Pooler Power to Comeback Win in the Capital

Pontypool travelled to Cardiff knowing that they needed at least a one bonus point win to progress to the semi-final stage of the SRC Cup. A goodly posse of Pooler fans had made the trip and considerably outnumbered those who favoured Cardiff. Though it was cold, it made a real change to be watching a match played under almost perfect conditions for rugby. After the sodden pitches and the teeming rain of the last few months, the artificial pitch was really going to make a difference.

Cardiff kicked off and immediately went on the attack. They put plenty of verve into their opening salvoes spreading the ball from wing to wing. The benefits of being accustomed to playing on artificial surface were plain to see. This was all too much for the Pooler defence to cope with and Cardiff No. 8 Fry acrobatically dived over the line for the opening try after only a couple of minutes played. Wilde converted and it was 7-0 before Pooler had blinked.

Pooler did make a sortie into the Cardiff half but this was swiftly rebuffed and Cardiff were back on the attack. This time it was a forward drive that paid dividends for Cardiff with substitute hooker Nicholls-Ngasseu touching down for their second try which was again converted by Wilde (14-0). Pooler needed to reply and quickly - 14-0 down after only 12 minutes played was not in the script.

There were signs that the Pooler forwards were beginning to get to grips with things with their scrum looking powerful and the lineout functioning well. At the start of the second quarter, Matthews burst forward from a ruck near halfway. He found scrum half Lloyd in support who broke clear to score. Meek converted and Pooler had halved the deficit (14-7).

Five minutes or so later, Pooler wing Marcus Jones fielded a Pooler box kick which gave Pooler field position and possession. A burst from Morgan Allen broke the gain-line and Lloyd again popped up in the right place to score his second try of the evening. Meek’s conversion brough the scores level and the momentum was definitely with Pooler (14-14).

It didn’t take long for Pooler to snatch the lead. Lloyd completed his hat trick of tries when he spotted a gap around the edge of a ruck. Meek converted and Pooler had turned an unpromising start completely around to lead 14-21. Pooler continued to press but could not add to their tally before half time.

Pontypool had managed to achieve a measure of control of the match through their forwards but the Cardiff backs had shown enough to show how dangerous they could be from anywhere on the field. The job for Pooler was far from being done.

Pooler remained on the offensive for most of the third quarter but found it difficult to score that all important fourth try. A combination of solid Cardiff defence and Pooler errors at crucial points made it all so frustrating. With 55 minutes played, Pooler settled for a Meek penalty which took them two scores clear at 14-24.

At last, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, there was relief for Pooler after a series of penalties awarded against Cardiff in their twenty-two, Pooler opted for a scrum in front of the posts. Allen picked up from the base of the scrum and powered over for a try. Meek converted and Pooler had the try bonus point they craved and were also in a position to secure the extra bonus point courtesy of their seventeen point lead (14-31).

Pooler were their own worst enemies as they began to leak penalties and lost Kelleher-Griffiths to a yellow card. Cardiff rather took the initiative and it took some stern defence from Pooler to keep them out. Just before the clock hit 40 minutes played Pooler conceded a penalty that Cardiff kicked to touch. The lineout that followed was a scrappy affair and the Cardiff hooker Nicholls-Ngasseu was the first to react and he broke through the remaining defences to score in the left corner. The conversion failed but Pooler had lost the extra bonus point at 19-31. This was the last action of the game.

Final score Cardiff 19: Pontypool 31.

A fine win for Pontypool in the capital after recovering from an early fourteen point deficit. We wondered whether Pooler had done enough to qualify for the semi-final or whether RGC still had a chance to pip Pooler with a six point win over Carmarthen Quins. We were assured that Pooler would go through whatever the outcome of that match with Pooler’s potential opponents in the semi-final Llandovery or Ebbw Vale.

The victory was achieved by the dominance of the Pooler pack ably assisted by the opportunism of scrum half Lloyd. The backs found it hard to break through the Cardiff defence and had to do a lot of defending themselves against the lively home backs. The next match for Pooler will be away against Bridgend Ravens on March 7^th. Both sides are currently in the basement of the league so a close game can be expected. Hopefully Pooler’s improved run of form in the cup will continue in the league.

Tomorrow sees Wales play Scotland in Cardiff in the Six Nations Championship. Scotland looked strong in their victory over England last week while Wales were overrun by France. Scotland have a host of British Lions in their backline who are bound to make things difficult for Wales. I would still like to see Wales have a specialist open side flanker playing. On paper it looks like a Scotland victory but rugby is not played on paper.

Come on Pooler!

Come on Wales!