Pooler Pipped at the Post

Conditions at the Gnoll in Neath were perfect and there was certainly a buzz around the ground as Pontypool rolled into town for their final warm up game before the season proper starts next weekend. These two teams were once the powerhouses of Welsh rugby but have become estranged and now it seems to be formally divorced from the top table in Wales. As at Aberavon last week, I looked around the ground and thought back to those bruising encounters of yesteryear and sighed. Still this was sure to be a competitive encounter and another chance for Pooler to measure their strength against a side from the Premiership.

It was an unfamiliar Pontypool team that took to the field when the game started and the first quarter was a bit of a nightmare as a vibrant Neath side threatened to run riot. The home forwards looked powerful and the backs looked quick and, to make matters worse, Pooler gave away a series of penalties. Neath scored three tries in the first quarter and it could easily have been more. The first try was scored after a series of Neath forward drives sucked in the Pontypool defence for Evans in the centre to have a clear run in near the posts (7-0). The second came when, to the embarrassment of the Pontypool defence, Neath second row Barley galloped down the touch line to score in the corner (12-0). The third try came when Neath attacked from their own twenty two for Howley to score an excellent long range try (19-0). Things looked black for Pooler!

In the second quarter Pooler managed to gain a bit of composure and, despite some close shaves, managed to prevent Neath from increasing their lead. Indeed, as the half drew to a close, a good kick chase after a speculative kick down field saw Morris charge down the attempted Neath clearance kick and touch the ball down for a try. The conversion failed but at least Pooler were on the scoreboard at 19-5.

Pontypool made mass substitutions at half time and the side started to look more familiar. They seemed intent of putting right the rather lack lustre performance of the first half. Neath soon realised that they were going to have to look to their laurels as Pooler powered their way into the home twenty two. A series of forward drives saw Pooler hooker Ball wriggle over and with Jones’ conversion it was game on at 19-12. Virtually from the restart, Pontypool were guilty of some weak tackling and Neath took full advantage with a try from Callow that with the conversion re-established their lead (26-12).

Pontypool had upped the pace and were now looking far more dangerous. A quick tapped penalty in the Neath twenty-two saw Gullis race over for an unconverted try (26-17). A few minutes later some great work by the Pooler back row forwards Edwards and Herbert opened up the space for Gullis to score his second try. This time Jones nailed the conversion and the gap was down to just two points (26-24) and the momentum completely with the away side. As a tremendous third quarter came to an end, Pontypool were again threatening the Neath line. A defensive lineout went awry and Lampitt got hold of the ball and powered over for a try. Despite the conversion failing, Pontypool had taken the lead at 26-29.

The final quarter saw Neath make substitutions and they came back strongly as they tried desperately to snatch the win. Pooler defended stoutly but were pinned in their own half for long periods. A yellow card for Pontypool wing Prothero made things even more difficult as Neath put their powerful attacks together. Pontypool managed to get hold of the ball and wound the clock down into time added on with a series of forward drives. It looked all up for Neath but with the last play of the game they found inspiration and moved the ball for Ellis to squeeze over in the corner. After some deliberation, the match officials decided that the try should stand. The conversion failed but this was irrelevant really as Neath had snatched victory at the last gasp. Final score 31-29.

This was certainly “a game of two halves” type of performance for Pontypool which will surely have given the coaching team plenty to think about. There is no doubt that Pontypool have a tremendously strong squad and it will be finding the right blend and combinations that will be the challenge. The first league game is next Saturday at newly promoted Ystrad Rhondda and Pontypool can certainly expect a warm welcome.

It wouldn’t be Welsh rugby if there weren’t reorganisations and recriminations and that certainly seems to be the situation at the moment. As usual, money is high on the agenda and that is never a good thing in sport. I am, I suppose, a bit of a dinosaur having been a rugby player and supporter for most of my sixty odd years. I do, however, have simple needs as a supporter and I do feel that the importance of the paying fan who goes to watch rugby week in and week out seems to fall down the pecking order as time goes on. I was taught that the customer is the most important person in the supply chain and surely the rugby fan is the customer here. Therefore as a customer let me put down what I would like:

• ·         I want to support a team that I feel an emotional attachment to and that I can feel part of. This cannot be created at the flick of a switch or with some high pressure marketing it has to be nurtured. I want to watch that team play in the flesh as often as I can be it home or away. There is only really room for one other team in my heart and that is the Welsh national team who I will also watch whenever I can. The team I choose to support is Pontypool RFC who I have followed through thick and thin since my days in West Mon School. Yes I have an avid interest in rugby in general but I do not really need to actually go and watch any other teams. I watch rugby on the TV but very much on a cherry picked basis. This means I watch rugby from all over the world as well as from Wales on the basis of what looks like being an interesting game.
• ·         I want the team that I support to be part of a competitive league structure that is based on a meritocracy and does not have artificially created barriers. This means promotion and relegation based on league position alone. I do not see the point of play offs at the end of the season. I would like a league structure that is not constantly changing but one that stays in place for at least five years. 
• ·         A rugby season that lasts from September to April i.e. 8 months or 34 weeks. I would like there to be at least 26 league games to watch preferably on a Saturday afternoon during that time. This would allow time for cup matches and postponements. This means a league of 14 or 16 clubs.
• ·         I would rather stand on a terrace than on the field. If it is pouring with rain I would rather be under cover. As I get older I guess I would rather sit than stand. These however are not things that determine whether I go and watch a match.
• ·         I have no strong feelings about whether players should be paid. In the end it is the market and the benefactors that will determine that. We should be eternally grateful that there are benefactors and sponsors who are prepared to put money into the game.
• ·         Of course I want my team to do well but that is not the be all and end all. Win or lose it is nice to be able to mix with supporters from other clubs.
• ·         Most of all I want to have a bit of fun at a rugby match on a Saturday afternoon with people of a like mind.

The last few years have been frustrating as a Pontypool supporter with a ring-fenced Premiership and not really enough league rugby in a 12 team league. It seems the former will eventually be resolved but I still feel that we could do with a league of 14 teams. But what about Regional rugby I hear you ask. Somehow it seems to have passed me by – it must be the dinosaur in me.

I am still enjoying my rugby thanks to Pontypool.

Come on Pooler!