Feisty Festive Fare

Pontypool’s last game of 2018 required the short hop over to Newbridge. Local derbies between the two teams over the years have always been keenly contested affairs which have left a scar or two on players from both teams. Although Newbridge occupy a fairly lowly position in the Championship while Pooler sit proudly at the top, we were not expecting anything other than a tough examination of the away side’s credentials.

It was a mild, still afternoon and, although the pitch was quite muddy, conditions were well suited to open attacking rugby. Newbridge kicked off and it was clear right from the outset that both sides meant business as the packs locked horns. Pontypool suffered an early setback when a few choice words to the referee from Jeune following a penalty awarded to the home team at a scrum led to a yellow card. Newbridge sensed an opportunity and attacked with purpose. An excellent run by centre McGovern almost led to a try and Pooler seemed to be momentarily on the ropes. They are made of stern stuff these days however and an impressive defensive stint enabled them to work their way into the Newbridge half. A powerful run by Sparks got Pooler well over the gain line and some good handling by the backs ably assisted by flanker Matthews put Prothero over for a try in the right corner. Meek converted and Pooler were up and running at 0-7 as the first quarter came to an end.

This was a tough match for the referee to manage with a lot happening off the ball and frequent bouts of fisticuffs as both packs vied for ascendancy. The scrums were a real mess with frequent resets as they collapsed time after time. The crowd became restless as they were often baffled by the refereeing decisions and, for a time, there really did not seem to be much danger of any rugby breaking out. Pontypool had the answer for that - a strong driving lineout saw scrum half Luckwell score and this was closely followed by another strong surge by the Pooler pack that saw Drake touch down. The second try was converted by Meek and Pooler had stamped their authority on the match with a 0-19 lead.

Newbridge were stung into action and attacked strongly as the first half came to a close. They had a series of lineouts close to the Pontypool line but the away side managed to disrupt them. The referee ruled that the disruption was illegal and the repeated offending led to Sparks receiving a yellow card. Even with fourteen men Pontypool managed to hold out and hang on to their nineteen point lead as tempestuous half came to a close.

Newbridge, with their numerical advantage, started the second half in a similar vein to the way that they finished the first and made a major effort to close the gap. Pooler rode the storm reasonably comfortably and began to play more expansively. The Pontypool backs started to run at Newbridge and soon began to find gaps. Full back Walsh came into the line and put left wing Thomas in the clear to score the fourth try thus securing the bonus point (0-24).

Thereafter tries came at fairly regular intervals for Pontypool as Newbridge tired and Pontypool started to introduce players from their strong list of replacements. Thomas was soon on the score sheet again as Mahoney and Prothero combined well to create a gap for him. The try was converted and Pontypool now led 0-31.

More agony for Newbridge was to follow as a strong run by East and a pass to the supporting Herbert led to the away side’s sixth try under the posts (0-38). A few minutes later, things got even worse for the home side when that man Thomas popped again to take the scoring pass after a quick tap penalty and bring up his hat trick of tries. The try was again converted by Meek and Pooler were running away with it at 0-45.

Pooler were not done and a break by replacement outside half was well supported by Herbert who gave the scoring pass to Luckwell who touched down for their eighth try. With the conversion Pontypool had passed the half century and led 0-52.

The match ended with some spirited attacking by Newbridge but try as they might they could not reap any reward for the tremendous effort that they had expended during the match. The final score was Newbridge 0 Pontypool 52.

Newbridge posed a significant physical challenge for Pontypool for long periods of this match before Pontypool managed to gain the upper hand. It was nasty and niggly at times as local derbies often are but once Pontypool had found their way through this they were able to show what a potent try scoring outfit they are.

With Ystrad Rhondda’s thumping home defeat by Cardiff Met, Pontypool’s lead at the top of the Championship has now increased to sixteen points with two games in hand over Cardiff Met who are now second. Play-off watch in the Premiership shows that it is now Llanelli who are in the play-off position. Pontypool’s next match is the long awaited home cup tie against Neath. Let us hope that Neath somehow manage to get through their current difficulties and are able to fulfil the fixture.

The only other rugby I have watched was the Cardiff Blues v. the Dragons on the TV. It was a pretty low quality match in difficult conditions but a close encounter for all that. The Blues snatched victory with a last gasp penalty which was a real sickener for the Dragons who had played most of the match with fourteen players and given as good as they got. I thought Wainwright and Hill were outstanding for the Dragons in a depleted back row.

Well 2018 is drawing to a close and Pontypool have not lost a league fixture in a brilliant year. 2019 brings perhaps their biggest challenge – can Pooler claim a place in the Premiership? I certainly hope so. Come on Pooler!

Merry Xmas and a successful New Year to all Pooler fans.