Rugby Roulette Welsh Style

Well here we are in July when we should be having our annual rest from rugby safe in the knowledge that, all over Wales, clubs are finalising their squads and starting to train for the forthcoming season. Oh but it could be that simple. Yet again the regions and the WRU are at each others throats playing something akin to Russian roulette with the game in Wales. There are deadlines that come and go and the chasm between the sides never seems to close no matter how many assurances that we receive from the warring factions. Meanwhile the professional game in Wales is close to entering a death spiral.

Can it really be that difficult? Are people’s egos really more important than Welsh rugby? How can the clubs in Wales have given such an overwhelming vote of confidence to Messrs. Pickering and Lewis when they clearly do not have the ability to settle this long running dispute? There are plenty of questions and not many answers. Perhaps it is just too complex for a simple rugby fan from Pontypool to understand.

To whoever is concerned, please take your fingers off the self destruct button and sort this out for all our sakes. I don’t think the Pooler are quite ready to take on the might Munster and Leinster just yet!

Wales Wails Yet Again

So more heartbreak for Wales against a Southern Hemisphere giant. Wales played very well but still contrived to lose narrowly to the Springboks in the second test in South Africa. It was a far better performance than in the first test with Wales on top and leading for the vast majority of the time. They leaked 14 points in the last ten minutes of each half which pegged back substantial leads and in the end cost them the game.

It’s funny how things change. JPR Williams became a hero for doing precisely the same last ditch bit of defensive work against France to secure the Grand Slam all those years ago as his namesake Liam Williams did yesterday. JPR was feted while Liam Williams will be remembered as the man who gave away the penalty try that lost the match. Wales actually conceded two penalty tries, one in each half and in both cases we would have been better off just letting the Boks score. In the first case we wouldn’t have been down to thirteen men and in the second Steyn might just have missed that conversion from the touchline. Was I alone in thinking that we should have used our replacements far earlier in an energy-sapping and ferocious encounter? Anyway, well done lads it was an excellent effort shame we couldn’t hang on.

I was amazed to learn that we have so much confidence in Messrs Lewis and Pickering. I suppose it depends on what you mean in confidence. I, for one, am quite confident that they will very soon be back to their old autocratic ways and not taking on board other interested parties’ views. Did I hear that the WRU were actually going to consult with the clubs about changes to the league structure as a thank you for sticking with them? Maybe, just maybe they have turned, over a new leaf. We’ll see!

The EGM was held on the 15th of June and it is interesting to note that this was the same date that the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. The aim of the Magna Carta was to limit the powers of King John by law and to protect the citizens’ rights. I was somehow hoping for a Magna Carta moment for Welsh rugby where we clipped the wings of Lewis and Pickering. I guess David Moffett was not the right guy to choose as our white knight. It sounds as if Gerald Davies was the only man who spoke any sense at the meeting although Roger Lewis didn’t seem to think so.

Talking of Carta, I was delighted to hear that Alun Carter will be Pontypool’s new Director of Rugby. Good luck to him and his team for the forthcoming season whatever the league structure. I would also like to thank Mike Hook for his efforts and wish him all the best for his next challenge. 

The ref used to be decisive but now he’s not so sure

I have just returned from a Mediterranean cruise which meant that I missed the last Pontypool game of the season. I was delighted to see that Pooler recorded a convincing victory in pretty poor weather conditions. Share a thought for us poor dabs who were battling a force nine gale in the English Channel/Bay of Biscay. It was really difficult to stop our drinks sloshing everywhere! Anyway the upshot of the win is that Pontypool finished a creditable fourth in the league and created a firm foundation for a tilt at the league title next season.

I only saw flashes of the Welsh trial match but the bits I did see involved the Probables running in tries against pretty limited defence. I still find it hard to believe that we need to go and get ourselves beaten up down in South Africa instead of giving the boys the summer off. Good luck to Jordan Williams and Matthew Morgan - there could be a new Shane in one of them.

The English Premiership final was an entirely different kettle of fish. A full house at Twickenham watched a fiercely contested battle. In the old days we used to have a decent crowd for the Welsh cup final I seem to remember . There wasn’t much attractive rugby to watch at Twickers but for crunching impacts it was quite remarkable. You do wonder where it all ends as it seems to be heading back to the gladiators in Roman times. Let’s hope we don’t get to the stage when someone gets the thumbs down signal when they lose and has to be put out of their misery.

