Pontypool Grind Out Victory

I had been looking forward to my visit to Pontypool Park as, at this time of the year, the trees look stunning in their autumn colours. The trees did their best but sadly the sunshine of the previous week had been replaced by a cold, grey day with a biting wind bringing the occasion flurry of rain. It really felt as if winter was on its way.

Pontypool were entertaining the Championship new boys Maesteg Harlequins who had made a decent start to the campaign and would certainly be out to test the reigning champions to the full. Before the contest kicked off, there was a minute’s silence in memory of three Pontypool stalwarts in Ray Cheney, Robin Williams and Terry “Tiger” Simons.

Pontypool, playing up the slope, started brightly and despite losing prop Drake were 3-0 up in the first ten minutes through a penalty from Lewis. This was followed a few minutes later by a try by Nash following a driving lineout (8-0). The Quins began to find their feet and hit back with a penalty from Howe when Pooler strayed offside (8-3).

The game was pretty scrappy as the away side set about disrupting Pooler’s best laid plans. The scrums were a mess and the Quins’ line speed in defence was stifling - at times seeming to reach mach 1. To add to the stop start nature of the game, there was an unfortunate injury to the Quins’ lock Smith which led to a ten minute break in play while he was attended to by the medical team.

When the match restarted, Pooler took advantage of some disarray in the vistors’ defence and made good ground when they spread the ball wide from a scrum. From an ensuing ruck, Matthews scored a try in the corner. The try was unconverted but Pontypool now held a 13-3 lead.

Pontypool continued to press and Matthews was again on the scoresheet as he touched down following a powerful rolling maul. This time Lewis was successful with the conversion (20-3). Pontypool looked to be set fair for victory but the Quins hit back with a second penalty from Howe after some decent attacking rugby (20-6).

Pontypool marched back up the field and took up residence deep in the Quins’ twenty two and looked odds on to score their fourth try especially when the Quins’ hooker Ronan was yellow carded. Somehow the Quins defence held out and there was a mighty cheer from their travelling support when they kicked the ball off the field and the half time whistle blew. HT Pontypool 20 Maesteg Quins 6.

Playing down the slope in the second half and with the wind if anything behind them, the Pontypool faithful fully expected the home side to pull away from the visitors. It started well enough with a vintage rolling maul that travelled fully twenty five metres for Matthews to touch down for his third try and secure the bonus point. The conversion from near the touchline missed narrowly but Pooler surely had a winning lead at 25-6.

The game became scrappier and scrappier with far too many interruptions from collapsed scrums and injuries for either side to get any measure of continuity. As a spectacle it left a lot to be desired on a cold day. All very frustrating.

Halfway through the half Pontypool at last put a significant series of attacks together which culminated in East ploughing over the line for a try. The conversion by Lewis was successful and Pooler led 32-6.

 With fifteen minutes remaining, an injury to home prop Coundley meant uncontested scrums and Pontypool being reduced to fourteen men as they had already used their replacement prop Price. The Quins took advantage of this and pressed strongly. Eventually they got their reward when Owen scored a try that was converted by Davies (32-13).

Pontypool had saved their best till last and a great break by outside half Lewis from the halfway line was supported by Thomas on the wing who almost made it to the try line. Luckwell was on hand to grab the ball and touch down for an excellent try. The conversion by Lewis sailed over and Pooler led 39-13.

In the dying minutes the Quins strove hard to score a second try but it wasn’t to be. It was with some relief for the spectators that the referee blew the final whistle and ended a pretty turgid afternoon’s entertainment. Final score Pontypool 39 Maesteg Quins 13.

Pontypool had to work hard for this victory against the Quins and despite the stop start nature of the game managed to score six tries and to be honest never looking like losing. Their bonus point victory and Cardiff Met’s narrow loss at Narberth means that Pontypool return to the top of the Championship having won their first eight matches. Let us hope that they can stay there until the end of the season.

Next week there is no match for Pontypool and Wales take on Scotland in Cardiff. Normally at this stage of the season thoughts turn to who will play for Wales with everyone having an opinion. Since the departure of Pro 14 from my TV screen I must confess I really don’t know who is playing well. Yes I watched the European matches last weekend and there were a couple of people playing in blue who I thought looked good. The trouble is I was not sure whether they were paying for Cardiff Blues or Glasgow Warriors. Seriously, the Scottish teams seem to be playing well and it is going to be a tough encounter for Wales next Saturday. I will certainly need to be fortified with a decent brunch beforehand.

