Pooler in the Swim

I checked the weather forecast before setting off to Port Talbot to watch Pontypool play Tata Steel. Whilst it was raining quite heavily it assured me that it was drying up from the West and that it should be dry for duration of the match. Well, they certainly got that wrong – it poured down for pretty much the whole of the match. They do say that rainwater is good for the complexion so I am sure a few of those wrinkles will have disappeared.

Anyway, to the match. This was a match where top club met bottom club in the Championship. Of course it is never that simple and Pooler, as always, would have to earn a vital victory against a side that would be busting a gut to stop them.

Pontypool played with the wind in the first half and were soon in charge. Some good attacking play saw Powell in space on the right wing. He still had plenty to do but beat the defence to score a try near the corner. Langdon converted and Pooler were off to a fast start (0-7).

With the rain teeming down, it was abundantly clear that this was not an evening for expansive back play. Pontypool therefore turned to their powerful pack to do the honours. This they did with glee and scored tries at regular intervals as they ground down the Tata pack in the rest of the first half. Strong driving play saw tries from Brown and Herbert and two more for Matthews. All were converted by Langdon who kicked superbly in difficult conditions. All this meant that Pooler had gained the bonus point and a substantial lead when the whistle went for half time (0-35).

In the second half, Pooler did try to be a bit more adventurous but the driving rain and a slippery ball made this difficult. Around ten minutes into the second half, Langdon crossed for a try in the right corner as Pooler put a few passes together. He failed with the conversion attempt into the wind but Pooler were out of sight at (0-40).

This was the cue for substitutions and it was all Tata needed for the powerful figure of Ieuan Jones to take the field for Pooler among their changes. He soon made his presence felt and when a Tata lineout went wrong in their own twenty two he supported a carry by Herbert to score an unconverted try in the left corner. Fortunately, we had Peter Jeffreys on the p.a. to keep the score which was by now (0-45).

Despite the rain, Pooler were still attempting to run the ball and were rewarded when Anderson playing on the right wing scored a try in the right corner. The conversion again failed but Pooler had reached the half century at 0-50.

With ten minutes left in the match Pooler fed Ieuan Jones on the burst and he powered over near the posts from around twenty metres. This time the conversion from Langdon was good (0-57).

The last ten minutes saw the introduction of Betts one of the Pooler coaches at scrum half. He rolled back the years with some slick passing which got Pooler moving up the field. The Pooler backs took full advantage and Mahoney found some space and outpaced the defence to gallop in thirty metres or so for Pooler’s tenth try of the evening which again went unconverted (0-62).

In the last few minutes, Tata who had played with spirit and had never given up put together some attacks but the Pontypool defence was able to snuff the out. I have to say I was mightily glad to hear the final whistle as I was soaked through and my coat seemed to be twice as heavy as it had at the start of the match. Such are the joys of community rugby! Final score Tata Steel 0 : Pontypool 62.

This was a solid win for Pontypool in trying conditions. The five points earned keeps them in pole position at the top of the Championship after fifteen matches. There are still another eleven league matches to squeeze in before the end of the season so with the cup as well this will be a lot of rugby to be played in a condensed time frame. It is good that Pooler gave such a strong squad.

The next match will be again against Tata Steel but this time at Pontypool Park next Saturday. Tata Steel despite a substantial defeat gave a good account of themselves and will test Pooler again no doubt.

This afternoon sees the climax of the Six Nations Tournament. It has been a two horse race from the start with Ireland and France being the two outstanding teams. The Irish will be playing for the title and the Grand Slam at home to England and it is hard to see them slipping up. Wales face the daunting trip to Paris to face the French who put England to the sword in such devastating fashion last week. This has been a difficult tournament for Wales both on and off the field and anything other than a convincing French victory would be a surprise. I have moved the couch away from the wall in case I need to hide behind it.

Come on Pooler!

Come on Wales!