Saturday
saw the furthest east club in the Championship take one of the furthest west as
Pontypool entertained Newcastle Emlyn. This was Pontypool’s last home game of
the season and a decent crowd managed to tear themselves away from the dog show
to see if Pooler could preserve their unbeaten record. Thankfully the heavy
rain of the morning had ceased but yet again Pontypool were faced with a heavy pitch.
Pontypool
played up the slope in the first half and started somewhat sluggishly against a
lively looking Newcastle Emlyn team. After eight minutes, Dan Davies on the
left wing underlined the threat that the away side posed as he brushed off
three or four defenders to score the game’s opening try in the corner (0-5).
The shock
of going behind seemed to wake the slumbering giant and Pooler snapped into
action. A cross kick from Meek was fielded by Thomas who got the ball away to
Hancock who scored and, with Meek’s conversion, the home side had grabbed a 7-5
lead. A few minutes later a surge from Watson-Boycott found Thomas in support
and he sprinted clear of the defence to score Pooler’s second try. This was
also converted by Meek and it was business as usual at 14-5.
The next
quarter of an hour was rather frustrating as a high penalty count didn’t allow
either side to find any continuity. With only ten minutes left in the half, two
of Pooler’s younger players made their presence felt and broke the deadlock.
First the hooker, Ball, touched down when the Pontypool pack executed a driving
lineout to perfection and then centre, Mahoney, kicked through and won the
chase to the line. With the conversions by Meek, in the space of a couple of
minutes, Pooler had gained the try bonus point and opened up a 28-5 lead.
As the
first half drew to a close there was another burst of activity. Meek put in
another deft cross kick and this time Hancock gathered on the Newcastle Emlyn
try line to score his second try and Pooler’s fifth (33-5). The away side still
looked dangerous and Dan Davies scored a splendid long-range individual try
when he beat would-be tacklers for fun as he ran down Pooler’s left flank to
cross in the corner (33-10). There was still time in a breathless five minutes
for Pontypool to hit back with a penalty try awarded by the referee after the
away side illegally stopped a powerful Pooler scrum from driving over. This
also resulted in a yellow card for, Leonard, the Newcastle Emlyn flanker. So at
half time Pontypool were well in control with a substantial 40-10 lead.
The third
quarter of the game was scoreless with mistakes and penalties galore. Pontypool
went close on a number of occasions but their accuracy let them down at crucial
moments. Credit must also go to Newcastle Emlyn who defended stoutly and still
had a backline that posed a threat. We also saw the usual raft of substitutions
and the introduction of uncontested scrums.
The final
quarter was in marked contrast as Pontypool burst into action as their
opponents tired. Gullis ran a great angle to break the Newcastle Emlyn
defensive line and score an unconverted try (45-10). A yellow card for the away
team’s Baldwin was the last straw and Pooler started to run riot. An excellent
break by Coundley was supported by Watson-Boycott who offloaded to Sparks who
galloped over under the posts (52-10). A few minutes later Sparks scored again
as he burst out of a maul and ran fifteen metres to score (59-10).
Newcastle
Emlyn were reeling and, when they lost possession near their ten metre line,
they were punished further when Herbert seized the ball and showed tremendous
pace to score a try that was converted by Meek (66-10). There was still time
for one more Pontypool attack and it was that man Herbert again as he popped up
in support of another line break to race in for his second try. Meek added the
conversion and, at the final whistle, it was another convincing victory for
Pontypool at 73-10.
Pontypool’s
record in the Championship is now nineteen wins from nineteen starts. They have
averaged over forty four points and over six tries per game in the season to
date – a fantastic achievement. This was the last home league game but there
are still three more away fixtures. The next two games are against two sides
battling to avoid relegation so will not be easy. First up is a visit to Skewen
on Wednesday evening and then Rhydyfelin next Saturday. The curtain comes down
on the season at Narberth the following weekend. Narberth look favourites to
finish second in the Championship and this should be a cracker particularly if
we can have a decent bit of weather.
It has
been a tough weekend if you are a Cardiff sport’s fan. On Friday night Cardiff
City suffered the agony of two missed penalties in injury time and lost to
Wolves. Last night the Cardiff Blues were pipped at the post in South Africa when
the Cheetahs were awarded a penalty try in time added on after an agonising
series of scrums. I have to confess to doing a bit of channel-hopping at this
stage with tight finishes also at Manchester City and in the National Cup
semi-final at Cross Keys. Well done Merthyr on your victory against Ebbw Vale
on what looked to be a real pudding of a pitch. I remember when the semi-finals
of the cup were held at the National Stadium! Times have changed that is for
sure.
So it is
off to Skewen on Wednesday evening. Come on Pooler!
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