Pooler Pass the Test from the West – Just

Pontypool haven’t been playing much rugby of late. Indeed the home against Newcastle Emlyn was the first league game at the Park since mid-December. They have barely been averaging a match every two weeks for various reasons and, with a large squad, game time for the players has been at a premium. All this means that the chasing pack has closed the lead at the top of the Championship to just eight points but Pooler have two or three games in hand. A much changed Pontypool team took the field against Newcastle Emlyn from the one that triumphed in the Cup against Cross Keys a few weeks back.

Pontypool played up the slope in the first half with a breeze at their backs.  They got off to a fast start when, with just five minutes or so played, centre Mahoney burst through in midfield. After almost getting to the try line himself, he fed Usher on the wing who found Luckwell running an inside support line to cross for an excellent try. Lewis converted and Pooler were 7-0 to the good.

Newcastle Emlyn despite their lowly league position proved to be spirited and skilful opponents and gave as good as they got. They began to find holes in an unusually porous home defence and the match was fiercely contested. Pooler had the edge in the scrum but elsewhere it was pretty even.

The away side reduced the arrears through a penalty from Davies as the match entered the second quarter. Pontypool responded within a couple of minutes with a pushover try from a scrum near the visitors’ try line. Matthews got the touchdown with Lewis converting to give Pooler a 14-3 lead. Newcastle Emlyn responded swiftly when outside half Evans skated through a breach in the home defence to score a try that was converted by Davies and the away side had closed the gap to 14-10.

Pontypool needed to respond and the forwards turned up the heat with a series of drives that took them up to the Newcastle Emlyn try line. Something had to give and a yellow card was awarded to the visitors’ scrum half for stopping a drive illegally.  With the visitors a man down, Pooler’s task was made easier and a minute or so later Gregory scored under the posts. With the conversion, Pooler were now 21-10 ahead. Straight from the restart Matthews burst through the away team’s defence and kicked ahead. The defence made a mess of dealing with the situation and as a result Pontypool had a scrum deep in Newcastle Emlyn’s twenty two. The ball was spread wide for Usher to outflank the defence and score in the left corner. The conversion just missed but Pooler had a healthy 26-10 lead and had secured a bonus point when the half time whistle was blown a few minutes later.

The second half was frustrating for the home fans as the away side dominated possession and when Pontypool did get their hands on the ball they made too many errors to get any form of continuity. The visitors pounded away at the Pooler line and after ten minutes got a deserved try when Owens crossed. With the successful conversion Newcastle Emlyn were certainly back in the hunt with the deficit down to just nine points at 26-17.  

Ponypool started to use their bench and their supporters were delighted to see the return of Matthew Jones after a long spell out of action through injury. The visitors sensed an upset was on the cards and continued to attack. A yellow card for Pooler centre Mahoney certainly helped the visitors’ cause as we entered the fourth quarter and it needed desperate defence from the home side to avoid conceding another try. Eventually Pooler managed to escape from the stranglehold and an astute kick from Jones nearly put Usher in. The wing was stopped just short of the line and the ruck ball was slowed down illegally. This led to a yellow card for Evans from the visitors but also for Pooler prop Price who took exception to something or other. This resulted in a penalty for Newcastle Emlyn who cleared their lines.

Pontypool now had the bit firmly between their teeth as they attempted to stamp their authority back on the game. A tremendous driving lineout from their opponents’ twenty two took play right up to the try line. Lampitt drove over to claim Pontypool’s fifth try and despite the conversion failing Pooler breathed a sigh of relief as the scoreboard ticked over to 31-17.

A momentary lack of concentration from Pooler and they were on the back foot again. Newcastle Emlyn were back in their twenty two and they moved the ball through their backs for Davies to score a try. This was again converted and the visitors were within a score at 31-24 with almost ten minutes remaining. The tension amongst the Pooler faithful was palpable as the visitors looked more than capable of scoring again.

Pontypool used all their bench as they sought to regain control against opponents who were not going to lie down that was for sure.  Pontypool’s forwards did the necessary and with a series of driving mauls retained possession and gained valuable territory. One such maul took play deep into the away twenty two and when the ball was eventually spread wide a gap opened that Gullis exploited to score the try that put the game to bed. The conversion failed but Pontypool had clinched the win at 36-24. It had been a tough day at the office and all associated with Pontypool were relieved to hear the final whistle.

While Pontypool played in fits and starts and were not at their best, they managed to find a way to win against formidable and motivated opponents. The lack of competitive rugby seems to have resulted in a lack of sharpness and precision in Pooler’s play. I am sure that this will be resolved as the frequency of their matches increases. Newcastle Emlyn gave a really good account of themselves and in truth deserved a losing bonus point at the very least.

The sides around Pontypool in the Championship won with the exception of Cardiff Met who drew. This means that the gap at the top remains at eight points. Premiership play-off watch reveals that our old friends Cross Keys are in the play-off spot at present. It looks like a desperately close struggle near the bottom of the Premiership with Bridgend, Cross Keys , Bedwas and Llanelli all very closely packed and in all likelihood Bargoed and Neath already two of the four facing automatic relegation.

I have been thoroughly impressed by the plans for the redevelopment of Pontypool Park and it is evident that this is a well thought out way forward. Let us hope that there is general agreement and the club progresses as planned. None of this would be possible of course without the fantastic contribution and commitment from Peter and Ben Jeffreys. We all owe them a great vote of thanks for saving and rebuilding this great club of ours.

Next weekend looks like being decisive in the Six Nations Championship. Wales take on England in Cardiff and an English win will surely see them progress to a grand slam with home fixtures against Scotland and Italy to come. Can Wales wheel clamp the chariot? Everyone outside England is relying on us and it is an onerous burden. Current form would suggest it will be very difficult as a jaunty England have blown away Ireland and France and Wales have looked far from convincing in beating France and Italy albeit away from home. The Welsh pack have a huge job to do for if England get a solid platform to work with they will be odds on to win. At least we will have a proper fullback playing which will be a big help as England’s previous wins have come courtesy of a kicking game that has found out part-timers in this position. Wales will not need any motivation that is for sure! It will be a summer of misery if England win so come on boys.

Pontypool do not have a match next weekend due to the international but the following weekend they will visit Maesteg Quins who have even more games in hand then Pooler do.

Come on Wales and come on Pooler!