One of the big concerns that I have is the burgeoning role of the fourth official. This means increasing delays in the game and making it more and more like American football. We are all for the correct refereeing decisions being made but there has to be a limit. Perhaps it will have to go the way of tennis and cricket where each team has a limited number of referrals that they can use. The Saracens try that was disallowed was allegedly reviewed due to crowd pressure. This can’t be right. If we had such a system in Pontypool every try by the opposition would have to be reviewed as some eagle-eyed fan will have always spotted something wrong with it. And what about the Pooler tries that were disallowed most of those were tries really!

Good luck to Wales in South Africa. I hope that the WRU committee men don’t get eaten by lions or crocodiles as they still need to sort out the mess in Welsh rugby when they get back - in case they had forgotten.

Carpe Diem

The buzz around a warm and sunny Pontypool Park was that the WRU was about to make a U turn and expand the Premier Division to 14 clubs again. The visitors, RGC 1404 who are currently lying second in the Championship, were to be the main beneficiaries of this generous gesture. Now I have no idea whether this is true but this seemed to add spice to what was already going to be a tasty encounter. Earlier in the season Pontypool had recorded a surprise victory in Colwyn Bay so it was a chance for them to record a notable double over their rivals from North Wales.

RGC started off like an express train with their runners coming hard from deep at Pontypool and offloading skilfully. They seemed to be able to break the first tackle on a number of occasions but the stubborn Pontypool defence always seemed to plug the gap before the killer pass was given. Pooler had limited possession to work with but when their backs got the ball they looked sharp. The forward battle was ferocious with the home side not taking a backward step against a bigger pack. Indeed Pooler seemed to have an edge in the scrum and disrupted RGC possession a few times. A string of refereeing decisions that went against Pooler kept them on the back foot and irked the home crowd somewhat.

Surprisingly it was Pooler that opened the scoring with a well worked try. Adept handling by the backs following a break by Hurley eventually led to Quick scoring wide out. The conversion failed but Pooler had established a toehold in the game. RGC came back at Pontypool with a vengeance but the home defence had got the bit between its teeth and began to force turnovers. The referee eventually got fed up of the unstable scrums and sin binned a prop from each side.

Late in the first half, the home side worked their way deep into RGC territory following a penalty. From the ensuing line out, outside half Hancock put in a cross kick that was well fielded by Hurley who managed to put the supporting Gullis in for a try in the corner. The conversion attempt failed narrowly leaving the half time score at 10-0. A highly satisfactory outcome for Pontypool from an absorbing first half.

The second half started in a similar vein although the RCC attacks seemed to be dropping off in ferocity as they bashed into the brick wall of the home defence. Pooler were gaining a greater share of possession and won a penalty that Gullis duly converted to further increase the lead to 13-0. There followed a puzzling incident when the touch judge seemed to raise his flag for a foot in touch near the halfway line but play carried on regardless with RGC scoring a try under the Pontypool posts. The try stood and with the conversion RGC were well back in contention with the score at 13-7. Gullis widened the lead to two scores at 16-7 with a further penalty that eased the nerves.

The Pontypool backs continued to look lively and an adroit chip from Mills over the heads of the onrushing defence was gathered by Hurley who scampered over in the corner for their third try. The conversion was successful and at 23-7 the game looked beyond RGC. Their frustration was clear to see and the game became fractious. Pooler went in search of the bonus point try but to no avail and the referee finally called a halt with the two sets of forwards squaring up to each other.

This was a thoroughly entertaining game and must surely have been one of Pontypool’s best performances of the season. It was an object lesson in seizing opportunities but was made possible by a robust defensive effort where the whole team put their bodies on the line.

A victory against Llanharan in the last game of the season will see Pontypool finishing near the top of the table. It is still mathematically possible for them to finish second - now that really would be a turn up. That would require Llanharan to beat Cardiff Met, Cardiff Met to beat RGC 1404 and Pontypool to beat Llanharan with a bonus point or something like that. If Cardiff Met win both their games, however, they will finish second. Stranger things have happened. Anyway the WRU had better hang on a week before they make any announcements.

Steel Buckles

We had hoped for some late April sunshine as the Pontypool faithful headed down the M4 for the visit to Tata Steel in Port Talbot but instead we were battered by a cold wind and squally showers. Most of the crowd huddled together in the shelter of the once splendid clubhouse. The outcome of the match was clearly going to be decided by which team adapted to the conditions better as the strong wind was blowing straight down the pitch. The wind was surely going to be worth 20 points to the team playing with it

Pontypool lost the toss and played with the elements in the first half. They looked keen and hungry from the outset and although the home side were strong in the scrum and the maul Pontypool were clearly on top and the strong wind gave them a clear advantage in terms of territory. The three quarters combined well for Thorley to put Lewis in for an early try that was expertly converted by Gullis. This was backed up by a try by Sparks who barged over from short range. The conversion gave Pooler a healthy 0-14 lead but they still needed to build up a bigger cushion to counteract the wind factor.

