Pooler Get There in the End

Pontypool took on Carmarthen Quins for the third time this season at Pontypool Park on a warm overcast afternoon. The first two encounters had taken place at Carmarthen with the teams gaining a victory apiece in high scoring matches. This then was the decider.

Pooler played up the slope in the first half and their forwards asserted themselves right from the off. After four minutes, Scarfe opened the scoring with a try from short range after strong work from the pack (5-0). Pooler continued to enjoy possession and territory and, after a long period of pressure in the Carmarthen Quins twenty-two, it was Bodkin who forced his way over for the try near the posts. Meek converted and Pooler had built a healthy lead at 12-0 with two tries in the bank.

Carmarthen then rather took charge of the game and dominated territorially. The Carmarthen scrum had the edge and this became a source of penalties. The penalties enabled the away side to gain a foothold in the Pooler twenty-two and the powerful driving of the Quins’ forwards led to two tries by hooker, Morgan, in the space of ten minutes one of which was converted by Price. This brought the scores level at 12-12 with the momentum with the away team.

On the half hour, Pooler edged back into the lead with a penalty from Meek after a rare visit to the Quins’ half. (15-12). Quins , however, continued to press and five minutes later loose head prop Fawcett scored a try after more pressure from the forwards. The conversion failed but Quins had taken the lead for the first time at 15-17.

The last action of the half saw Meek kick his second penalty to give Pooler a narrow first half lead at 18-17. It had been a half dominated by forward  driving which was a shame for the crowd as both sides looked to have plenty of pace in the threequarters. Neither side seemed to be able to move the ball with both defences closing them down before they could do any damage.

In the second half Pooler, playing down the slope, enjoyed territorial advantage keeping Carmarthen penned in their own half for much of the time. After ten minutes, Scarfe plunged over for his second try after a series of forward drives. Meek converted and Pooler were more than a score ahead at 25-17.

There followed a frustrating period as Pooler tried to turn possession and territory into points against a committed Carmarthen defence. The period coincided with the introduction of replacements from the benches with Pooler seemingly getting more benefit from the fresh legs. On the hour, Pooler had a try disallowed when the ball touched the referee in the build-up.

With around a quarter of an hour remaining, Pooler attacked down the left wing. The Quins defence was caught napping by Pooler scrum half Lloyd who spotted a gap down the touch line and managed to touch down in the corner with a spectacular dive despite the Quins cover getting to him. The conversion failed but Pooler were in command at 30-17 and had secured their bonus point.

It was all Pooler from then on with the introduction of the powerful ball carrying of Morgan Allen making holes in their tiring defence. It was Allen who powered over from a scrum near the Quins line to score Pooler’s fifth try that was converted by Meek (37-17) .

In the last minute, a brilliant break from replacement centre Nove almost saw him scoring a spectacular try. He was tackled just short but Morgan Lloyd was in close attendance and touched down for his second try of the afternoon. The conversion failed but Pooler had cantered home. Final score Pontypool 42 : Carmarthen Quins 17.

A solid victory for Pooler who used their forward power to gradually wear down a committed Carmarthen team. It was a shame we didn’t really see as much as we would have liked from an exciting looking backline but it was well marshalled by the Quins defence and was also guilty of too many handling errors.

I did watch the SRC cup final between Llandovery and Ebbw Vale on Thursday evening. It is a real shame that it received so little publicity and was on a Thursday evening in Llandovery. Live television coverage was restricted to streaming on S4C Clic. It makes you wonder just how seriously the WRU are taking Super Rygbi Cymru. For the record Llandovery won convincingly 39-7.

Next up for Pooler is a visit to Rodney Parade next weekend to take on Newport again. The game will actually be on Sunday afternoon. I do note that ticket prices have been inflated to £16 or £14 if you buy in advance. I guess if Pooler manage to win it would be well worth it.

Come on Pooler!