Pontypool the Caged Lions of Welsh Rugby

Pontypool travelled to Cardiff Met. University knowing that a good win would secure the Welsh National Championship for a second successive year. Pooler duly obliged and this means that they now have an unassailable lead at the top of the Championship with an incredible five matches still remaining. This is impressive stuff indeed but sadly they are currently denied the opportunity to play in the more challenging league that will help the club to develop further. They are like a caged lion trapped in the Championship when they long to roam the plains of the Premiership in search of bigger prey. It is all so frustrating!

To the match itself. Pontypool started well enough with two tries in the first ten minutes or so both converted by Matthew Jones. Both tries came us a result of kicks chipped over the students’ rush defence: the first for Gullis after a chip by Matthew Jones and the second for Owen Williams after a chip by Meek. With the score at 0-14, Pontypool looked set fair.

Virtually all the remainder of the first half was pretty frustrating. Pontypool were clearly the dominant force but due to a high error count and the committed Cardiff Met defence could not add any further scores until the thirty-ninth minute. When they did it was from a trade mark lineout catch and drive with Coundley getting the touch down. The try was unconverted so at half time Pontypool had a comfortable lead at 0-19.

The second half started with a spell of home pressure but the Pontypool defence was in no mood to give up points and comfortably repelled the best efforts of the students. A yellow card for the Cardiff Met. hooker Lewis ten minutes into the half seemed to open the floodgates with Pooler scoring three tries in his absence. The first came from a driving lineout with, this time, Ball getting the touchdown (0-26). The next try came from a delicate kick ahead from No. 8 Lampitt with Meek winning the scramble to touch the ball down (0-33). The final try of the trio was the pick of the bunch with forwards and backs showing great handling skills for Thomas to score behind the posts (0-40).

Cardiff Met. were still plugging away and scored a try when Geary stole around the front of a lineout in the Pontypool twenty two to score an unconverted try (5-40). This stung Pontypool into action and a tremendous long distance driving maul opened a gap for scrum half Luckwell to canter over for a try near the posts. The successful conversion made the score 5-47. This was followed by a brilliant solo effort from replacement centre Mahoney who bamboozled the Cardiff Met defence with a searing run from the halfway line. Matthew Jones converted to take Pooler past the half century at 5-54.

The last score went to the home side who had never stopped giving their all in this entertaining spectacle. Gealy scored an unconverted try to leave the final score 10-54.

This fixture last season was the only league defeat for Pontypool and they grabbed their chance to make up for it with aplomb. It was great to see so many young players making their mark. I am sure I can speak for all the loyal supporters when I thank management, support staff and squad alike for their efforts in securing the Championship title and giving us so much pleasure. Particular thanks go to Peter and Ben Jeffreys for their unstinting support in rescuing the team from the dark place that they were in.

Of course the season is far from over and it would be a wonderful achievement if Pooler could keep their unbeaten league record intact. This of course will not be an easy task with only one game at home out of the five fixtures remaining. The next match is at our old rivals Newbridge who have always proved worthy opponents and would like nothing better than to lower Pooler’s colours.

Come on Pooler!

Pooler pay the Penalty

Tuesday evening saw the eagerly awaited National Cup quarter final tie between the Premiership league leaders Merthyr and the Championship league leaders Pontypool. This was a chance for Pooler to measure themselves against what is currently the strongest club side in Wales. It was a cold, clear night and the artificial pitch and the floodlights combined to make the scene look like something from a Pixar movie. It was going to be tough for Pooler to adapt to the pitch and the seemingly miniscule in-goal areas let alone face their much vaunted opponents.

The first five minutes or so was exactly what the away side didn’t need as they surely craved a good start. Instead they conceded a kickable penalty from the first scrum and moments later allowed Pinches the Merthyr centre far too much space as he cantered thirty metres or so score. Pooler were 10-0 down almost before they could draw breath.

Pontypool began to find their feet and the match was a far more even contest from there on. They made inroads into the Merthyr half but found the pedantic refereeing not really to their taste as they conceded a string of penalties at the breakdown. This coupled with several lineouts which went astray meant that promising positions were not turned into much-needed points. Merthyr were strong and direct and looked dangerous whenever they attacked but Pooler tackled ferociously to stop them increasing their lead.