Pontypool’s next match will be in a couple of weeks when the travel to Trebanos who are difficult proposition particularly on their own ground.

Come on Pooler!

Seven Up for Pooler

It’s confession time. I didn’t make the trip to Newcastle Emlyn. There I have said it. Whatever I say will sound lame but this is how it happened. At 11.30am I duly got into the car by myself as none of my usual companions were available for the trip. I felt a bit weary and had to stifle a huge yawn – the early morning swim catching up. Can I be trusted to drive two hours each way as well as suffering the tension of the match? I thought. ‘Of course I can’, I muttered and turned the key in the ignition. ‘Ping’ - the low fuel warning came on. That was the deciding factor – I retreated back to the couch. This sounds weak and pathetic and I am duly ashamed.

Anyway, as it turned out, Pontypool did perfectly well without me and powered to a convincing 19-52 victory at Newcastle Emlyn. From the Twitter feed, it is apparent that the match started as quite a ding-dong affair with the lead changing hands a few times before Pooler asserted their authority. High scores seem to be the norm in this fixture and I regretted not being there as I fidgeted on the couch. Ben Sparks helped himself to a hat trick out of the eight tries that Pooler scored. That is seven out of seven for Pooler who are in second place in the Championship with 34 points behind Cardiff Met who have won all eight of their games and have 36 points. The first encounter between these two teams is something to look forward to. Sadly it is scheduled for the 24^th November which is the day Wales play South Africa. Even though the Wales game does not kick off until 17.20 it is not really possible to go to both – even with a helicopter. With a curtailed season, it is such a shame that this sort of fixture clash occurs.

So what did I see whilst I was playing truant? It started on Friday evening with a taster of Llandovery v. Neath. I only watched the first half an hour and my abiding memory is just how miserable everyone looked both on and off the field. Not really sure why that was. When I flicked over to Leicester Tigers v. the Scarlets, the contrast was remarkable with bright lights and a vibrant crowd. Hard as the Scarlets tried, they could not overcome their lack of power in the scrum and gave away far too many penalties. Leicester played their usual brand of power rugby which on the night proved just sufficient to beat the Scarlets. Frustratingly every time the Welsh side got any decent ball they looked more than capable of splitting the home defence and even took the lead in the second half. One rash pass by Jon Davies in his own twenty two seemed to change the momentum of the game and in the end the Tigers pulled away to win convincingly 45-27.

On Saturday I nearly exhausted the battery in the remote by flicking between matches so often. Both the early games Munster v Gloucester and Castres v. Exeter were affected by early red cards for high tackles. Gloucester lost Cipriani and never looked like being able to cope with Munster who ran out reasonably comfortable winners despite not really playing that well. Castres coped rather better with the loss of number eight Vaipulu and came from behind to narrowly beat the Chiefs. I think everyone agrees that the high tackle needs to be eliminated from the game but there is no doubt that there will be plenty of cards shown as the players find a way of avoiding contact with the head in what is a brutally physical game at the professional level. Players who run close to the ground will surely prove effective ball carriers like running backs in the NFL. Chris Huish would have been ideal.

Almost before I had time to make a cup of tea, the second pair of matches started. Edinburgh were absolutely brilliant in thumping a rather lifeless Toulon side who are a shadow of their former selves (40-14). The Wasps v. Bath game was full of handling errors but pulsating for all that. The final result a 35-35 draw didn’t really suit either side who will now struggle to qualify in a group containing the mighty Leinster. From a Welsh perspective, it was good to see Thomas Young winning the man of the match award. He can certainly do no more to try and gain a place in the Welsh squad.

I adjourned to the pub and, despite seemingly everyone else in the bar engrossed in Huddersfield v. Liverpool, was able to glance now and then at a screen in a dark corner showing Racing 92 v. Ulster. After a combative start Ulster were quite convincingly beaten by the French side who had too much star quality.

The European Rugby Challenge Cup progresses under the radar but both Welsh sides lost – the Dragons at home to Northampton and the Ospreys away at Worcester. So as I write this, it is three losses out of three for the Welsh regions. Maybe Cardiff Blues will be able to prevent the whitewash with their home game against Glasgow. They will really need to play well to do it though.

Next Saturday it should be back to normality with newly promoted Maesteg Quins making the journey to Pontypool Park. In the mean time I will do my penance of singing “the Pontypool Front Row” three times a day for missing the Newcastle Emlyn match. “Up and under here we go……”

Come on Pooler!

