Soaking up a Ton of pressure

Pontypool travelled to the wide open spaces of Pandy Park to take on Tondu in the Welsh Championship. The conditions were perfect in contrast to the gale force wind encountered in the corresponding fixture last season, Then Pooler were well beaten as they failed to master the conditions. We hoped that they could turn the tables this time.

The first quarter was very scrappy although the away side were on top in terms of territory. The pacy Pooler backs looked like they had the beating of their counterparts but too much possession was kicked away. The scrum came under pressure from a beefy home front row that put the ton in Tondu but the lineout was a reliable source of possession. At the breakdown, Tondu competed hard but not always to the satisfaction of the referee. Pontypool missed two relatively easy penalty attempts at goal from such transgressions before the referee lost his patience and sent one of the Tondu props to the sin bin.

The away side seized the initiative and Hancock broke the deadlock with a well-taken drop goal. Soon after Tondu turned the ball over in the Pontypool 22 and Quick saw that a counter attack was on. He broke to halfway before Norton showed his power and pace to beat the Tondu defence. The successful conversion opened up a 0-10 lead.  The home side lost focus and failed to deal with the kick off which ultimately led to a Tondu penalty to close the gap to 3-10. Pontypool hit back and Parry scored from a driving lineout. The score at half time was 3-17 with the away side good value for their lead.

The second half started well for Pooler and a searing break by Thorley was finished off by Brooks who scored in the corner. At 3-22 the lead looked comfortable and one more try would give the away side a bonus point.

Tondu had other ideas, however, and fought back ferociously showing plenty of pride and passion. They hammered away at the Pooler line and something had to give. The first thing that was given was a yellow card to Nash after Pooler had given away too many penalties. This made Tondu step up the pressure even more and they scored their first try soon after. The momentum had most definitely swung their way and they scored again and with a conversion from wide out had closed the gap to 17-22. This was getting too close for comfort!

The last part of the match was nail-biting stuff for the team and supporters alike as Tondu threw the kitchen sink at Pooler. Despite a few nervous moments, the defence, with Nash prominent, managed to hold firm. The final whistle was music to our ears.

Make no mistake this was a stern test for Pontypool and they just about managed to pass. It’s hard-earned victories like this that brings a team together. There is still work to do but this is another step forward.

In regional rugby, the season has not started at all well for the Dragons and the Blues. I should think that they are both heartily fed up of things Scottish with both suffering at the hands of Glasgow. The British and Irish Lions’ management, however, must be relieved that Scotland voted no as the name of the team looked for a moment to be likely to grow and grow.

The other good news for Pontypool fans was the granting of the A Licence for the club by the WRU. His means we are eligible for promotion. Now all we have to do is earn it on the field. Come on Pooler!