Pontypool finally got on the scoreboard after twenty minutes when Jones converted a penalty following a late tackle by Merthyr (10-3). It only took Merthyr a couple minutes to restore their ten point lead when Pooler strayed offside and Jarvis kicked the ensuing penalty (13-3).

The game was fiercely contested as both sets of forwards struggled to gain superiority. There were several flashpoints and the referee delivered several stern lectures that rivalled the Gettysburg Address in length to the captains. The delays in play were a source of frustration to players and fans alike.

As the first half drew to a close, the Pooler forwards powered towards the home goal line only to be stopped illegally. The referee awarded a penalty in front of the posts and Pooler elected to take the three points on offer through the boot of Jones (13-6). Merthyr immediately launched their own attack and a fracas in the Pontypool twenty two saw Pooler’s Gullis and Merthyr’s Williams yellow carded. Pontypool just about managed to keep Merthyr at bay from a series of short-range lineouts and the teams retreated to the dressing rooms for the half time break with the score still at 13-6. Pontypool were still very much in it but would need to find some inspiration if they were going to topple a very good Merthyr side.

Pontypool started well enough in the second half and worked their way into the Merthyr half. A penalty given away at a ruck gave away the promising position yet again. As a consequence, they found themselves near their own line defending a Merthyr lineout. Then came the decisive moment of the match. Sparks was yellow carded for stopping the home side’s driving lineout illegally. Merthyr elected to take another lineout and this time there was no stopping them with hooker Williams getting the touchdown. The conversion failed but Merthyr had opened up a substantial lead at 18-6.

A few minutes later the Ironmen built on their lead when Jarvis added another penalty goal and even though there was still half an hour remaining it was hard to see how Pontypool could close the 21-6 deficit.

The seemingly lost cause certainly did not stop Pooler trying, that was for sure, but indiscipline and mistakes continued to haunt them. The forwards did manage to gain a good share of possession but the tremendous line speed of the home defence and their ability to slow down the ball at the breakdown meant that, in truth, Pontypool never really looked like scoring a try. In fact, it was Merthyr who looked the more likely to score and it took a tremendous defensive effort by the away side to stop them adding to their tally. Pooler did, however, concede a couple of kickable penalties which fortunately sailed just wide.

As the final whistle approached, there were two more yellow cards for Herbert of Pontypool for a tip tackle and Locke of Merthyr for a high tackle – it was that sort of game and that sort of referee. The final score was 21-6 which is probably a fair reflection on the balance of play.

In the cold light of day, Pontypool will realise that they were beaten by the better side. There is certainly no shame in that as Merthyr are a strong well-coached team who play week in week out at a higher level. Pooler can be pleased that they made them fight so hard for their victory. The big difference between the two sides was in indiscipline and error count where the home side managed things that much better.  Nevertheless Pontypool have plenty to be proud of in another good cup run.

Pontypool will now need to regroup for their important Championship match at Cardiff Met. University on Saturday. A victory there will clinch the title but, as we saw in the defeat last season, this will be anything but easy.

Come on Pooler!

The Thin Red Line

Wales managed to cling on to a narrow 14-13 lead to defeat the French at Cardiff. This was hard work for both players and supporters alike as the French proved tough opponents. The much vaunted Welsh attacking prowess never really managed to crack a ferocious cast iron defence.

The Welsh try was a comedy of errors from a French perspective as they made a complete hash of a poor restart after they had taken an early lead with a dropped goal.  The ball bounced and then just about made the required ten metres before being gathered by Wales. An awkward bounce of the ball from a Welsh kick through then let Liam Williams in for a try in the corner. The French try was much more conventional with powerful carries creating an overlap for Fickou. With three penalties from Halfpenny, Wales held a narrow 14-10 lead at halftime with the French team looking the stronger.

