Promotion Beckons for Pooler

It was with some relief that we turned up at Pontypool Park to watch Pooler play Beddau. The last two scheduled home games for Pooler had been forfeited by Ystalyfera and Bedwas respectively who had been unable to field teams. This was in fact Pooler’s last home game of the season but, although we are now well into May, they still have four away fixtures left. The number of forfeited matches throughout the leagues has given a somewhat unreal feeling to what should have been an exciting end to the season. Loss of gate receipts and bar takings certainly do not help the parlous state of Welsh rugby.

Anyway, the facts are that Pooler needed another nine points to guarantee finishing in the top two in the Championship and therefore securing promotion to the Premiership. A win against Beddau would therefore go a long way towards Pooler achieving their long-held ambition.

Fortunately, the rain held off for the match and although the pitch was wet it was in good condition. Pontypool played down the slope in the first half wearing blue jerseys and were keen to get off to a good start. Right from the start, Beddau showed themselves to be a lively and well organised team that had plenty of attacking intent. The Pontypool defence was physical and relentless and stopped the initial Beddau attacks on the gain line. After around five minutes of play, Pooler number 8, Price, suddenly appeared going full tilt from a breakdown near half way. He showed tremendous pace to touch down under the posts despite the attentions of the Beddau cover defence. Jarvis converted and Pooler were on their way (7-0).

Just a few minutes later, it was right wing Powell who burst through the Beddau defence and fed the supporting Thomas who crossed near the posts for a try that Jarvis converted (14-0). Beddau continued to try and run the ball but it was the powerful Pooler forwards were making inroads. As the first quarter ended, Pooler established a position on the Beddau line and it was Pooler scrum half Lloyd who dived over for the third try after a series of forward drives (19-0)

Pooler were now very much in charge although Beddau continued to move the ball whenever they could.  Some inter-passing between the Pooler back three, saw Nove make ground down the left wing. It was left to Powell to score the try after Nove was tackled near the Beddau line. Jarvis converted and, although there was a hint of a forward pass in the move, Pooler had secured a bonus point.

To rub salt in the Beddau wounds Lewis scored Pooler’s fifth try after a powerful burst just before half time. Jarvis again converted and at half time Pooler had a comfortable lead at 33-0.

The first ten minutes or so of the second half were infinitely forgettable and seemed to consist of scrums. The Pooler pack was trying to dominate the scrummage but it seemed as if the referee was intent on stopping them and there were countless reset scrums as a consequence. It was not good viewing that was for sure. At last, Pooler released the ball from a scrum and scrum half Lloyd made an excellent break. Thomas was there in support and scored his second try which Jarvis converted (40-0).

In the final quarter, the Pooler backs scored two excellent tries with great inter-passing and support play. The first came from Anderson after a break by Jarvis and the second from Nove. The first was converted by Jarvis and the second by Langdon (54-0). The forwards wanted their share of the glory and, as the match drew to a close, it was Stratton who scored Pooler’s ninth try after a series of froward drives. Langdon converted and the final score was Pontypool 61: Beddau 0.

This was another strong performance from Pooler who established control of the match early on. Beddau should be congratulated for their wholehearted contribution and they never stopped trying to move the ball. Sadly for them, the Pooler defence was in no mood to let them score the try that would have been the deserved reward for their enterprise.

This now leaves Pooler needing four points to secure a top two place and promotion. Their next fixture is a return match against Beddau away next Wednesday. The promised land is in sight!

Come on Pooler!