Couch Potato +++

Storm Callum put the kibosh on Pontypool’s scheduled visit to Bedlinog so it was an afternoon on the couch for me. In a major athletic effort, I managed three consecutive European Rugby Champions Cup matches in a row. When I think back they all now seem to merge into one. Life is far simpler when you only have to concentrate on one match and far better when you are watching a team you really care about.

Talking about people really caring about a team, it was with tremendous sadness that I heard about the passing of Terry Simons. Now there was a man who really cared about a team. Welsh rugby is all the poorer for losing a real rugby stalwart in the old tradition. May Tiger rest in peace.

Back on the couch, the first match was Bath v. Toulouse. You never really know how a French team is going to play away from home especially if the weather conditions are iffy. Toulouse clearly were up for this match and it was a close and very physical match with few moments to remember. There were some exciting runs from Kolbe for Toulouse but of course the thing that will stand out in the memory was Freddie Burns’ nightmare couple minutes as the match was reaching its final crescendo. Toulouse were leading narrowly at 20-22 when Burns missed an easy penalty goal. This was followed by an even worse error. He looked to have atoned for his missed kick when some great play by Bath put him on for a try. Burns allowed himself a smile as he was about to put the ball down for the winning score. In a flash, Medard saw the possibilities and managed to knock the ball clear. That smile disappeared at Mach 2 or more and Bath were condemned to a home defeat. You can feel some sympathy but in a professional sport such a mistake is unforgivable.

The second match saw Exeter take on Munster. This was a wind game with Exeter having the really strong wind behind them in the first half. These are two sides who play a very similar brand of power rugby and I suppose that it is no great surprise that the game ended in a 10-10 draw. I guess this is fair outcome in a game full of handling errors in difficult conditions. You will not see many more physical encounters that is for sure. Munster will probably feel the more satisfied with the result as the away team.

Hoping for a bit more running rugby I finished my triathlon with the Scarlets v Racing 92. Again conditions were terrible and the game was probably the lowest standard of the three. The Scarlets were missing some of their more influential players such as Patchell, Shingler and James Davies and seemed content to kick the ball away. Racing too were quite happy to kick the ball to the Scarlets in the hope of forcing a mistake. The Scarlets were also missing a large partisan crowd due to some extent I am sure to the ravages of storm Callum. The Scarlets looked to have the game won when they scored a couple of tries in the second half. Unfortunately Halfpenny missed both conversions which was to prove costly in the final analysis. As the game was in the final stages, the Scarlets held a six point lead at 13-7. Racing pounded away at the Scarlets line knowing that a converted try would win it. The strong wind meant that a conversion anywhere other than in front of the posts was eminently missable. The Scarlets were defending desperately when referee Carley stepped in and awarded Racing 92 a rather generous penalty try taking the crucial conversion out of the equation. Not only were the Scarlets 13-14 down, but they also lost Gareth Davies to a yellow card. There was no way back in the minutes that remained

.

Three really close games filled with physicality but somehow they were no substitute for watching the Pooler. The European Rugby Challenge Cup seems to have disappeared from our screens but I did see that the Ospreys beat Pau and the Dragons won in Timbuktu or somewhere.

I think I’ll sign off there as I have to rearrange the cushions for another day on the couch. What a life!  

Next week Pontypool are due to make the long trek to Newcastle Emlyn. This normally turns out to be a quite high scoring encounter. Let’s hope the weather gods are smiling.

Come on Pooler!  

   

Pontypool Blend Power and Pace

Pontypool Park was looking splendid in its autumn colours as the rugby congregation gathered for what was widely regarded as one of the pivotal matches of the Championship season. Pontypool were taking on one of the other unbeaten teams in the league in their perennial rivals Narberth. Narberth have started the season strongly with a string of impressive victories and would surely present a stiff challenge. By their standards, Pontypool have not been at their best so far this season but have reeled off five victories too. It was time for Pooler to step up to the plate,

It was Narberth who started the game the stronger. Playing down the slope with the breeze in their favour. They soon established a position in the home twenty two but failed to score despite some promising approach play. After soaking up ten minutes of pressure, Pontypool managed to break the shackles and worked their way up the field eventually winning a lineout near the Narberth line. A series of forward drives saw Pooler skipper Nash get the opening try of the afternoon which was converted by Jones (7-0). Shortly afterwards Pooler increased their lead through a Jones penalty (10-0).

Narberth continued to look threatening and from a lineout near the Pontypool twenty two their backs split the Pontypool defence for the supporting flanker Rees to score a try. The conversion failed but Narberth were back in the game at 10-5.

