It’s a Steep Learning Curve for Pooler

It felt like the rugby season had started with rain pouring down as I got out of the car in Pontypool. In fact, the season proper had not started but it was Pooler’s second warm-up match this time against Merthyr. Fortunately, I had an umbrella and managed to get to the ground without getting too wet. Against my normal inclination, I decided to sit in the stand and of course the rain stopped and I wished I was on the Bank but it would cause too much disruption if I tried to leave my seat in the middle of a row. Never mind, there was still some rugby to be watched.

Merthyr have established themselves as one of the stronger Premiership sides after coming up through the leagues. This would be a true test for Pooler despite the copious substitutions that would be expected in a friendly.

Merthyr played down the slope in the first half and set off in tremendous style. The aggression and pace with which they played rocked Pooler back on their heels. Within ten minutes Merthyr had scored two tries from Wiggins and Knoyle which were both converted by Thompson (0-14). The crowd were stunned into silence by the ruthless way that Merthyr took their chances and knocked Pooler back in the tackle.

Pooler found their feet and worked their way up to the Merthyr line and pounded away but found the Merthyr defence difficult to crack. A yellow card for Merthyr’s Lewis helped their cause and finally Pooler scrum half Lloyd dummied his way over for a try. Jarvis converted and Pooler were back in the game at 7-14 with fifteen minutes played.

This did not last long, however, as Merthyr hit back in style. The away side’s backs then showed what they could do. A perfectly executed move put Hoskins in for a try in the right corner with the Pooler defence split asunder (7-19). Then just before half time Merthyr broke out from their own half and this time Thomas scored in the left corner and with Thompson’s conversion the lead increased to 7-26.

This had been a difficult half for Pooler with Merthyr well on top with a well-deserved nineteen point lead. Never mind, Pooler were playing down the slope in the second half and would be bolstered by a raft of substitutions. There was still some hope of a comeback.

Pooler started the second half in positive fashion and were soon bashing away at the Merthyr line. It was again scrum half Lloyd who scored the try after plenty of grunt from the pack. Jarvis converted and the gap had closed to 14-26.

The home side were soon back on the attack again but struggled to breach the Merthyr defence close to the try line. Merthyr lost Gee to a yellow card as Pooler pressed and finally, early in the fourth quarter, they got their just reward when the referee awarded them a penalty try and sent Bradbury from Merthyr to the sin-bin (21-26).

The momentum was with Pontypool and you sensed that they could yet snatch the spoils. Sadly, Pooler made a hash of the kick-off reception and conceded territory and possession to Merthyr. Merthyr put together a series of powerful attacks and time after time they were stopped by tremendous Pooler defence. Pooler conceded a string of penalties and lost Stratton to a yellow card and then the inevitable happened - Wall scored a try for Merthyr in the right corner after a tapped penalty. The try went unconverted but Merthyr were two scores clear at 21-31 with just over five minutes remaining.

Pooler pressurised the Merthyr line in the last few minutes but could not add to their tally. Final score Pontypool 21 : Merthyr 31.

It is always difficult to read too much into pre-season friendlies but already Pontypool have been made aware of the much higher standard that Premiership rugby brings. On the positive side, Pooler did well to recover in the second half to turn around what was looking like a potential drubbing. Yes, there is plenty to work on with a misfiring lineout near the top of the list. 

The first league game will be at Rodney Parade when Pooler take on Newport on September 3^rd. There will surely not be any need to look for any further motivation than taking on the old enemy.

No sooner have Pontypool got into the Premiership but the much-rumoured changes to the structure of Welsh rugby seem to be a reality. The Elite League looks like starting next season with the ten members linked more closely to the professional regions. I really do wish there could be some stability instead of all this chopping and changing. Apparently, the selection criteria for the new league will be little to do with results on the field – now where have I heard that before? Whatever happens I am confident that the Pontypool management will guide us in the right direction.

I read that South Africa thumped New Zealand in a warm up game for the RWC. Perhaps this puts last week’s defeat for Wales in better perspective. It will be interesting to see how Fiji get on against England. This may give us a clue as to whether Wales can beat the South Sea Islanders in a couple of weeks. Let us hope that Wales can find a way of getting past the group stage – putting Eddie Jones’ nose out of joint would be brilliant.

Good luck to Pontypool in Newport.

Come on Pooler! 

