Winning in the rain

It was a wild and windy day in Blackwood as Pontypool visited to seek some revenge for the three defeats that their Gwent neighbours had inflicted on them last season. The wind was cold and blustery and frequent torrential showers fell on an already sodden pitch. It was not a day fro the faint hearted and certainly not a day for open rugby. It was a day for the forwards and for kick and chase. Thirty or so years ago this would have been meat and drink for the legendary Pontypool pack but the modern day version does not contain the gnarled warriors that so terrified the opposition. It was going to be a real test of character. Even if Blackwood had not had the best of seasons so far, we knew that they would pose a stern challenge in a local derby.

The wind slightly favoured Pontypool in the first half although it seemed to be blowing across the pitch if anything. In the opening exchanges it was soon clear that the Pooler scrum was dominant as they pushed the Blackwood pack back yards. In the conditions, there were sure to be plenty of scrums so such dominance would surely prove a match winner we thought. Indeed from a scrum, Pooler scored an early try when Organ forced his way over near the posts. The successful conversion gave the away side an early 0-7 lead. This stung Blackwood into action and their forwards proved a real handful in the loose. They carried well and forced Pooler on to the retreat and generally made it very uncomfortable for the away side at the breakdown. There were lots of penalties and lots of handling errors and few three-quarter moves.

The referee must have had a particularly difficult job distinguishing the two teams as the only difference in strip was really a yellow stripe for Blackwood compared with a white stripe for Pontypool. As the jerseys got muddier and muddier it became almost impossible to tell the teams apart. The referee did very well in the circumstances.

Although the Pooler scrum remained dominant, Blackwood came more and more into the game and it was just reward that they scored the equalising try that was well converted from the touchline. Pooler had been reduced to fourteen men by a sin binning and failed to capitalise from several scrums close to the Blackwood line. The home side marched back up the field and pressurised Pooler and were rewarded with two successful penalty goals to lead 13-7 at the break.

Pontypool seemed to up their game in the second half and the forwards began to gain the ascendancy in the loose. This coupled with the still dominant scrum gave them a better platform to work from and, although the handling errors and turnovers continued in the slippery conditions, they gained territorial advantage. A penalty cut the deficit to 13-10 and it looked only matter of time before Pooler took the lead. Then, disaster! An interception by the home team as Pooler attacked on the home twenty two and the Blackwood version of Prince Obolensky just about managed to run the seventy odd yards to the Pontypool posts for a converted try to bring the score to 20-10. Pooler looked deflated, Blackwood were given new energy.  Pontypool regrouped and worked their way back into the Blackwood twenty two and were awarded a penalty accompanied by a yellow card for the home side. This proved decisive as the momentum swung towards Pooler. They scored an excellent try when Taylor sliced through the Blackwood defence from one of the few three-quarter moves. Although the try went unconverted it was soon followed by a converted try after a quickly taken tap penalty by Thomas. Pooler were back in the lead at 20-22 and just needed to play the rest of the game in the Blackwood half. Easier said than done, of course, and Blackwood would not lie down. A further penalty by Gullis took the score to 20-25 and gave Pooler a bit more breathing space and they held on to take the spoils.

This was a hard fought victory against a stubborn Blackwood side in truly awful conditions. Well done boys and good luck to whoever has to wash the kit.

I did watch the Dragons v Leinster Seconds on the TV on Friday evening. It was certainly a game they could have and arguably should have won. Ultimately a loss at home against much weakened opposition in a poor quality game is no cause for optimism.

England celebrated ten years without winning anything (no RWC, no Grand Slam, no Triple Crown) by narrowly beating the Aussies. I just hope that Wales can finally turn over one of the big boys this Autumn but recent history is very much against it. The strange thing is that it does not seem to matter that much when it comes to the Six Nations.

It still seems strange to me that the Welsh Championship takes a break to coincide with the Autumn Internationals. We do not lose that many players to the national squad after all. With two of the Wales kick-offs at 5.00pm, it would seem to be a good way of filling the clubhouses after watching your team playing. Maybe it’s an admission that the leagues do not have enough teams in them to fill the season.

So the next game for the Pooler is the 23rd November against Bargoed. Another tough local derby in prospect.