The away side continues to press but looked to have a blown a scoring chance when they lost the ball close to the Tata line. Tata made a horrible mess of the clearance kick, however, and Quick was on hand to score Pooler’s third try. The conversion failed but at 0-19 Pooler were close to the magical 20 point lead that we wanted. They weren’t finished though and Sparks drove over near their posts for their fourth try and a lead of 0-26. Things were looking good for the away side but a couple of defensive blunders let the Tata scrum half stroll over from a 5 meter scrum right at the end of the half. The conversion failed leaving Pooler with a 21 point lead at half time. The game was far from over.

Tata Steel attacked strongly at the outset of the first half using their big forwards to drive forward but Pooler’s defence held firm. Both sides knew the importance of the first score of the second half. A Tata attack broke down and Pooler were able to escape from their 22. Excellent work from the backs led to Laing scoring wide out. Even though the conversion failed the try was a heavy psychological blow for Tata to take but even with the score at 5-31 you felt that Pooler could not afford to relax. Tata suffered a further blow when a yellow card for one of their flankers reduced them to 14 men. Pooler were clearly in command but then a rash tackle by their prop Edwards led to a red card redressed the balance.

The home side continued to attack through their forwards but the Pontypool defence seemed impregnable. The match became bad tempered as Tata’s frustration boiled over. The two opposing wings Lewis and Skidmore had a bout of fisticuffs and both were yellow carded. They did both return to the field in time for the coup de grace. Lewis expertly gathered a kick ahead to score near the posts and the successful conversion was the last kick of the game. The final score was 5-38 with Pooler scoring six tries.

This was an impressive performance from Pontypool who got the tactics just right in difficult conditions. Keeping Tata scoreless in the second half was a major achievement. Apart from the blip at Tondu, they are finishing the season strongly with several players impressing and the team playing well together. Next Saturday will give us a chance to measure the extent of their improvement when they come up against RGC 1404 who are well clear in second place in the league.

It has been heartbreaking to here the cries of the bottom sides in the Premiership as the reality of relegation stared them in the face. Suggestions of increasing the size of the league have been made and also we have heard them extolling the value of their contribution to Welsh rugby over the years. Do these arguments sound familiar? Where were they in Pontypool’s hour of need? We didn’t even finish in the bottom two of the league and we were relegated!

It seems as if Swansea will be joining us in the Championship next season and we look forward to it. Don’t rule out a last minute reprieve though!  

A Curate’s Easter Egg

There cannot be many more scenic places to watch rugby than Pontypool Park on a sunny Spring day with the trees in full blossom. It really would be a shame to fence it in to satisfy the WRU and to keep out those mindless vandals. You can make up your own mind if they are one and the same! Our Easter fare was a local derby against Newbridge who have been serious rivals over the years. The two encounters so far this season have both been won by the away side so we hoped that that was not an omen.

Newbridge had the better of the opening exchanges and looked the more lively as they attacked down the slope. It wasn’t long before they opened the scoring with a well taken try by their hooker under the posts. They continued to have the upper hand as Pontypool, to the dismay of the crowd, persisted in kicking away the possession that they had. The loss of lock Jones disrupted the home side’s lineout which only added to the frustration. Fortunately for Pooler, Newbridge squandered some good chances to score through inaccurate passing. The home side plugged way and it seemed that every time they managed to cross the halfway line they were awarded a long range penalty opportunity. Gullis converted three of them expertly and the teams went in at half time with Pooler holding an unlikely 9-7 lead.

Pontypool opened the second half with far more purpose. The crowd groaned when they seemed to kick possession away yet again but this time the wind held the ball back and Pooler centre Hales caught the ball and took off to score in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful but they had opened up a useful 14-7 lead.

It was time for the Gullis show, he followed up a penalty goal with a fine individual try He made a break up the touchline before kicking ahead and gathering the ball as it crossed the line. His successful conversion left the score line 24-7 with Pontypool well in control. There was further blow for Newbridge when they were reduced to 14 men by a yellow card. This was the cue for Pooler to play their best rugby and they scored two more converted tries to secure victory and a bonus point. Both tries were scored by forwards - Williams scoring wide out after some good combined play and prop Brown bursting through from the Newbridge 22 to score under the posts.

With the score at 38-7, Pooler seemed to take their foot off the gas and fall off tackles. The away side took full advantage of this and scored two tries to leave the final score at 38-19. This sloppiness at the end from Pontypool rather took the edge of an excellent second half performance.

