Last week’s
match against Narberth was called off due to a waterlogged pitch and, for a
while, it looked as if the National Cup second round tie between Pontypool and Carmarthen
Quins might suffer the same fate. The rain had been tumbling down off and on
for a week but a bit of divine intervention and a lot of hard work rendered the
pitch at Pontypool fit for play. Nevertheless
there was little doubt that the pitch would very much dictate the tactics
employed by both teams. This would be a
classic Championship v. Premiership, East v. West cup tie which a good crowd
was more than ready to enjoy. For Pontypool, this was another opportunity to
demonstrate that they are more than ready to rejoin the Premiership should the
WRU unlock the gates.
Pontypool
played down the slope with the wind behind them in the first half and knew that
it was vitally important for them to build a lead while conditions were in
their favour. The home side started strongly and play was confined to the Quins
half for most of the first quarter. Pooler went close to scoring a try on a
couple of occasions but all they had to show for their effort was a penalty
from Jones (3-0). What they had demonstrated, however, was that their forwards
were more than a match for the West Walian pack.
The match
burst into life in the last ten minutes or so of the first half after Marshall
had kicked a penalty to even up the scores at 3-3. Pontypool were awarded a
scrum five metres out and remorselessly drove the Quins pack back. The referee
had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try to the exultant home side (10-3).
This drew
an immediate response for the Quins who kicked a penalty to touch close to the
home try line. The resulting lineout drive sucked in the Pontypool defence and
they spun the ball out wide where Marshall took advantage of the space created
to score an unconverted try (10-8).
A few
minutes later, Pooler responded in kind when they too had a lineout close to
the opposition try line. Their powerful lineout drive proved impossible to stop
by fair means and a second penalty try was awarded (17-8). This passage of play
also resulted in a yellow card for Quins’ hooker Myhill.
There was
no further scoring in the second half and although Pontypool had gained a nine
point lead it looked as if the Pontypool faithful were in for a tense forty
minutes when the teams returned to the field.
The second
half proved to be a disappointment from an entertainment perspective but that
didn’t really bother the Pontypool faithful. Carmarthen Quins had clearly
decided that kicking was the best option to set up their attacks. Pooler were
more than happy to respond with kicks of their own. At times it reminded me of
those games of “gaining” that we used to play with a rolled up rough book in West
Mon.
In fact it
took twenty minutes for the next score and that was a penalty from Jones for
Pontypool (20-8). The Pontypool defence was thunderous and in truth the away
side never really looked like closing the gap even when they brought on reinforcements
from the replacements’ bench. The Quins did try hard to make an impression but
too often they lost the ball under the pressure of the fearsome Pooler tackles.
The final nail in the Quins coffin came by way of another Jones penalty that
put Pooler out of sight at 23-8 in the dying minutes of normal time.
The
referee found an extraordinary amount of injury time from somewhere but there
was no way Pontypool were going to let this one slip. Just as people were
starting to wonder if the pubs would still be open, the referee blew the final
whistle and the Pontypool contingent celebrated a famous victory (FT 23-8).
This was a
well-deserved victory for Pontypool with everyone playing with skill and commitment.
The forwards were magnificent and managed to get on top of their Premiership
counterparts which paved the way for victory. Pontypool are now in the
quarterfinals which is the stage they reached last season. Let’s hope that we
can go further this year – a home draw would be nice. Bring it on!
Next
Saturday sees the start of the Six Nations or the Sick Nations as it might be
called when you look at the injury lists for the teams. Wales will have it all
to do to beat the Scots at the Principality Stadium. The biggest decision is
who plays at outside half with the experienced pair of Biggar and Priestland
both unavailable. I suspect that we will see a lot of Scarlets players in
evidence. Maybe Patchell at outside half and Halfpenny at fullback with
Williams and Parkes in the centre. I shouldn’t really try and second guess
Gatland as I am invariably wrong (or he is!). Whoever they pick I can say with
a degree of certainty that kicking the ball to Stuart Hogg would be ill advised.
Hopefully there will be time for a light breakfast before we have to join the queue
to get into the stadium.
Well done
Pooler and come on Wales!
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