Ebbw Vale 28 Bridgend 13

The Western Mail

EBBW VALE had to use all of their experience to seal their first win of the Premiership campaign over a young Bridgend side at Eugene Cross Park.

The Steelmen had to dig deep after the Ravens had gathered their composure following a nightmare start after which they were 14-0 down with a quarter of an hour played.

Vale head coach Patrick Horgan said: “I suppose it was job done because we got the win and the bonus point but there is plenty to work on because we let them back into the game, just like we did at Maesteg.”

It looked as though it would be one-way traffic when Aaron Bramwell weaved over and Simon Hunt made the most of a mix-up in Bridgend’s midfield to cross.

But a switch seemed to be flicked a quarter of the way into the game and Bridgend started to control matters, inspired by scrum-half Lee Ronan and outside half Gareth David.

It was Ronan who got them back into the game when he took a quick tapped penalty on halfway and found winger Richard Radford on his shoulder who duly crossed.

David added the extras and booted a pair of penalties either side of the break to leave the game in the balance.

However, that forced Ebbw Vale to turn to their forwards and they did the job for head coach Horgan.

First they earned a penalty try when Bridgend infringed as a pushover try was imminent and then prop Alistair Lyon barged his way over to seal the win, Shelbourne making it four conversions from four.

Llandovery 27 Pontypridd 35

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

Pontypridd gained another away win at Llandovery, and remain undefeated in the Principality Premiership, but it was a close thing at the end. In a wind affected game, the visitors dominated the first half, but the second belonged to the home side. 

After building up a 5-29 lead with the breeze behind them, Ponty struggled to hang on in the second period. A spirited effort by the Drovers saw them fight back to 22-29 at one stage, and they eventually lost by 27-35. The home side outscored Pontypridd 4-2 in tries, thus gaining one bonus point, and they thoroughly deserved another for finishing within seven points of the victors. However, a missed conversion on the final whistle deprived them of the second point. 

A Kristian Baller try after seven minutes put Ponty in the driving seat, and a conversion and penalty from the boot of Dai Flanagan made it 0-10 to the visitors after fifteen minutes. Then Llandovery hit back as a missed tackle allowed them in for an easy try far out on the left, scored by Chris Mathias, but the conversion was missed. The first quarter ended with the score at 5-10. 

Although dominating territory, Pontypridd was not playing with any real fluency. A nasty injury to Chris Dicomidis robbed them of their main lineout man, and prop Stuart Williams was also forced off with a leg injury. Their places were taken by Anthony Mead and Ian Poley respectively. The Llandovery pack held the edge for much of this time, but the home side gave away a string of penalties as they defended their line. This allowed Dai Flanagan to put another twelve points on the board to take the scoreline to 5-22. 

Then, as the first half drew to a close, Pontypridd started to build some momentum. A beautiful move took play to the left hand corner at the clubhouse end, and the ball was quickly won and moved to the right. A superb pass from Geraint Lewis found lock Grant Harrington lurking out on the right wing, and the big man bounded over for a good try. An excellent conversion from Dai Flanagan made it 5-29 as the half time whistle blew. 

Early in the second half Pontypridd lost influential winger Chris Clayton, who was stretchered off with what appeared to be a serious leg injury, with Neil Burnett coming on as a replacement. Ian Poley later had to come off with an injury, but fortunately Stuart Williams had recovered from his bump and was able to come back on.

Llandovery was now well in the ascendant, and poor cover defence let them in for a try in the 56^th minute, scored by Owain Rowlands and converted by Adam Yelland. Chris Mathias got his second try after 64 minutes, again converted by Yelland, and Yelland then added a penalty goal after 66 minutes as Llandovery crept ever closer to the Pontypridd score. 

Further replacements for the visitors saw Duane Goodfield and Lee Evans come on for Rhys Williams and Justin Jones. With the score now at 22-29, and Pontypridd under some pressure, Dai Flanagan came to the rescue with his sixth penalty goal, and hit another a few minutes later to make it 22-35. Ponty was now home and dry, but the home side had the last word with a well taken try by Mike Jones. The conversion, and with it a second bonus point, was missed. 

Llandovery was left rueing their lack of discipline, and the lack of a reliable goal kicker. Many of the seven penalties kicked by Dai Flanagan came from the pressure that Pontypridd was able to put on the home defence, but their mistakes helped to lose a game that the Drovers might otherwise have won. Flanagan contributed 25 of Pontypridd’s 35 points, and made all the difference in the end. The home side only managed seven points from the boot, having missed two conversions and two kickable penalties. 

The Pontypridd scrum was often put under severe pressure by the Drovers pack, but the lineout operated pretty well throughout. The backs had enough ball to play with, but lacked penetration and sparkle. Kristian Baller had another decent game, and none of the backs played badly, but it was all a bit laboured and predictable at times. Still, a win is a win, is a win… and Ponty are still undefeated and second in the Premiership. 

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