Pontypridd 33 Swansea 20

By www.PontypriddRFC.co.uk - Rygbi Pontypridd - Official Website / Y Wefan Swyddogol - The Valleys' Premier Team.

This was an exciting game of rugby, with Pontypridd always in the lead but never able to establish a convincing lead until midway through the second half. A late try by Swansea gave the scoreline some respectability for the visitors, but Ponty were clearly the better side on the day. 

The home side was in the lead after only three minutes when Dai Flanagan kicked a good penalty. Then a few minutes later a poor pass to the wing with the line beckoning prevented Ponty from taking a bigger lead. Pontypridd was well on top at this time, and more points were put on the board when Dai Flanagan put a beautifully judged kick through for Chris Clayton to collect and battle his way over the line in the seventh minute. The difficult conversion was missed, and the score remained at eight points to nil. 

Flanagan almost created a second try when he made an excellent break and worked the ball out to the right. Desperate Swansea defence just stopped the attack, but at this stage, with just ten minutes gone, a runaway victory for Pontypridd looked to be on the cards. Then a lazy penalty attempt by Flanagan hit the posts, and caught the home side dreaming when a good follow up might have brought another score. 

It was all a bit too easy for Pontypridd at this time, and they were eventually punished when Swansea took a quick free kick well inside their own half, and launched a counterattack. The ball was eventually kicked over the home line, and the defence failed to ground the bouncing ball, letting Leigh Bevan in for a try converted by Ricky Williams. Now, suddenly, it was 8-7 after fifteen minutes, and Ponty was in danger of throwing away their advantage. 

Another penalty by Flanagan made it 11-7, but Swansea came back again and a Ricky Williams penalty brought the difference between the sides to one point again at 11-10. However, Pontypridd was still putting good pressure on the visitors defence, and a good kick and chase by Lee Evans led to a penalty which just went wide.  Eventually the pressure had to tell, and a good kick by Matt Hutchings led to a lineout ten metres out. The ball was won, and after the forwards softened up the defence for a while, big Chris Dicomidis banged his way over for a good try in the corner after eighteen minutes. Having missed one or two kickable shots at goal, Dai Flanagan converted well from the touchline.

Three minutes later he kicked another penalty to make it 21-10. The rest of the first half was a bit of an anti-climax. Stuart Williams went off with a blood injury after 27 minutes, but returned to the fray eight minutes later. Nathan Strong appeared to have suffered a nasty leg injury which left him hobbling for some time, but he was able to run it off in the end. A good attack down the right by the dynamic Rhys Downes almost brought a try, but he put a foot in touch inches from the line. And so the halfway point arrived with the score still at 21-10 to the home side. 

The second half started in dramatic fashion when Chris Clayton gave away a silly penalty at a ruck, and got a yellow card for his pains. Swansea kicked the penalty to bring the score to 21-13. A good attack down the right towards the clubhouse end involving Matt Hutchings and Kristian Baller almost resulted in a try for Ponty. There then followed a scrappy period of play, with both sides working very hard to little effect. A lot of good rugby was being played, but small mistakes prevented any additions to the scoreline. 

The stalemate was eventually broken by the best try of the afternoon, scored by Kris Baller. Nathan Strong picked up at the base of the scrum, and fed Dai Flanagan. Good passing and running from Flanagan to Tom Riley to Baller, who had to juggle with the ball for some time before he secured it, saw the speedy winger cross in the corner. The difficult conversion was missed, and it was 26-13 to Pontypridd with sixty minutes gone. 

Once again the game deteriorated somewhat as both teams made a lot of substitutions in the final quarter. Pontypridd was generally on top throughout this period, but a further score didn’t come until the 77^th minute. Then a long series of forward drives from Ponty edged towards the Swansea line in the right-hand corner. Time and time again the defence held firm, but Geraint Lewis eventually got the fourth try for the home side, and gained the crucial bonus point as well. Dai Flanagan kicked another excellent conversion from near the touchline to make it 33-13. However, Swansea had the last word in injury time, when an error at a five-metre lineout allowed Damien Karauna to cross for a try, converted by Nicky Thomas. 

So, Pontypridd had won fairly comfortably by 33-20, but it could have been an even more convincing victory. The home pack followed their good performance against Bedwas with another convincing effort, with newcomer Ryan Savage doing well. The experienced front row of Stuart Williams, Leighton Davies and Ryan Harford had the edge over their opponents in the scrums, and the home lineout was sound throughout. Chris Dicomidis again had a very good game, as did man-of-the-match Lee Evans in the back row.  

Needless to say, Captain Strong demonstrated his tremendous strength once again, and also fine judgement and skill as well. Geraint Lewis showed that he can probably read a game better than anybody in the Premiership, as befits his huge experience in international rugby and in the English premiership. He also lasted the gruelling eighty minutes in the sun as well as the somewhat younger forwards around him. 

The backs showed a sharper cutting edge than at Bedwas, with Rhys Downes looking very good behind the scrum, and Dai Flanagan and Tom Riley adding class and experience in attack and defence. Matt Hutchings had another good game, Kristian Baller buzzed and stung like a wasp on the wing, and Gavin Dacey and Chris Clayton put in their usual solid performances.  

Yes, there were a lot of small errors by both sides, but this came from their desire to keep things open and run at the opposition. Swansea contributed enormously to this enjoyable game, battling well up front and attacking with speed and skill. Another good advertisement for the Principality Premiership! 

Bridgend 15 Newport 27

The Western Mail

Thanks to the boot of outside half James Dixon, Newport reversed the trend of recent seasons by winning at the Brewery Field. Their last three visits have brought heavy defeats with the Ravens ahead 100-21 on points but the Black and Ambers brought a simple and effective game plan this time and the former Maesteg pivot played it to perfection. The Ravens tried hard to run the ball in the style they have always adopted but the Newport defence was generally too good and there were countless mistakes by both sides and the fussy whistle of referee David Bodily didn’t help the flow. The Ravens led briefly through a classic try by Bevington but Dixon ground them down as he collected 17 points from that cultured right boot.

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