As the half wore on, the Pontypool pack began to show their power in both attack and defence with the front row particularly prominent. This gave a solid platform for the backs to show their mettle. After twenty five minutes, Pooler scored their second try when fullback Walsh came into the line to give wing Lewis the hint of an overlap. The “gas man” need no second invitation and showed his pace and power to cross in the corner. An excellent conversion saw Pooler establish a 17-5 lead.

As half time approached, Pontypool disputed a decision by the referee which turned a scrum into a kickable penalty. Griffiths obliged by plonking the ball between the posts to leave the score at 17-8 at the interval. We wondered whether this moment of indiscipline would come back to haunt Pontypool as the players trooped off the field.

Pontypool came out in the second half as if they had been given the proverbial kick up the back side. Powerful carries by Drake and Coundley pushed the home side deep into the Narberth twenty two. The backs took over and an incisive inside pass saw left wing Thomas power over near the posts. The conversion by Jones extended the Pooler lead to 24-8.

Pontypool were soon on the attack again and decided to kick for the corner after being awarded a kickable penalty. Their driving lineout proved irresistible and Nash got his second touchdown of the match in the right hand corner. Pontypool had opened up an impressive 29-8 lead and secured a bonus point with less than ten minutes of the second half played.

Narberth looked shell-shocked by the ferocity of the Pontypool assault. The Pooler forwards were carrying strongly and whenever Narberth got the ball the tackling was monstrous. Pontypool dominated both possession and territory and were soon back in the Narberth twenty two. This time it was Lewis who entered the line at pace and the wing galloped over to score his second try. The conversion by Jones put Pontypool almost out of sight at 36-8.

Pooler were not about to relax and really wanted to stamp their authority on the Championship contenders. On the hour mark the scored another good try when fullback Walsh sped through the Narberth defence to score the sixth try which was again converted by Jones (43-8). Moments later Narberth surrendered possession in the Pontypool half and Gullis was put in the clear and he sprinted down the touchline to score in the right corner. The conversion failed but Pooler were in sight of the half century at 48-8.

Both sides used up all their replacements and the game rather lost its shape. Worryingly for Pontypool outside half Matthew Jones was forced to leave the field with a nasty looking hand injury. Narberth tried hard to salvage some pride from the game in the final quarter but the home tackling remained as fierce as ever and they certainly looked a well-beaten side as we went into the final moments. Another fearsome hit by Pooler dislodged the ball from the Narberth grasp in the home twenty two. A couple of quick passes saw the “gas man” in the clear and there was only one outcome.  Lloyd Lewis sprinted almost eighty metres to score his third try. The conversion by Meek brought an end to proceedings with Pontypool running out convincing winners at 55-8.

This was a really compelling performance by Pontypool. They brushed aside the challenge of one of the top contenders for the title with the whole team performing at a high level. The combination of forward power coupled with the pace in the backs was a joy to behold. A big well done to everyone - it was tremendous. I wish Matthew Jones all the best for a speedy recovery from his injury.

I must confess I have not signed up to Premier Sports so I have not seem much Regional rugby. A quick straw poll amongst my acquaintances revealed that none of them were subscribing either. I wonder how successful the venture is. The look on the Dragons’ supporters’ faces and their eagerness to get to the bar in my local was a clear indicator that things had not gone well at Rodney Parade against the Blues. Sadly it seems that you have to shell out a small fortune if you want to watch a wide selection of rugby as Sky, BT and Premier Sports all want your money.

On Friday evening I watched Bath play Exeter. Exeter are absolutely relentless with their brand of power rugby. They have a set game plan that is based on their strengths and their players all look super fit and super strong. The way they play is not everyone’s cup of tea but it is mighty effective. Does that remind you of anyone? Yes, it is reminiscent on Pontypool in the late seventies and eighties!

When I got home on Saturday afternoon I caught the second half of the South Africa v New Zealand test. What a tremendous game! I think only the All Blacks could have come back to win from the position they found themselves in. Despite South Africa’s dominance for most of the match they left the door ajar and the All Blacks certainly need no second invitation and scored fourteen points in five minutes. Both sides have put down strong markers for the Rugby World Cup though – Northern Hemisphere beware!

Pontypool’s next assignment is a trip to Bedlinog. This has the potential to be a tough encounter as local derbies generally are. The squad must be brimming with confidence after the display against Narberth but there are no easy away matches in this league.

Come on Pooler!