Wales have Their Ears Well and Truly Boxed

There is really not much I want to say about Wales being trounced by South Africa. Suffice it to say they were out-thought, out-muscled, out-scrummaged, out-run and out just about everything else. Yes, they were thoroughly out-played in conceding fifty odd points on their own patch.

True this was by no means a full-strength Welsh team but it was defeat that called into question the Welsh strength in depth that Gatland has been taking about. The Springboks scored eight tries with the Welsh proved the most generous of hosts presenting their opposition with four of them – two interceptions, a rather dubious penalty try and a wild pass in their own in-goal area. Nevertheless, the gulf in class was there for all to see. Enough said I think.

Enough has been said about “Farrellgate” too. Let us hope that he gets the ban his actions deserved and the matter is closed It is to be hoped that we do not have the same controversy following Billy Vunipola’s dismissal in England’s defeat against Ireland yesterday.

The next time we see Wales will be when they come up against Fiji in the RWC. Fiji certainly gave France a run for their money yesterday so Wales will have it all to do. The final Welsh squad for the RWC will be announced and there is plenty for the management to think about, not least, what is their best centre partnership.

Thank goodness we have some club rugby to watch before the RWC. Pontypool have their final pre-season match on Friday evening when they take on fellow Premiership team Merthyr. It’s then on to the season proper when Pooler visit Rodney Parade to take on long time foes Newport. This is really something to look forward to although the 17.15 kick off on a Sunday is rather unusual to say the least.

Come on Pooler!

A Strange Day

In the words of Star Trek, “It’s rugby Jim but not as we know it.” That is what the pre-season friendlies are like and so it was at Sardis Road as Pontypool visited Pontypridd for their first outing since the Spring. Pooler wore blue jerseys and Pontypridd sported a bizarre psychedelic yellow and red concoction. The match consisted of three periods and was played on the artificial pitch which was a godsend as there were heavy showers on a strangely dark August afternoon. There was plenty of chopping and changing as both teams gave their large squads the chance to impress. Yes it was difficult to keep up with what was going on.

Nevertheless, it was rugby and it turned out to be an enjoyable encounter as the players tried to get rid of the rustiness following their long layoff. Pooler were making the step up to take on Premiership opposition and it showed in the first period when the powerful Ponty forwards held sway as Pooler found their feet. After pressure on the Pooler line, Ponty got their just reward with a penalty try to lead 7-0. Pooler gradually came back but despite some pressure could not get off the mark. Ponty could not add to their tally so this was the score as the period ended.

The second period saw mass personnel changes and Pontypool seemed to benefit most from it and were dominant. Pooler scored two tries through Mahoney and Griffiths both converted by Jarvis to take a 7-14 lead. The lead did not last long as Ponty fought back with a try from Jones that was converted by Scrivens. So, when the period ended the game was tied at 14-14.

More changes after the teams had taken a well-earned break. This time it was Pontypridd who looked the stronger and pressed hard on the Pooler line with a series of scrums. The referee lost patience with the instability of the scrums and Cochrane for Pooler had a yellow card. Ponty took the lead shortly afterwards with a try by Rowley converted by Scrivens (21-14).

Pontypridd continued to dominate and a yellow card for Nove didn’t help Pooler’s cause. A fourth try for Ponty by Nash settled matters with Ponty 28-14 ahead with little time remaining. Pooler did fight back and were rewarded with their third try when Moa touched down under the posts after a powerful scrum on the stroke of time. The successful conversion closed the gap and the final score was Pontypridd 28 : Pontypool 21.

This was a good runout for both teams and both coaching teams will know they have plenty to work to do before the season proper starts. Pooler certainly did not look out of place against the kind of Premiership opposition that they can expect in league games to come. The Pooler squad looks to have strengthened with plenty of talent on view and they will have another chance to show what they can do in the friendly against Merthyr in Pontypool Park in a couple of weeks. Let us hope they “Live long and prosper.”  

I returned home in time for the England v Wales game from Twickenham. This was another strange affair. Rather like the previous week a England were on top in the first half but could not cross the whitewash for a try. Their reward was a couple of penalties in a turgid low quality half of rugby.

After an exchange of penalties as the second half started (9-3), the game took a bizarre twist as England’s discipline dissolved and they were at one stage reduced to twelve men Steward, Genge and Farrell all received yellow cards for various offences with Farrell’s subsequently upgraded to red for his dangerous tackle. Wales took advantage of this with a penalty try and a try from Tomas Williams both converted by Biggar to lead 9-17.