Two victories in four days is a great effort from Pontypool and must surely put them in confident mood for the visit to Tata Steel next Saturday.

So to Judgement Day at the Millennium Stadium on Easter Sunday. Unfortunately there was not really going to be much decided on the fateful day. It has been a season steeped in mediocrity for all our regions so only the Ospreys have an outside chance of making the playoffs. Ospreys and Scarlets look set to finish fifth and sixth respectively in the league and so qualify for Son of Heineken.

The first match was more like Grudgement day with a lot of stuff happening off the ball. The Scarlets’ Liam Williams is a curate’s egg of a player. After his brilliance for Wales against Scotland, he revealed his impetuous side and really should have been sent off for his challenge on Cuthbert early in the match. He eventually did get a red card for a second yellow card after a professional foul. In the same ruck Copeland got his marching orders for kicking Williams’ head. The Blues just about deserved to win a close scrappy game and showed a lot more appetite for the challenge than the last time I watched them when they rolled over meekly against the Ospreys.

The second match was more like Nudgement Day with the Ospreys dominant in terms of possession but knocking on the ball on countless occasions. The Dragons tackled bravely and scored the first try but at the death conceded a penalty try from a short-range scrum that decided the game.

The games were absorbing and hard fought even if they were scrappy. A crowd of 30000 was in attendance so the event must be considered a success.

Rumour has it that Bristol will apply to be the fifth Welsh region if they fail to win promotion to the English Premiership.

So a curate’s egg of a weekend but a Pooler victory is always a good thing.

Pooler Just Pass University Examination

I missed Pontypool's previous outing at Tondu but, by all accounts, it was poor fare with a below par performance. It was therefore vital that Pontypool bounced back with a good performance against Cardiff Met University. Conditions were perfect for running rugby at Pontypool Park with clear skies and a newly mown pitch. Previous encounters had shown that the pace of the students' backs was likely to be a major threat.

The home side started well and were quickly ahead by 3-0 after a successful penalty goal in the opening exchanges. Both sides showed their intent to run the ball with the Cardiff Met backs looking dangerous individually but not really clicking as a unit. The home side had the edge in power and made several line breaks but needed to support the ball carrier more effectively.  An exchange of penalties brought the score to 6-3 before we had the first try of the game. A scything break by home centre Thorley was halted just short of the Cardiff Met line and this time Guy was in support to cross. The conversion attempt failed leaving the score at 11-3. The away side attacked strongly but blew a couple of decent chances to score through inaccurate passing. It was certainly a better first half for Pooler than in the reverse fixture and they had the benefit of the slope in the second half.

The second half opened with a bang. Impressive Cardiff Met centre Lewis showed his pace to score after a loose Pooler kick. The successful conversion closed the gap to 11-10 and the home side needed to dig in. Pontypool started to miss first up tackles as the tricky away backs jinked and swerved their way through. The cover defence had to work overtime to stop the students from scoring. Pooler for their part continued to exploit their power with number 8 Sparks and wing Laing prominent. Three incursions into Cardiff Met territory led to three successful penalties from Gullis and Pooler stretched their lead to 20-10 with the students reduced to 14 men following a yellow card. The home side capitalised on their superior numbers and increased their lead with a try following an excellent break by Laing. Although Laing was ankle tapped agonisingly short of the line Hancock crossed following the ensuing ruck. The conversion was missed but with the score at 25-10 you might have thought that the game was over.

The students had other ideas and threw caution to the wind. Pooler seemed to be chasing shadows and the missed tackle count increased alarmingly. Poor defence allowed the students’ number 8 Stevenson to score near the posts bringing the score to 25-17 with plenty of time left. The home supporters’ nerves were settled when Laing scored an excellent try after being put into space by some good passing. The try was converted and the score at 32-17 gave Pooler some breathing space. The students were far from accepting defeat, however, and attacked the tiring home side from all angles. In a breathless few minutes, tries by man of the match Lewis and Thomson closed the gap to 32-29. Fortunately for Pooler who were hanging on grimly the second try came from the last move of the match and it was with great relief that we heard the final whistle.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable game and it really could have gone either way. Cardiff Met have several exciting players who will surely make it at a higher level. Pontypool probably just about deserved to win even though they were out-scored by four tries to two. It was a good team performance but I’m sure there will be a few nightmares involving chasing shadows.

Next up is our old friends from Newbridge. Let’s hope that we carry forward the attacking intent that we showed tonight and pay them back for that defeat in the Cup.