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Page 1 of 2 UNDER 9’s RUGBYPONTPRIDD vs NELSON PONTYPRIDD vs WORCESTERA bright but cloudy spring morning awaited the visit of Nelson and English Premiership giants Worcester to the Taff Vale ground. The Nelson match had been arranged at the start of the season, Worcester was arranged very recently and added an extra twist of excitement to the generally optimistic feelings amongst the Ponty faithful! Last week the boys had shown a tremendous improvement in their win against Abercynon, and now the supporters were eager to see that form carried over to Nelson and then to the Wales v England match against Worcester!!
PONTYPRIDD 40 NELSON 0 Iwan Cavill was captain against Nelson, who in seasons past have provided tough opposition for Ponty, however, straight from the kick off Dafydd Smith the first part of the ‘Deadly Duo’ signalled Ponty’s intent by scoring the first try in the first minute. Two minutes later and the second part of the ‘Deadly Duo’ Rhodri Smith doubled Ponty’s lead to leave Nelson looking shell-shocked. The movement, passing and tackling of the Ponty side was a joy to behold and showed they were back to the style they exhibited so successfully at the start of the season. The handling skills were to the fore as time and again the ball was slickly passed along the backline enabling Callum ‘Tucker’ Hall, Dafydd Smith and Josh Barnes to extend Ponty’s lead to 25 points before half time... The interval saw a number of player changes, the coaches utilising the squad to full effect, and to their enormous credit, the start of the second half saw a resurgent Nelson side storm into the Ponty ranks, their pride dented but their enthusiasm renewed. Time and again Nelson charged at Ponty only to be met by the usual strong Ponty tackling which drove their opponents back towards half way. The struggle between the two teams was nothing short of epic during this period, until on 15 minutes, Owain ‘The Bulldozer’ Morris, grabbed the ball just inside the Nelson half and through a mixture of pace, deft footwork and brute strength surged forward, breaking tackle after tackle on his way to a tremendous try, and finally breaking Nelson’s resolve. Jay ‘The Battleship’ Jones scored his now obligatory try and right on half time Chris Temple capped a fine performance and a lovely flowing move by wrong footing half the Nelson defence to cross for Ponty’s 8th and final try. The style of play adopted by the boys was enthralling, entertaining and allowed them to showcase not only their fine individual talents but also the teamwork that has developed in recent weeks. Waiting in the wings however, with the largest squad of players Ponty had seen were the Worcester team, no doubt buoyed by the Warriors defeat of Gloucester the day before! Ponty are due to play a tournament in England in the forthcoming weeks, and here was a chance to measure themselves against some heavyweight English opposition! PONTYPRIDD 25 WORCESTER 5 Captain and one half of the ‘Deadly Duo’ Rhodri Smith led out his team to a chorus of cheers from both Welsh and English supporters. The crowd had a real sense of tension and excitement about them, and from the start it was apparent Worcester were here to battle hard and try to grind down their opponents. The first five minutes were a real arm wrestle, Worcester full of power and brute strength running straight at the Ponty defence seeking to set up the rucks and mauls, recycle the ball and then charge headlong into Ponty again. Ponty at times looked to be buckling but remained intact and defiant, and through passion and sheer determination held their opponents at bay. It was their captain Rhodri Smith who after 5 minutes showed his quick thinking to spot a gap in the defence and sprint over for Ponty’s first. You could now feel the confidence grow within the Ponty team, they knew they could match their opponent’s physicality and had possibly slicker ball skills and attacking flair. The first half continued in the same vein but now the Ponty line not only held but surged forwards knocking back their opponents seemingly at every tackle and enabling Jay ‘The Battleship’ to show his pace by sprinting down the touchline to put the home side 10 – 0 up at half time. The coaches again utilised their squad making further changes at the interval, but now Ponty were full of running and only a minute into the re-start Rhodri Smith scored his second and Ponty’s third. The match was opening up and Worcester tried to join in the spirit of the game, an attitude that proved dividends when they scored a try shortly afterwards to the obvious delight of their supporters. Ponty however, now had their tails up, again their pace and ball skills proved too forceful and Carl Blacker, who had produced a series of dazzling runs throughout both games, finally got his just rewards by scoring after 15 minutes. Worcester continued to battle gamefully, but they had no answer to Ponty’s Welsh flair, and seemingly no answer to Owain ‘The Bulldozer’ Morris powerful run as he forced his way towards the tryline, only to be pulled down inches short by a an outastanding last ditch tackle. Reminiscent of Martin Williams at his best though, Rhys ‘Little’ Britton was on hand to wrestle the ball from the Worcester player and dive over from short range for Ponty’s fifth try. The crowd were of course delirious, not just for the win, but for the manner in which the boys had played in both games. It is always a pleasure to watch a team try to win a match through pace and skill rather than just brute strength, and the players are building nicely towards the end of the season and the four tournaments that lie ahead, next up though is Aberdare, a power-packed team and a stern test. The coaches, just like Warren Gatland, must make sure the boys continue to work hard and not get too carried away…..just yet!!
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