Wind of Change

A visit to local rivals Newbridge is a good way to measure the progress that Pontypool have made this season. It has never been an easy place to get a positive result as Pooler found out last season when they were roundly trounced. We anticipated a fiercely contested local derby and were not disappointed.

Pontypool won the toss and elected to play with the strong breeze that was blowing up the valley. They started in a similar vein to the way that they played against Tondu with the backs looking sharp and wing James soon crossed in the corner for an excellent try. Mills converted expertly from the touch line and the away team took a 0-7 lead. As you would expect, Newbridge were stung into action and although they had plenty of possession the Pontypool defence looked strong and they were able to win turnovers and use the wind to send the home team back into their half. In the set pieces the Pooler scrum seemed to have the edge although the wind made the lineouts a bit of a lottery. From a scrum won against the head, Pontypool attacked at pace and after some incisive back play Thorley scored a try that was converted by Mills. Newbridge continued to have the lion’s share of possession but the away defence stood firm even when they were reduced to 14 men following the sin-binning of Organ. With the last play of the first half, the Pontypool backs had another chance to show what they could do and James crossed after some strong running from full back Taylor. The conversion failed but at half time Pontypool held a useful 0-19 lead. The first half had been an object lesson in clinical finishing.

The second half was a bad tempered affair and was dominated both in terms of territory and possession by Newbridge. The strong breeze of the first half increased in ferocity and the away side were pinned for long periods in their own half. Frustration frequently boiled over and the two scrum halves were yellow-carded for fighting before Pooler lock Davies was red-carded for rashly kicking out at an opponent. Newbridge turned their domination into points and scored three good tries but only converted one of them. This left the score at 17-19 and it looked more than likely that the rampant home side would take the spoils in the closing minutes. The weather had deteriorated with torrential rain in addition to the gale force wind blowing into the away team’s faces making it even more difficult for Pontypool to clear their lines. Somehow Pooler managed to hold on against all the odds in a desperate finish.

This was character-building stuff for Pontypool and no one can doubt their commitment and will to win but ill-discipline could so easily have cost them the match. A top three finish in the league would be an excellent outcome for the season and it should be possible if they can keep playing with this amount of heart and get the backs running at the opposition. Pooler have two home games coming up against Tata Steel and Beddau. Let’s hope we can finish 2013 in style.

There is a wind of change blowing through Welsh rugby but I am none the wiser of where it will take us. Part of me just wishes that the regions would go and play in England and let the WRU concentrate their efforts and money on the development of players through the traditional club structure in Wales. This would leave something like the situation with football but you really wouldn’t want the national rugby team to follow the path of the national football team. I just hope someone manages to sort something out soon as the Heineken Cup has again produced some great matches this weekend. 

Unfortunately unless the Blues can produce a minor miracle at Toulon, I fear the only Welsh interest in the latter stages of this season’s competition will be whether Nigel Owens referees the final and how many pints they sell in the Millennium Stadium in May.

On a positive note, there does still seem to be plenty of young talent playing for the regions and they are certainly being blooded as the established players emigrate. If only there was an under-21 Heineken Cup (perhaps the Shandy Cup!) we might have a chance of winning something.

Does anyone know if there is a rugby equivalent of ACAS or do we need to ask Tony Blair to sort it out?