Wales then lost the plot as their concentration wavered and they let England back into the game. England were inspired in adversity and the crowd really got behind them. Wales gave away a needless penalty and this led to a huge England forward drive and a try from Itoje (16-17). England’s miscreants rejoined the fray and Beard was shown a yellow for Wales so it was fourteen a side. All the momentum was with England and it was no great surprise when a penalty from Ford took the spoils. Wales really threw this away and I guess a few people threw away their chances of going to the RWC in France. I would not like to be in that team’s shoes when they analyse what went wrong on Monday! It was very disappointing to see Lake injured early on in the game and I really hope that it is not too serious. Wales will take on South Africa next week and really cannot afford more injuries.

I did watch France v Scotland on the TV later on. The Scots gave another good account of themselves only going down to a late penalty goal (30-27) after playing some great rugby. France only fired now and then and need to find their mojo quickly if they are to excel in the RWC.

So that’s another day of rugby done. A disappointing one for sure but the real stuff starts in September for both Pooler and Wales.

Come on Wales!

Come on Pooler!  

Warming Up

After what seemed like an eternity, I was hoping to watch Pontypool play rugby again. Unfortunately, this was scuppered as the planned warm-up match against Dings Crusaders was first transferred to Bristol and then cancelled. Never mind Pooler are due to play at Pontypridd next Saturday in another warm-up match – it’s only seven days away!

The first signs of Pooler’s promotion to the Premiership have arrived with a big increase in the price of a season ticket and the fact that the first league game at Newport will now be at Rodney Parade and be played on a Sunday evening so that it can be screened live on TV. Neither of these are particularly welcome but if you want to play with the big boys I guess they are a necessity. I am more than willing to put up with this to watch Pooler operate in the next tier after the years of frustration in the Championship. It will be a formidable challenge that is for sure.

The afternoon therefore saw me back on the couch in front of the TV. There was plenty of rugby anyway. I started with Scotland v France Seconds in one of the myriad of pre-Rugby World Cup matches. Team selection during this period seems to be a bit of a lottery with coaches trying to whittle their squads down to the final thirty-three and give players much needed game time. What we got was a classic “game of two halves”. France were really dominant in the first half and built a substantial lead but then stopped playing with any kind of passion in the second half while Scotland did the complete opposite and, despite losing Fagerson to a red card, overhauled the French to snatch victory. That must have been some team talk in the Scottish dressing room at half time!

That match was followed by the main event which was Wales against England in Cardiff. Both teams were not at full strength with Wales fielding an almost entirely different team to the one that finished the Six Nations. England were well on top in the first half having the lion’s share of possession and territory and giving the new Welsh props a torrid time in the scrums. Luckily for Wales, England had a severe case of butterfingers and couldn’t cross the whitewash to score a try. In fact, but for a stumble close to the line, Rees Zammit could have scored a try for Wales. England did lead 6-9 at half time but it could and should have been much worse for Wales.

In the second half, the Welsh confidence grew as England seemed to fade. An excellent try from Gareth Davies saw Wales take the lead and this was backed up by a try from George North to give Wales a 20-9 lead which they never really looked like losing. Wales went close to two more tries first through Grady and then a brilliant kick and chase by Rees Zammit which the TMO chalked off. This was way better than anything Wales had produced in the Six Nations with the players looking fit as fiddles.

There were plenty of positives for Gatland and Co not least the work of Jac Morgan and Aaron Wainwright who were both outstanding. It also revealed an encouraging development of strength in depth in most positions. The worrying thing about warm-up games is the risk of injury and Wales were reduced to seven forwards towards the end of the game. Wales lost Elias in the first few minutes to what looked like a hamstring injury. Let us hope that there is nothing too serious.

Next week Wales travel to Twickenham and can expect a warm reception from a wounded England squad. We can expect two different teams to take the field so it is difficult to predict the outcome.

I did watch some of the Argentina v South Africa game but have to confess that my eyes closed a few times. From what I saw, South Africa were dominant and will surely give Wales a tough examination in a couple of weeks.

Well that’s it. Rugby is back!  All we need now is a bit of Pooler Power.

Come on Pooler!

Come on Wales!