontypool played up the slope in the first half and were soon feeling the power of the Merthyr scrum. They were caught in possession in their own 22 and from the resultant scrum, Downes powered over to give the away side an early 0-7 lead. Pontypool had to withstand a tremendous onslaught as Merthyr smelled blood. Indeed they not only managed to extricate themselves but O’Driscoll slotted a penalty to bring the score to 3-7.The Merthyr scrum continued to dominate and Pontypool were living off scraps of possession and finding it difficult to put any meaningful attacking rugby together. The home defence was ferocious with the whole team putting their bodies on the line to stop Merthyr’s powerful attacks. They restricted Merthyr to a dropped goal and a penalty and even managed a further penalty themselves leaving the score at 6-13 with half time approaching.

The referee finally had enough of Pontypool’s infringements at the scrum and gave tighthead prop Harford a yellow card. We feared the worst but, against the balance of play, Pontypool worked their way up to the Merthyr line. From a remarkably solid scrum, with Harris at tighthead and Tu’ipalotu on the flank, Williams crossed for a try under the posts. The conversion from O’Driscoll left the scores tied at 13-13 at half time. This was a real boost for the home side who had been under the cosh for most of the first half. Playing downhill in the second half there might still be a chance of an unlikely victory.

Pontypool started the second half with fourteen men but immediately won a scrum close to the Merthyr line. Unfortunately they contrived to lose position and soon they were back in defensive mode. Merthyr’s tremendous forward pressure proved unstoppable and Davies scored their second try. The outstanding Jarvis converted and the score moved to 13-20. Merthyr continued to press with the home side finding it tough to create any scoring chances. Pooler continued to defend manfully but were guilty of kicking too much of their limited possession away.

The Merthyr pressure was bound to tell and two further penalties from Jarvis moved victory out of Pooler’s grasp at 13-26. There was still the chance of a losing bonus point and Pooler did manage to create a couple of chances. The door was slammed firmly shut when Normandale scored a try for the away side after the best passage of play of the match. The conversion brought the final score to 13-33.

There is no doubt that Merthyr were the stronger side on the night and they thoroughly deserved their victory. This was a chastening experience for Pontypool who were outplayed in all aspects of their game. But for their heroic defence, the final score could have been a lot worse. In Jarvis, Merthyr had a class operator at outside half who not only succeeded with all his attempts at goal but also controlled the game well behind a dominant pack.

What next for Pooler? Losing to a really powerful Merthyr side is no disgrace but they have to lick their wounds and bounce back straight away.  Bargoed’s bonus point win against Cardiff Met last night has closed up the gaps in the table alarmingly. Bargoed have now moved up to fourth place and are only 6 points behind Pontypool with a game in hand. RGC in fifth are 8 points behind with 2 games in hand. It’s going to be tough with the momentum currently with our two rivals. We can still do it though – believe!

Congratulations to the Wales Under 20’s on their stunning Grand Slam. They have played some brilliant rugby and deserve their success. If these lads stick together they could form the nucleus of a senior Welsh team in years to come.

It’s Wales v Italy today so I am just off to Cardiff. Let’s hope Wales can manage more than ten minutes good rugby this time and I can forget about yesterday’s disappointment.

Come on Wales!

Next up for Pontypool is a home game against Cardiff Met. Come on boys let’s pick ourselves up and get back to winning ways.

Come on Pooler!