Quins Victorious Against Struggling Pooler

A good number of faithful Pontypool fans swelled the crowd at the Park and cheered their team vociferously throughout the match despite their team’s lowly position at the bottom of the Premiership Table. However, it proved not enough as “Pooler” recorded yet another loss in this difficult season for them.

Carmarthen kicked off and made a determined start. The forwards drove at the defensive line and the backs tried some enterprising moves with the good ball they received. At this stage Andrew Thomas, Gavin Evans and Richard Wilkes were particularly prominent regularly taking the ball over the gain line. In the first ten minutes Gareth Cull slotted two penalties, Richard Aylett was yellow carded and things started to look plain sailing.

Matters then got worse for the visitors as they struggled to get out of their own half when quick ball allowed Cull to off-load to Wilkes. He charged downfield and created a gap for Gavin Evans to gallop under the posts. Cull added the extras.

Stung into action Pontypool surged into the Quins half but at first they were well held until a poor relieving kick allowed Steve Taylor to run the ball back at the home defenders before passing to Dan Connelly. In the process of being tackled, Connelly somehow flicked the ball behind his back which was then picked up by Tom Hancock and he was through in the corner for a try he proceeded to convert himself.

For the rest of the half Carmarthen continued to have the better of play but surprisingly could not add to the scoreboard. Wilkes had another fine 30m. run before releasing Richard Carter but he was bundled into touch. Andy Beaujean, Martin Morgan and Sione Timani were now battering the defence as well and the backs were playing their part but last ball errors and some frantic defensive tackling prevented further scores. Ryan Llewellyn got close on a couple of occasions and Jason Harries, too, but at the interval the score remained 13-7 to the Quins.

Carmarthen started the second half as assuredly as the first but then Wilkes was yellow carded and minutes later the team made a strange decision of turning down a kickable penalty and taking a scrum instead despite Brian Edwards having to come into the front row and Timani having to leave the field. The scrum was lost and Pontypool set up some forward momentum ending eventually with a failed Hancock drop goal attempt but then a successful penalty attempt.

For a period of fifteen minutes the visitors started getting the better of play for the first time and the free running Taylor and Leighton Bellamore started to cause a few problems. Then, into the last quarter, Gavin Evans injected some “oomph” back into his side again crashing downfield. A penalty resulted; Ricky Richards took it quickly and, as he was tackled, scooped the ball around the tackler’s body. Harries picked it up and muscled through the defence to score an unconverted try in the corner.

As full time approached the Quins were back on top again and were starting to run the legs off their opposition with the two wings being heavily involved. Substitute, Richie Pugh, made a break and flicked the ball back to another substitute, Sililo Martens, who powered downfield and held the defence waiting for backup to arrive. The backup came in the form of Gareth Cull who scored under the posts for a try he converted himself.

Into extra time and “Pooler”, egged on by their supporters, would not lie down and refused a couple of penalty shots at goal before taking a 5m. line out and the forwards bundling over the line. Craig Atwell was accredited with the unconverted try and the final score was 25-15 to the Carmarthen Quins.

Perhaps it was a little disappointing that the overall dominance did not produce more scores for the home side but in this difficult first season back in the Premiership the four points to Carmarthen and none for Pontypool may prove very important.

Reporter: Keith Bond