In the second half, Wales were on the back foot most of the time but a tenacious defence just about managed to keep the French at bay. Wales for the most part seemed to be overpowered by the French in the forwards although they always had the colossus that was Alun Wyn Jones to rally around. The French did squander a few chances to take the lead but it was remarkable that Wales restricted them to just three points in the second half. You could not help feeling that if the French got their noses in front there was no way back for Wales. The atmosphere in the ground reflected the balance of play with the French fans making far more noise than their Welsh counterparts. We were all mighty glad to hear the final whistle after a fantastic lineout steal by Shingler had enabled Wales to kick the ball high into the stand.

The victory meant that Wales claimed second place in the Six Nations’ Championship which no one really expected before the tournament started. Ireland were run away champions and their victory at Twickenham showed them to be worthy winners of the title and their third Grand Slam.

The defeat by Ireland left England languishing in fifth place and Eddie Jones with egg on his face. I guess that England will just have to hire another half dozen coaches as the ones they’ve got have too many irretrievable breakdowns. We had “Warren ball” and now we have “Eddie no ball”.

Scotland snatched a last gasp victory in Rome against the luckless Italians and took third place in the championship. You really do feel sorry for the Italians who have played some great rugby at times. Of course you never want your side to be the one that loses to them, but it would be all right if someone else did. I take my hat off to Parisse who has given his all to Italian rugby and has now suffered the ignominy of his one hundredth defeat in an Italian jersey. What a player!

The WRU seem on the verge of yet another restructuring of the Premiership. This time shrinking it back to twelve from sixteen clubs. I seem to remember this happening before with Pontypool on the receiving end of the axe. Having decided on a whim to reduce the size from fourteen to ten, the WRU then did a U turn and increased the number to twelve (no room for Pooler though). Some time later, twelve was considered too few so they went back up to the current sixteen with Pontypool just failing to make the top four clubs that were promoted from the Championship. You have to wonder whether anyone actually knows what they are trying to do.

By my reckoning, the season lasts from September to April which is eight months so around thirty four weeks. If the league has twelve teams, that is twenty two fixture on a home and away basis. Doing the arithmetic that leaves twelve weeks without a league match. Of course there could be the occasional cup game but inevitably to someone has to invent some extraordinary play off arrangement to pad out the season. Eleven home games surely cannot be enough to sustain a club at this level. It certainly is not enough to satisfy my appetite as a supporter.

The next thread to the restructuring seems to be for the regions to have under-23 teams who will search out fixtures in the UK and Ireland. Is this going to be yet more rugby along the M4 rather than elsewhere in Wales? Does anyone have an appetite for watching this? Why don't Cardiff, Llanelli, Newport and Swansea just morph into the under-23s? Ask a consultant I suppose.

Of course we all want Welsh rugby to be successful but it would be good to have a plan and then stick to it for a significant time period rather than chopping and changing all the time. I have no confidence that this restructuring will not follow all the others into the waste paper basket and then be recycled a few years down the line.

Sadly there is yet more snow and, with the long awaited cup quarter final for Pontypool at Merthyr fast approaching, I really hope it is not adversely affected. Let us hope our very own “Beast from the East” can give a good account of themselves against the “Ironmen” on Tuesday evening. 

Come on Pooler!

  

Wales Sweep Aside the Blues

Wales brought the Six Nations’ weekend to a close with a 38-14 bonus point victory over Italy at the Principality Stadium. It was a strange sort of game with the result never really in doubt after Wales scored two tries through Parkes and North in the opening minutes. They then let Italy back into the game for long periods with a rather listless, disjointed display symptomatic maybe of the ten changes that they had made to the team.

In Minozzi, their full back, Italy have uncovered a gem and he has sparkled throughout the championship. He made Liam Williams look a bit foolish when he jinked his way past him for an Italian try. I am not sure if the incidents are related but Williams was later yellow carded for a reckless high tackle on the self-same Minozzi behind the Italian goal line.

Wales were shorthanded for 20 minutes of the second half when Gareth Davies also received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. Despite this, they ran in another three tries with Hill, North and Tipuric crossing the whitewash. Italy did manage a second try but really they were always going to finish a distant second.

Wales have now moved up to second place in the Championship and Gatland has silenced his critics who were not wholly impressed by the sweeping changes that he made. It certainly was not a vintage performance by Wales against a mediocre Italian team who with their limited resources find five tough games in such a short period a daunting prospect.

