By Zippy
November 19 2006

A review of the action in the Principality Welsh Premiership from Saturday 19th November. Ponty won well against the Old Parish but the Ravens came off 2nd best at in form Bedwas.

Pontypridd 32 Maesteg 17

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

There was a good crowd at Sardis Road for this very important game for the home side. Although heavy rain and hail had been falling minutes before, the sun shone as the teams took to a playing field which was very wet and heavy underfoot.

Pontypridd got off to a bad start, conceding a try after five minutes. Maesteg put through a nice kick towards the corner flag at the clubhouse end, and centre Mike Davies raced through to claim the try despite desperate efforts at defence from the home side. Luke Richards added a difficult conversion.

Nevertheless, our forwards were playing well at this time, and every time our backs ran at them the Maesteg defence looked a bit creaky. The break came after twenty minutes when, following a period of sustained pressure, Dafydd Lockyer put Gavin Dacey through for a nice try near the posts. Dai Flanagan kicked the conversion, and it was 7-7 and all square again.

Pontypridd kept up the pressure for most of the first half, but further scores refused to come. Then Dafydd Lockyer found the hole in the defence that enabled him to cross for a try after 35 minutes to give us the lead for the first time. Dai Flanagan missed the conversion, but then exchanged penalties with Luke Richards to make it 15-10 at half time.

Maesteg started the second half strongly, and for a while Ponty were on the back foot. However, we eventually worked our way back into the opposition half, and a charged down kick was gathered by Dafydd Lockyer and carried at speed towards the line. For a moment it looked as though he would be stopped just short of the chalk, but his strength and a last desperate lunge put the ball over the line. Dai Flanagan kicked the conversion, and it was 22-10 to Pontypridd.

At this stage it was clear that the home side were on top and moving slowly but surely towards a win. However, good defence by Maesteg and hard work by their forwards meant that the final killer blow could not be struck. The old hands and heads of replacements Kevin Ellis and Roddy Boobyer also put greater penetration into the Maesteg attack, with Davies and Boobyer combining well in the centre to put Ponty under pressure on a few occasions. Then, with about ten minutes of proper time to go, a speculative kick by Gareth John down the left hand side and good following up by the backs saw – it’s that man again – Dafydd Lockyer scramble over for the try. Dai Flanagan kicked a good conversion, and at 29-10 there was no way back for Maesteg.

Unfortunately, nobody told Maesteg that. They proceed to put in what was about the best five minutes of rugby they had so far achieved. Only resolute defence kept them out, but with about five minutes to go Luke Richards got a thoroughly deserved if somewhat opportunistic try. After a series of attacks at the Pwyllgwaun end Maesteg were awarded a penalty five yards out and on the right hand side, and everyone expected that they would either go for a scrum or a lineout. There were a few players on the ground after the battering that both sides had suffered, and a brief lull seemed to fall on proceedings. Then Richards, sensing his opportunity, took a tap-penalty and easily crossed for a try while our players were still catching their breath. He duly converted the try to make it 29-17, but it was too little too late really.

On eighty minutes Dai Flanagan kicked his second penalty to take the score to 32-17, and the crowd started to drift towards the bars. It was also, by now, bucketing down with rain as another heavy shower drifted over the ground. The referee, however, seemed to be operating in a different time zone, and an age of extra time followed. Pontypridd spent most of this time on their twenty-two metre line, and Maesteg could have got another score. Everyone was relieved when the referee decided that enough was enough, and blew the final whistle.

This was a good win for Pontypridd after some difficult times of late, and Maesteg were doughty opponents and will continue to trouble everyone in the Premiership. For us, Lawrence Price looked very comfortable at full back, Gareth John had another good game on the left wing, and Dai Flanagan at No. 10 added a degree of control that has sometimes been lacking of late. Gavin Dacey and Dafydd Lockyer always caused trouble for the Maesteg defence, and Ryan Harries and Chris Clayton both performed well.

It is difficult to single anyone out in the forwards, because all of them had good games. They were comfortable in scrum and lineout, hunted as a pack in the loose, and generally laid the solid foundations for the victory. The Chief was a commanding presence throughout, and Tu Tamarua won the man of the match award for his usual high work rate and strength in the close encounters.

All in all, a good day at the office for all concerned. Well done!

Pontypridd	32 - 17 (15 - 10)	Maesteg
Tries: Dacey, Lockyear 3		Tries: Davies, Richards.
Pens: Flanagan 2		Pens: Richards.
Cons: Flanagan 3		Cons: Richards. 2

Bedwas 15 Bridgend 11

Wales on Sunday

A TWO-TRY burst midway through the first half of a dour game at Bridge Field brought Bedwas a deserved Premiership victory.

The margin would have been even greater, but for a succession of missed kicks.

Bedwas were on top in scrum, line-out and loose, but the Ravens looked sharper behind. However, that counted for little in the treacherous conditions.

The second half deteriorated into a forward slog which suited Bedwas - literally - down to the ground.

Full-back Gareth David gave the Ravens the lead with a 10th-minute penalty, but a powerful forward drive by Bedwas saw hooker Ben Flower forced over for a try.

The pivotal moment of the game came six minutes later when David ran the ball out of defence.

His pass went to ground and was snapped up by centre James Lewis, son of the WRU's Steve, who sprinted clear from 50 metres for a try converted by Lee Mullane.

David's second penalty made it 12-6 at half-time and there seemed to be everything to play for.

But the Bedwas forwards got a grip in the second half and a Mullane penalty made it 15-6 with four minutes remaining.

Scrum-half Nicky Griffiths nipped over for a late try for the Ravens but it came too late to influence the outcome.

Bedwas	15 - 11 (12 - 6)	Bridgend
Tries: Flower, Lewis		Tries: Griffiths
Pens: Mullane..		Pens: David 2
Cons: Mullane..

Welsh Premiership table

18 November 2006   Team P W D L F A PTS 1 Ebbw Vale 11 8 1 2 237 198 25 2 Newport 11 7 1 3 278 182 22 3 Llanelli 11 6 1 4 285 223 19 4 Neath 11 6 1 4 301 207 19 5 Aberavon 10 6 1 3 235 206 19 6 Cardiff 11 5 1 5 278 248 16 7 Bridgend 11 5 0 6 238 237 15 8 Pontypridd 11 5 0 6 219 283 15 9 Maesteg 10 5 0 5 209 206 15 10 Bedwas 11 5 0 6 186 225 15 11 Cross Keys 9 4 1 4 195 184 13 12 Swansea 11 4 0 7 207 295 12 13 Llandovery 11 3 0 8 204 290 9 14 Glamorgan Wanderers 11 2 1 8 212 300 7