When I arrived at Pontypool Park for Pooler’s Championship fixture
against Newcastle Emlyn I sensed a change in the atmosphere on the Bank. We are
approaching the business end of the season and the optimists and the pessimists
were in avid debate about Pooler’ prospects for promotion. Yes the tension is
definitely mounting and the smart phones would be in action to monitor the
progress of our two deadly rivals Bargoed and RGC 1404. All this is very well
but what really matters is that Pontypool take care of business and win the
match against improving Newcastle Emlyn.
The sun was shining but there was a cold wind blowing down
the valley and the pitch looked heavy after all the recent rain. Pontypool
played up the slope and against the wind in the first half. From the outset it
was abundantly clear that Newcastle Emlyn were a lively and well-coached outfit
who were going to prove a handful for the home side. Pooler started well enough
and moved the ball probing for openings. The Emlyn defence shut the door firmly
on a number of occasions and it didn’t look as if the home backs were going to
outpace their opponents. Cue the forwards and after some powerful driving play in
the Emlyn twenty two, Ben Parry eventually barged over. The conversion missed
narrowly but Pooler had first blood at 5-0.
The away side started to show what they could do and their
tricky backs found some gaps in the Pooler defence. Emlyn were rewarded with a
penalty to close the gap in the scores to 5-3. Pontypool responded with an
attack of their own and Tu’ipolotu suddenly broke through a maul on the Emlyn
ten metre line and fed the ever alert Quick who raced in for a try. The
conversion from Gullis made the score 12-3.
The Emlyn backs again gave Pontypool problems as they
continued to find gaps to exploit. It was no more than they deserved when they
broke through to score a try near the posts. The conversion left the score at
12-10 and Emlyn had gained the initiative. The away side did not seem to be as
bogged down by the heavy pitch as the heavier Pontypool players. They nearly
scored a second try but had to settle for a penalty attempt. The kick just
missed and Pooler held a slender 12-10 lead at half time. Pontypool were playing
with the elements in the second half so must have felt that they were in a
reasonably strong position.
Pontypool dominated territory in the second half but found
it hard to break down the tenacious Emlyn defence that buzzed around the field.
A Gullis penalty gave some breathing space (15-10) as the pacey away backs looked
like they could feed on turnover ball and break out of defence at any time. As
in the first half, you felt that it was the Pooler forwards that were the more
likely to give Emlyn problems and so it proved when a powerful scrum resulted
in a penalty try. This gave the home side a significant lead at 22-10 and also
moved them to within one try of a bonus point.
Emlyn were far from finished and hit back with a penalty
(22-13) and had certainly not given up hope of gaining at least a losing bonus
point. Pontypool went in search of the crucial fourth try and as time went on
they seemed to get more and more anxious and made far too many errors as they
got themselves into promising positions. Just as the fans were beginning to
despair, up stepped the redoubtable Nash to score a try in Goff’s corner with
the last play of the game. Oh ye of little faith! The conversion failed but the
bonus point had been secured with the final score 27-13.
This was certainly not a vintage Pontypool performance
against stubborn opposition. Nevertheless they got the job done and secured the
vital five points that keeps them just ahead of their rivals. There is a break
of a few weeks and this should give the squad a chance to recharge their
batteries for what is sure to be a tough and exciting last part of the season.
The news from the smart phones was that Bargoed had lost
narrowly at Swansea but had gained two bonus points. This leaves Bargoed twenty
three points behind Pooler but with three games in hand. The much strengthened
RGC 1404 side recorded a comfortable home win against Beddau leaving them nine
points behind Pooler with one game in hand. It may seem that Pooler are in the
box seat but when you take into account the remaining fixtures between the five
top teams the battle is still far from over.
Next week sees the first round of the Six Nations
Championship. Suddenly the failure of the Northern Hemisphere teams to make any
impact on the RWC is forgotten and we are playing in the greatest rugby
tournament in the world. It is tough to predict a winner and when I was working
through a sweep entry I ended up predicting that Italy would not win a match
and the other five sides would win three matches each. I have never won a sweep
in my life so I wouldn’t put much store on my predictions but an exciting last
day like last season could be on the cards. Incidentally I have predicted Wales
to lose in Ireland so I fervently hope that I am wrong. With the exception of
the back three, the Wales team virtually picks itself so we will have a pretty
settled team anyway.
Come on Wales!
Come on Pooler!
No comments:
Post a Comment