Did we learn anything? The front five performed adequately, the back row were busy and skilful but we lacked a ball carrier, Anscombe and Watkin are sound, North seems to have regained his appetite (in a Welsh jersey anyway) and Liam Williams looks out of sorts with Halfpenny looking sharper when he came on. I think we probably knew all that anyway. Still, we have rested a few players who should be raring to go for the French game and have won comfortably. That is not to be sneezed at.

The interesting thing is who will play fly half against France and who will play in the back row? The first choice front row and Alun Wyn Jones must surely return but will Shingler and Navidi be brought back to play alongside Faletau. The French have formidable ball carriers so we need to counter that so is Moriarty a possible starter? Did Tipuric or Davies do enough to keep their shirts? It would be tough on Shingler and Navidi if they missed out as there were both impressive against England and Ireland.

In the backs we must have a top line goal kicker and I think Halfpenny looks the man to play at fullback. Scott Williams returns and North and Evans have done enough to keep their places but who will be in No. 10? I suspect it might be Dan Biggar but who knows?

Why am I even bothering to think about it anyway? – all will be revealed on Tuesday.

Mudlarks

This is certainly a big rugby weekend with all sorts of goodies on the menu. You could say that we were spoilt for choice on the Saturday afternoon but really there was only one place to be at 2.30 pm and that was Pontypool Park. The pitch had just about survived the ravages of the weather and Pooler were taking on the second placed team in the Championship Tata Steel.

Pontypool played up the slope in the first half and against a breeze on a muddy, energy-sapping pitch. This was going to be a tough shift for the players that was for sure. With so little rugby since Xmas, unsurprisingly Pooler made a sluggish start and for the first ten minutes were confined to their own half as Tata Steel used the elements wisely. Tata found it difficult to keep hold of the ball and although they pressed hard could not break through the home defence. Against the run of play after around ten minutes, Pontypool opened the scoring with a penalty from Matthew Jones when their pursuit of a speculative kick ahead was obstructed.

Gradually Pontypool got up to grips with the challenging conditions. The slippery surface and the wet ball meant a high error count for both teams but Pontypool seemed the more likely to score. Towards the end of the first quarter, Tata lost possession in their own twenty two and Meek toe-poked the ball forward and won the chase to the line to bag the game’s first try. The try was unconverted but Pooler were now 8-0 in the lead.

Tata Steel were proving worthy opponents and a few minutes later hit back in style. A driving maul from a lineout on the Pontypool twenty two proved unstoppable and nearly demolished the posts too. It was reminiscent of the Pooler of old and drew gasps of admiration from the Bank. The conversion was a formality and the away side were back in the hunt at 8-7.

This stung Pooler into action and they took charge of the match in the last ten minutes of the first half. First, another handling error by Tata was severely punished when after some smart interplay with Robinson, Attwell crossed for a converted try (15-7). Then, a few minutes later, Prothero was tackled just short of the line after being put in the clear. He popped the ball up for Matthew Jones to score the try which went unconverted. This left Pontypool with a healthy 20-7 lead at half time.

The second half turned out to be more of the same. The conditions made things difficult, that was for sure, and it took you back to the muddy encounters of yesteryear as the two sides slugged it out. The difference between the two sides was that Pontypool made less mistakes and took their chances and in Matthew Jones they had a player who could control the game.

After about ten minutes of the half, Pooler gained the try bonus point when Gullis ran a great supporting line to breach the Tata defence. With the well-judged conversion from Jones, Pooler were well clear at 27-7. Five minutes later, Gullis was again on the scoresheet when he popped in support of an arcing run by Prothero. Another excellent conversion added to Tata’s misery as the lead grew to 34-7.

There was the usual period of stalemate as the replacements tried to find their feet on the tricky surface. This was attritional stuff that was for sure. You really wouldn’t want to be the person charged with washing the kit after the match.

As the game entered its final knockings, Pontypool produced the best try of the match. Owen Williams made a great break from the home twenty two and found Luckwell in support. Luckwell found Attwell steaming up on a brilliant angle. Attwell shot through the defence to score from thirty metres out. The conversion pushed Pooler over forty points at 41-7.

