A Tough Outing for Pooler

Pontypool visited the Talbot Athletic Ground to play Aberavon in their latest pre-season friendly. As at Talywain last week, the weather was dreadful with a constant very heavy drizzle making playing conditions difficult. When I visit grounds like this, that haven’t really changed much in my rugby watching life, I always get a feeling of nostalgia. I think back to all those fierce encounters with both sides fielding some of the best Welsh internationals of the day. This of course is history and for this new Pooler squad it is all about making history if they can. That feeling of nostalgia only increased when Pontypool ran out in their smart retro styled kit with the shirt numbers on a plain white background and white shorts.

Aberavon started with a bang with Pooler looking a bit shell-shocked by the ferocity of their play. They were soon camped on the Pontypool line and after dismantling a Pooler scrum were awarded a penalty try (7-0). The aftermath of the scrum was a prolonged bout of fisticuffs which resulted in a yellow card for Best of Pontypool and Waite of Aberavon. This was clearly going to be a “friendly” in name only.

The game settled down a bit after this but there was still an undercurrent of bad feeling between the sides. Aberavon continued to pressure Pontypool’s set piece and with their smart backs looked the more likely side to score. Pontypool were very much on the defensive but stuck to their task tenaciously. Twenty minutes in, Gullis for Pooler and Williams for Aberavon had a bit of a spat and were both awarded a yellow card for their trouble.

In the second quarter, Pontypool started to get a foothold in the game and worked their way into the Wizards’ twenty two. After a series of powerful forward drives they worked an opening for Usher to squeeze in at the corner for their first try. The conversion failed but Pooler were back in the game at 7-5. Sadly the momentum that the away side had gained was disrupted by yet another yellow card this time for Luckwell for a late tackle.

As the first half drew to a close, another Pontypool scrum was shunted backwards and despite the conditions Aberavon managed to pass the ball along their three-quarters for Pearce to outflank the defence and score in the corner. The conversion failed but Aberavon had built up a useful lead of 12-5 at the interval.

Aberavon started the second half as they had the first with plenty of attacking intent. Again they seemed to catch Pontypool cold and within a couple of minutes had shredded the away defence and Banfield galloped away to score in the left corner. The difficult conversion failed but the Wizards had pulled two scores clear at 17-5.

There followed a period of mass substitutions with both sides taking the opportunity to give their squads a run out. As you might expect, the game lacked any sort of continuity as the new players got up to speed. The influx of new blood seemed to energise Pontypool more than Aberavon and they managed to improve the quality of possession from their set pieces. As a consequence, the game became far more even but again Pooler’s momentum was lost by another yellow card when Thomas was guilty of a late tackle.

Aberavon continued to look dangerous in attack but the Pontypool defence stood firm helped out by the conditions which made handling difficult. With a quarter of an hour to go, Pooler finally broke the shackles and managed to position themselves inside the home twenty two. A concerted forward drive saw Attwell touch down in the corner and with Meek’s excellent conversion Pontypool had closed the gap to 17-12.

The closing stages of the match saw Aberavon back on the attack and the Pontypool defence again hard at work. There was just one glimmer of a chance for Pontypool when they won a turnover and scuttled off down the field. Unfortunately the Aberavon cover got back to make the crucial tackle and the final score remained at 17-12 with the home side running out deserved winners.

This was a tough outing for Pontypool where they faced the harsh reality of what life is like in the Premiership. The game was lost in the first few minutes of each half when Pooler seemed to be caught cold. Add to this the poor discipline which resulted in four yellow cards and they left themselves a mountain to climb against a strong well-coached Aberavon team. It will certainly have been a valuable experience for the Pontypool squad who next week have another uphill battle when they visit Neath.

The game certainly revealed the tremendous strength in depth that the Pontypool squad possesses. It will be very interesting to see the team that is selected for the first league game on September the first. Competition for places has never been keener.

Come on Pooler!