Pooler Show Their Mettle to Down Steelmen

A local derby against Ebbw Vale provided our pre-Xmas fare at Pontypool Park. The fact that Ebbw Vale were sitting proudly at the top of Super Rugby Wales gave the match extra spice although it scarcely needed it. Two fully committed groups of fans were in attendance to watch two fully committed teams battle it out. Thankfully the rain had stopped and there was even some blue sky on view although it was chilly with a keen breeze blowing down the ground.

Ebbw Vale had first use of the wind and played down the slope in the first half. They quickly showed why they are one of the top teams as they dominated possession in the early stages. Pooler were forced to defend but did so with plenty of zeal and kept their try line well protected in the first quarter. Ebbw Vale did manage to get on the scoreboard with a penalty to lead 0-3.  This was a tough uncompromising match with big hits countering strong carries with Pooler giving as good as they got. Ebbw Vale were shading the scrums while Pooler managed to disrupt the away side’s lineout on occasions. The game proceeded in fits and starts with the referee awarding a high number of penalties which to the frustration of the home fans seemed to be mostly against Pooler.

Just before the half hour mark, Matthews burst through the Ebbw vale defence and found scrum half Lloyd in support. Lloyd found Pat Lewis running a great support line and the full back scored the opening try near the posts. Meek converted and Pooler had established a valuable 7-3 lead against the elements.

The Pooler lead was short lived when yet another penalty conceded saw Ebbw Vale take up a position deep in the home twenty-two. A driving maul proved unstoppable and despite the conversion failing Ebbw Vale took a slender lead at 7-8. Another penalty a few minutes later saw the away side increase their lead to 7-11 and this remained the score at half time.

Pooler had the benefit of the slope and the wind in the second half and must have fancied their chances of overturning the narrow Ebbw Vale lead after a combative first forty minutes. The Steelmen, however, were sure to have other ideas and we were in for an enthralling second stanza.

As the Pooler faithful hoped, Pooler started the first half with plenty of vim and dominated proceedings. The crowd responded and created a brilliant atmosphere. What Pooler needed was an early score and after going close a number of times they got what they wanted. It was a powerful surge form Morgan Allen that did the trick as he brushed defenders aside to score from a maul in the Ebbw Vale twenty-two. The conversion failed but Pooler had regained the lead at 12-11.

Pooler were now brimming with confidence and could smell victory but the Ebbw Vale defence was well-organised and was a tough nut to crack. Pooler also continued to get on the wrong side of the referee’s decisions at the breakdown and frustratingly conceded quite a few promising positions as a consequence.

A speculative grubber kick down the right touchline from halfway by Pooler seemed to bounce and bounce inches from the line. Most players through it was bound to go into touch but Pat Lewis was not about to wait for that he happen. He chased a seemingly lost cause to score in the right corner. The difficult conversion failed but Pooler had opened up a six point lead in this tight game at 17-11.

Ebbw Vale responded with some attacks of their own but they were quickly snuffed out by the home defence. A win for Pooler had not yet been secured with the away side within a converted try. Pooler were still having the better of things although the raft of substitutions did take a while to bed in. The tension for the home fans was eased when Meek converted along range penalty to make the score 20-11.

As time was running out, another penalty from Meek surely put the game to bed at 23-11 but Ebbw Vale still had belief. Straight from the kick-off, an attempted Pooler clearance kick was charged down and the away side snatched a try. The conversion failed but the Pooler lead had shrunk to seven points at 23-16. An unlikely draw was still on the cards for the league leaders.

A last-gasp attack from Ebbw Vale broke down as time ran out and Pooler hurtled down field. A kick downfield was hotly pursued by both sides and it appeared that the Ebbw Vale player pushed the ball over the dead ball line with his hand from the in-goal area. Pooler appealed for a penalty but the officials was having none of it and blew for time. Final score Pontypool 23 : Ebbw Vale 17.

This was a great win for Pooler against a good side. Ebbw Vale really made Pooler work for their victory and kept the result in doubt right until the end. The second half performance for Pooler probably merited some more points and they will need to look at discipline particularly at the breakdown.  Overall though a thoroughly satisfactory afternoon. Congratulations to all.

Next Saturday we have to do it all again but this time at Ebbw Vale. Pooler can expect a warm welcome as the home side will want revenge and desperately need to win to keep their hopes of winning the league alive.

A hope everyone has a great Xmas.

Come on Pooler!