Wales by a Whisker, Pooler by a Full Beard

It was a blustery Saturday at Pontypool Park and over the past few days the rain had been torrential at times. So much so that you almost thought that rugby might be off the menu. We needn’t have worried the pitch looked in fine condition and we fervently hoped that the rain would hold off for a couple of hours as we headed for the exposed expanses of the Bank. Pontypool were playing their old rivals Neath who had suffered the ignominy of relegation from the Premiership after financial woes had wrecked their previous season. Neath were in the process of rebuilding but had made a good start to the season and were reckoned to be a serious contender for promotion.

All the talk on the Bank was of Japan’s fabulous victory over Ireland in the Rugby World Cup that morning. The rather turgid kick-and-chase rugby that has proved so successful in the Northern Hemisphere had been undone by the agile, quick-witted and committed Japanese. The big men so important to the Northern style of play had been shown to be ponderous and had been cut down before they could gather any momentum by the swarming Japanese defence. When the Japanese had the ball they were happy to run from everywhere and play at a pace that left the Irish gasping. It was very refreshing and has certainly energised the RWC which had been rather predictable to date. We hoped for something similar from the Pooler.

Pontypool played up the slope in the first half in windy and damp conditions. The wind was mostly blowing across the pitch but, if anything, favoured Neath in the first half. Pontypool made a fast start. A Neath handling error led to the ball going loose. Pooler fullback, Walsh grabbed the ball and raced towards the Neath line. As the defence closed in on him he found Lloyd Lewis and there was only one result when the gasman got the ball – try for Pontypool. The conversion was wide but Pooler were up and running. A couple of minutes later and Pontypool were in for their second try. A clean break from Meek from his own twenty two was supported by the rest of the backs and Walsh cottoned on to his own kick ahead to score. The conversion was good and the visitors looked a bit shell-shocked as Pooler established a 12-0 lead in double quick time.

Pontypool were the dominant side in all aspects of the game and it was only a matter of time before they got on the scoresheet again. It was Meek and Walsh who did the damage again running the ball from deep. It was Lloyd Lewis who was the beneficiary of their good work as he galloped over for his second try. Meek converted and the lead had grown to 19-0.

It was time for the home forwards to get in on the try scoring act and on the half hour after some powerful forward surges, Pooler hooker Hughes obliged with a try near the posts. Meek again converted and the bonus point had been secured before half time (26-0). As the first half drew to a close Pooler conceded rather too many penalties for the referee’s liking and Matthews was given a yellow card.

It had been an excellent first forty minutes from Pontypool as they trooped off to the changing rooms with a seemingly unassailable 26-0 lead.

Despite being shorthanded, Pontypool got off to a flying start in the second half with flanker Stratton bursting through to score in the right corner. The try was expertly converted by Meek and the home side were 33-0 to the good.

Neath then had their best period of the game as Pontypool continued to concede penalties. The away side hammered away at the Pontypool line for ten minutes before they got their just reward with an unconverted try by Morgan (33-5).

Back came Pontypool with the forwards showing the way. Some good driving play saw skipper Matthews canter over for a try near the posts to add to his burgeoning try tally. The conversion was successful and any hopes of a Neath comeback were extinguished (40-5).

As the match entered the final quarter, tempers became a little frayed and a bout of pushing and shoving resulted in Coundley for Pooler and Ward for Neath receiving yellow cards. This led to the scrums being uncontested. Pontypool were determined to end on a high and applied more and more pressure. The pressure proved too much for Neath with Stratton scoring his second try as he chased down a nifty bit of footwork by the Pooler back row and showed amazing dexterity to gather the ball. The try was unconverted but Pooler were rapidly approaching the half century of points at 45-5.

There was more agony for Neath when a charged down kick was gathered by Pooler replacement scrum half Luckwell who spotted another replacement, Gullis, running at pace and timed his pass perfectly to put his team mate in for Pooler’s eighth try. The try was converted by Meek and the half century had been reached (52-5).

Pontypool finished the game with a flourish when another break from the back by the lively Walsh ended with another kick ahead. This time it was Luckwell who won the chase and scored the final try. Meek ended an excellent day’s work with the conversion. Final score Pontypool 59 Neath 5.

This was a brilliant performance by Pontypool with great support play an outstanding feature. Neath were by no means weak opposition but they were overwhelmed by the excellence of Pooler’s all-round game. Well done Pooler - you have certainly sent out a strong message to the other teams in the Championship!

Pontypool have no time to rest on their laurels as next week they travel to Narberth. Over the last few seasons this has proved to be one of Pooler’s toughest fixtures and there is no reason to suppose that this season it will be any different. Pontypool will need to be at their best to maintain their astonishing unbeaten record in the Championship.

I am now going to take a break as I make for the couch to watch Wales take on Australia in the RWC. I wish I could feel more optimistic but then I am Welsh! ……..

……Wow, Wales did it - just. Not really sure how they managed to keep the rampant Aussies out in the second half. There was a superhuman effort from Navidi and Tipuric who tackled like demons backed up by a spirited effort from the rest of the boys as the game turned on its head in the second half after Wales had built a handy lead in the first forty minutes. Wales have lost so many games at the death against Australia that I feared the worst as they closed to one point - a sixteen point lead had all but evaporated as the powerful Aussies made inroads into the Welsh defence. I do believe that Australia were lucky not to have a couple of yellow cards in the first half as the high tackle controversy continues to rage.

Still what a fantastic match – I need to lie down in a darkened room I think. What a weekend!

Well done Wales! Sake all round.

Well done Pooler! You did us proud.