Refusing to bend in the wind

The windswept wide open spaces of the Newbridge Fields were the venue for Pontypool’s latest league match. Bridgend Athletic were the hosts and the last few encounters between the two sides have all been pretty close. It was yet another challenge to Pontypool’s credentials as a top three side in the Championship. A stiff wind was blowing down the pitch and it was clear that it was going to have a profound effect on the game.

Pooler chose to play with the wind in the first half and the well-drilled home pack soon demonstrated how to counter the elements with a long spell of possession rugby. Pooler had a lot of defending to do but gradually worked their way back into the game. A hard fought first quarter yielded only a penalty goal apiece.

Pooler finally got some good clean possession and the backs showed what a potent force they can be with two well worked tries from Haile and Brooks in opposite corners. Both tries went unconverted but Pooler had opened up a 3-13 lead which seemed to be the very least they needed to counteract playing against the wind in the second half. When Pontypool failed to field the restart after the second try, it gave the home side just the opportunity they needed for their forwards to work their way up the field. The away side conceded a penalty at a ruck and Bridgend kicked to the corner. From the lineout, the forwards drove over for a try and the successful conversion closed the gap to 10-13. This was the score at half time and the narrow Pontypool lead looked rather inadequate.

Pontypool started the second half strongly with some good forward play and were rewarded with a penalty that Haile converted against the strong wind. This gave a bit of breathing space for Pooler who then had to face a prolonged period of pressure. The Athletic forwards hammered away at their goal line incessantly and it seemed that they must score. Pooler’s defence was magnificent and stood firm with the referee eventually awarding them a pressure relieving penalty. Back came the home side and they narrowed the gap to 13-16 with a penalty and continued to press. To the frustration of the home fans, they seemed reticent to use their backs and spurned a number of clear overlaps.

The Pontypool cause was helped with the sin binning of the home hooker at a ruck although Athletic still managed to keep the pressure on but missed a kickable penalty. A promising break by the home backs ended with a high tackle by Thorley and the subsequent retaliation by his opposite number Hathaway led to a yellow card and red card respectively.

Pontypool finally managed to break the home side’s stranglehold on the game with some good running by Hurley. They worked their way up the field and won a line out close to the Athletic goal line. The home side lost yet another player to a yellow card when their second row took Thomas out in the air. Shortly after this the referee blew his whistle for full time with the final score 13-16

This was yet another tough game for Pontypool and one  where the result could easily have gone the other way. That it didn’t was down to the strong defensive effort in the second half. The team has come a long way from that disastrous start to the season at Bargoed and should be proud of themselves.

We now go into that ridiculous 5 week break before the next league match. Still it gives the injured players some much needed recovery time and hopefully Pooler will come back with all guns blazing against Newbridge who seem to be having a dreadful season.

My mind now turns to the autumn internationals - starting next week with Australia. No matter that there is turmoil in the Aussie camp, I still fully expect them to find some new way of beating us in the last minute. It will be interesting to see if Gatland picks Mike Phillips and Dan Lydiate who hasn’t played much rugby in France for the game. Let’s hope we can get the best out of George North.

In the absence of club rugby, come on Wales!