Pooler Earn a Draw at Newport

Pontypool’s latest SRC Cup match was against old rivals Newport. It is difficult to remember the last time Pooler won in Newport but it must be a significant time ago. As always, the Pooler Army travel in hope.

Newport Stadium is a little soulless at the best of times but it was pretty bleak for this encounter with a bitingly cold wind blowing down the ground with rain never far away. A decent crowd huddled together in the stand to try and keep warm.

Newport kicked off with the wind at their backs and proceeded to dominate the opening ten minutes. Despite the conditions they were clearly intent on playing fast and open rugby and it was all that the Pooler defence could do to keep them from scoring the opening try. Keep them out they did and then completely against the run of play Pooler worked their way up field for the first time. The attacking play gave them a scrum close to the line and scrum half Morgan Lloyd spotted a gap and touched down for a try. The difficult conversion failed but Pooler had stolen a march on Newport and led 0-5.

Newport went back on the attack but a few minutes later Pooler ran out of defence and after a couple of penalties were camped on the Newport line. Unfortunately for Pooler they were held up over the line and a good chance was lost.

Newport dominated the second quarter in terms of territory and possession and early in the quarter their forwards drove several times but it was Palmer who touched down for the try after obdurate Pooler defence was eventually overcome. With the successful conversion Newport took the lead at 7-5.

There was a lot of kicking with the swirling wind making things difficult for the would-be catchers.  The lineouts were also proving difficult but, overall, the packs seemed evenly matched in scrum and loose.

Again, rather against the run of play, Pooler found a foothold in the Newport half and Ford kicked a penalty for them to retake the lead (7-8). Newport then totally dominated the last ten minutes of the half and worked their way up to the Pooler line. Pooler defended stoutly but did leak a series of penalties. The penalty count became a too high for the referee’s liking and Pooler hooker Scarfe was shown a yellow card. This tipped the balance sufficiently for the Newport forwards to drive and create an opportunity for Palmer for their second try. Lloyd converted and Newport were back in the lead at 14-8. This remained the score until the half time whistle was blown.

Pooler could look forward to the help of the wind in the second half and a six point gap was far from being insurmountable. They would need to start well but would be playing with fourteen men for the first few minutes.

The half started badly when Pooler made a hash of the kick-off. Fortunately for them it was not costly and a tremendous relieving kick was deemed a 50-22 which gave Pooler a lineout inside the home twenty-two. The lineout went wrong but Pooler were able to keep Newport penned in their own half. This led to Pooler being awarded a penalty that Ford converted and closed the gap to 14-11 with half an hour left to play.

Pooler again made a mess of the kick-off reception although they were back to fifteen men. The referee decided that he had seen enough problems in the scrum and a yellow card was shown to Kelleher-Griffiths at the subsequent scrum so Pooler were back to fourteen men again. Newport seized the opportunity and five minutes or so later a flat pass saw Westwood fly through the Pooler defence to touch down under the posts for a try that Lloyd converted (21-11).

We had now reached the fourth quarter of the game and it was imperative that Pooler scored next. Despite still playing with fourteen men, Pooler forced a penalty or two out of the home side and after strong work by the forwards had a scrum five metres out.  It was skipper Morgan Allan who picked up from the back of the scrum and stormed for a try under the posts. The gap had been trimmed to just three point at 21-18.

The game was still anyone’s and Pooler had built momentum and were soon back to a full complement. The game was full of mistakes but was enthralling. With around ten minutes remaining, Newport prop Devine received a yellow card after Newport had given away too many penalties in defence. Ford kicked the penalty and the teams were tied at 21-21.

A few minutes later Ford had another penalty attempt and this time it hit a post and agonisingly bounced back into play. Newport then went on the attack and after what seemed like an endless set of phases finally made a mistake. The Pooler defence and discipline during this period was absolutely exemplary. Pooler had one last possession but sadly it came to nought and the game ended as a draw, Final score Newport 21 : Pontypool 21.

A performance full of character by Pooler against a good team in difficult conditions. There were opportunities to win lost by both sides and I guess that a draw is a fair result. The last two games have shown that Pooler are back in much better shape after their run of defeats. Pooler’s next game in the Cup is Saturday 7^th Feb against Carmarthen Quins at Pontypool Park. A win would put Pooler in a strong position.

That Saturday will also Wales kick off their Six Nations Championship with a rather daunting trip to Twickenham. I think I will need to hide behind the couch for that one. In the current circumstances, I can’t see anything but a convincing English victory but you can always hope.

Come on Pooler!

Come on Wales!