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!