At Last Pooler End Their Dismal Run

The end of January was fast approaching and at last Pontypool were going to play some rugby in 2026. The weather hasn’t been kind so far and it was little better at a rain-soaked Pontypool Park where Pooler were due to take on RGC in a SRC Cup match. We had feared that the heavy rain of the last few days would have made this game another casualty but mercifully the pitch was playable. The rain was still sweeping up the ground and it would surely mean that running rugby would not be the order of the day.

Pooler played up the slope but with the wind in the first half and started the stronger. The applied early pressure through their kicking game and established a position in the RGC twenty-two. After just three minutes they opted to take a shot at goal from a penalty in front of the posts and Ford did the necessary to give Pooler an early lead in what was likely to be a low scoring match (3-0)

RGC almost immediately replied with a penalty goal from Dion Jones after Pooler transgressed in front of their posts (3-3). This was going to be a real dogfight with the awful conditions making the kicking games of the two sides prominent. In the set piece battles Pooler had the edge in the scrums and in the lineout neither side looked particularly secure on their own ball. For Pooler, Antrobus was looking a key figure in the lineout as he successfully challenged the RGC throw-in. Most of the play for the first quarter was in the middle third of the pitch as the two packs battled it out. One or two incursions into the opposition twenty-two rather frustrating led to a turnover against the would-be attackers.

The second quarter belonged to Pooler with Morgan Allan playing a key part. The first try of the game came when Allan followed up a kick ahead and played football down the left touchline. Remarkably although the ball was perilously close to going into touch it stayed in play and dribbled up to the RGC goal line where Allan was there to touch down. The conversion failed but Pooler were leading 8-3.

A few minutes later, Allan charged up the field brushing defenders aside after receiving a RGC kick in his own half. This time he was hauled down but, after a few more carries from the forwards, Scarfe charged over the line near the posts for Pooler’s second try. Ford converted and Pooler were building a substantial lead at 15-3.

Pooler were now well on top but frustratingly, despite coming close on a couple of occasions, they could not take advantage of a yellow card for RGC’s Tudor Jones and add to their score before the half time whistle. Still Pooler had managed to build a decent lead and despite playing against the wind would be playing down the slope in the second half.

Pooler continued to be on top in the second half and kept RGC in their own half for an extended period. Despite the pressure, the tricky conditions contrived to make moving the ball difficult and the RGC defence remained strong against the forward surges. Pragmatically, Pooler eventually decided to kick for goal and Ford’s successful kick put them more than two scores clear at 18-3.

The fourth quarter became much more even with a yellow card for Morgan Allan giving RGC numerical supremacy at least. A long clearance kick from Dion Jones with the benefit of the wind bounced and bounced and eventually stopped in the Pooler in-goal area where Pooler touched down. There followed a period of strong RGC pressure on the Pooler line and eventually the Pooler defence cracked with Parry scoring a try. MacBride converted and RGC were back in the game at 18-10 with fifteen minutes remaining.

RGC sensed that a comeback was on the cards and momentum shifted. Pooler’s cause was certainly not helped by a red card for Matthews after a fracas near halfway which meant Pooler were down to thirteen men. RGC attacked and the Pooler defence was at full stretch to keep them out but keep them out they did as the minutes ticked away. The Pooler faithful were getting a bit anxious as they had lost from winning positions a few times this season already.

Ieuan Jones joined the fray at the end of Allan’s sin-binning which brought much needed solidity to the Pooler scrum. Indeed, the Pooler scrum was so dominant with Marcus Jones on the flank that it earned a couple of penalties to get Pooler back into RGC territory. In the final minute Ford kicked a penalty to give Pooler a hard-earned 21-10 victory at full time.

After a run of defeats, it was really important for Pooler to get a win and although it wasn’t pretty they got the job done. With the return of Kelleher Griffiths and Scarfe the scrum looked a lot more solid and Antrobus had an excellent match in the lineout. The forwards edged the contest with Allan prominent on his 50^th appearance. It wasn’t a day for the backs but when the chips were down towards the end they defended well. Well done to everyone!

Next up is the small matter of a visit to Newport for another cup match on Thursday evening. Pooler will need to build on this performance to tackle an in-form Newport outfit.

Welsh rugby continues to astound us with crisis after crisis mostly of our own making.  The fans are protesting, the players are protesting and the media are scathing. When will it all end? It is hard to see how this will come to a satisfactory outcome. I certainly do not have the answers but neither seemingly do the WRU. I don’t think we can just go back to how we were as that clearly was not working so something had to change as Welsh rugby was in danger of a downward spiral to oblivion. The Six Nations is just around the corner and the awful prospect of a heavy defeat at Twickenham looming amidst talk of a players’ strike. What a mess!

It makes my head hurt and my heart bleed so I will just look forward to our local derby against Newport on Thursday.

Come on Pooler!