We had been looking forward with some trepidation to Pontypool’s
visit to Bargoed. This was going to be the acid test to see where Pooler
actually were after a strange stop-start season with far too little rugby for
the team to gel properly. Bargoed were unbeaten this season and are always a very
difficult prospect on their own pitch and had also played a deal more rugby.
Yes, this was going to be a mammoth task for Pooler.
Things started really brightly for Pontypool. Almost
straight from the kick-off, they were awarded a penalty and kicked for the
corner. From the ensuing lineout, a series of forward drives saw Sweet crash
over for a try. Jarvis converted and within a few minutes Pooler were 0-7 to
the good.
A highly motivated Bargoed team came roaring back.
Pooler gave away a penalty for offside and it was the home side’s turn to kick
to the corner. Pooler just about managed to repel the obligatory forward drives
but there was space out wide and fly half Prosser took full advantage with a
well-taken try. Jones added the extras and it was 7-7.
A couple of minutes later Jarvis fired over a penalty
to put Pooler back in the lead (7-10).
It was, however, abundantly clear that Bargoed were taking charge of the
game. Their scrum was dominant and their tactical kicking on the ground they
know so well was vastly superior. Pooler were under serious pressure and were
conceding far too many penalties. As the first quarter drew to a close, the
home side took a well-deserved lead when the overstretched Pontypool defence
left room for Bargoed right wing Thomas to canter over for a try. Jones
converted and Bargoed had their noses in front (14-10).
Pontypool did well to restrict the home side to just
one Jones penalty goal in the remainder of the first half but they knew that at
17-10 down they had a tough task to recover in the second half.
Any prospects of a Pontypool victory received a hammer
blow six minutes into the second half. A Pontypool scrum was destroyed by a
powerful Bargoed surge. Leadbetter the home scrum half grabbed the ball and,
leaving defenders in his wake, ran fully fifty metres to score a brilliant
individual try. Even though the conversion failed, you felt at 22-10 down it
was difficult to see how Pooler could come back to win.
The rest of the second half was a dogfight that boiled
over at times as a frustrated Pontypool tried to make inroads into the Bargoed
lead. Bargoed’s superiority at the scrum was a source of penalties and the
excellence of Bargoed’s tactical kicking kept Pontypool on the backfoot. After
one scrum broke up in a bout of fisticuffs, Evans from Pooler and Jones from Bargoed
were shown yellow cards. They continued to debate the issue as they walked off
the field and a head butt from Jones sparked another scrap that the rest of the
players seemed only too glad to join. The yellow cards were upgraded to red as
a consequence.
In the final quarter, Pontypool tried to run the ball
in search of at least a losing bonus point. Sadly, they made far too many errors
and lacked the guile to crack the home defence. Bargoed continued to threaten as
they tried to claim the try bonus point and really did look the more likely of
the two sides to add to their tally. In the end, it was the defences that were
on top and there was no further scoring. Final score Bargoed 22 Pontypool 10.
Bargoed were worthy winners of a tough encounter and
were superior in most aspects of the game. The power of their scrum and was a
key factor in the victory and it is an area that Pontypool will need to work on
if they are to challenge next season when promotion will be at stake. Pooler
also conceded too many penalties which really does make things difficult
against strong opposition. As always, you could not fault Pooler for effort and
commitment but they were second best to a well-organised and streetwise Bargoed
outfit.
Next week Pontypool face more strong opposition when
they entertain Bedwas at Pontypool Park. They will need to regroup quickly to
recover from this salutary defeat. I am confident that they can.
Hard as it was for a Pooler fan to bear this defeat, it
surely cannot be as demoralising as the heavy defeats that the Welsh Regions
have suffered in South Africa. At times it is too difficult to watch. Played in
vast almost empty stadiums you have to wonder about the economics of this
venture.
I cannot really offer any solution to the demise of Welsh
regional rugby so I will take my place on the Bank at 14.30 next Saturday to
watch something that I can get a kick out of.
Come on Pooler!
No comments:
Post a Comment