Tata Steel somehow found the energy and desire to attack strongly in the dying minutes of the game and were rewarded with a try by Davies which was converted by Bricknell to make the final score 41-14.

This makes Pooler’s league record for the season sixteen wins out of sixteen starts. With a 27 point lead over Narberth, and only six games remaining, one more victory will give Pontypool an unassailable lead. The next league game will be at Cardiff Met who were the only team to beat Pontypool last season in the Championship. That makes for an interesting encounter that is for sure.

In the meantime, there is the small matter of the trip to Merthyr for the postponed quarter final cup match on the 20th March. This will really be a challenge but one I am sure Pooler will relish. A packed house, under floodlights now that really does take you back!

I guess a lot of us would like to go back to those halcyon days with fifty odd games a season and a fixture list packed with local derbies and matches against top class English opposition. That I am afraid is never going to happen although the WRU governance structure still seems to reflect those times. It does need to change to recognise the current era and it is sad to note that this seems to be too difficult for them to take on board even though at grass roots level it is supported. When it comes to changing league structures, the WRU seems to make decisions at a rate that makes Donald Trump look pedestrian and with about as much forethought. Why then can’t they address the governance structure with similar alacrity?

I got home in time to watch the France v. England game. Whilst the game was close and therefore exciting, I thought that the actual standard of rugby was pretty mediocre. England, for all the chat of Eddie Jones, have been hugely disappointing this season and could quite easily end up losing three games. When you consider the resources at their disposal, it really is a pretty poor return. When you also add the lacklustre performance of the English clubs in Europe it must be quite worrying for all concerned. Oh dear what a pity, never mind!

The English defeat makes Ireland champions with a game to spare and a visit to HQ with the Grand Slam and Triple Crown up for grabs. So far, they are the only side to win an away match against sides other than Italy and in that respect they deserve to be champions. Their win against France in Paris required them to play their “get out of jail card” and on such fine margins the championship hangs. If only Anscombe’s pass had not been intercepted in Dublin and if only the TMO at Twickenham had got it right……dream on!

This afternoon I am off to Cardiff to watch a rather revolutionary Welsh team take on Italy. Let’s hope it comes off.

Come on Wales and come on Pooler!

Snow Joke

Sadly due to the snow the Merthyr v. Pontypool cup game was postponed. In fact there was not much rugby being played at all. I was even denied the prospect witnessing the Dragons’ defeat in South Africa by the TV schedules.

Years ago we used to call Gloucester “the poor man’s Pontypool” - with tongue firmly pressed in cheek of course. This is certainly no longer the case even in fun. They managed to clear the Kingsholm pitch for their match against Newcastle so at least there was some rugby to watch on the TV. It turned out to be a close game with Gloucester losing their unbeaten home record by the narrowest of margins 20-21. They did score four tries and if they had kicked just one of six attempts on goal they would have won.

As I sat on the couch with muscles aching from the morning’s snow clearing effort, I thought about the current situation in the Six Nations. Sadly I started to come up with a list of songs to sum up each team’s progress to date. I didn’t spend a lot of time on it as you can probably tell and I am sure it could be bettered quite easily.

Ireland – “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi

England – “19^th Nervous Breakdown” by the Rolling Stones

Scotland – “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed

Wales – “Keep on Running” by the Spencer Davis Group

France – “Heroes and Villains” by the Beachboys

Italy – “All I Need is a Miracle” by Mike and the Mechanics

Hopefully the snow will have disappeared by next weekend so I can get my mind back on the things that matter most. Firstly, at Pontypool Park on Saturday, Pooler are due to play Tata Steel for the third time this season. Whilst Pooler have won both previous encounters, this will not be easy with Tata Steel lying in second place in the table.

Then on Sunday Wales take on Italy at the Principality Stadium. After two narrow defeats in England and Ireland they need a decent win to bolster confidence. I cannot imagine there will be many changes but Faletau and North will be pushing for inclusion in the starting line-up.

It has to be a better weekend than the current one that is for sure.

Come on Pooler and come on Wales!