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Page 2 of 2 PONTYPRIDD U9’s Quote from one of the English coaches ‘Awesome, simply awesome!’ Fresh from their victory in the Brecon Tournament, Ponty travelled to Barkers Butts’ in Coventry to try and defend yet another title they won last year. The sky was dark and ominous, the air cold and dank, as Ponty like Daniel in Biblical times, strode purposefully and confidently, into the lions den of Barkers’ rugby club, the sole Welsh representatives in an English tournament!
The supporters were in confident mood for this, their mini 6 nations tournament, more concerned about keeping warm than the opposition they would soon face. England play with slightly different rules at this age group, they employ lineouts and scrums, though neither are contested, but both would be new and therefore alien to our players. Could they cope? We were about to find out. Pontypridd 20 Birmingham/Solihull 0 Birmingham/ Solihull had been in this tournament last season, their coach instantly recognisable as one of, if not the best referee in the competition. Their team, though appearing physically bigger and stronger at the start, simply had no answer to the pace and sheer physicality of the Ponty defence, which swarmed all over their opponents and simply, forcefully, stopped any forward progress they tried to make. The four tries were just reward and a fair reflection of Ponty’s superiority, a good introduction to the new rules, and many of the English observers felt an impressive start. Pontypridd 5 Barkers’ Butts 5 Their next opponents and erstwhile hosts, Barkers’ Butts had been equally impressive winning their opening game 25 – 0, and thus even though it was only the second match, this was already being seen as the tournament decider. The game was certainly much harder and with their opponents matching Ponty up front, the boys struggled, and became bogged down in a war of rucks and mauls. On three glorious occasions they managed to move the ball with pace and create clear overlaps, only for the players in possession to squander the opportunity for the want of a pass. Eventually, the inevitable happened, a Barkers’ player broke through a maul and ran unimpeded to score the first try. Half time saw the coaches imploring the players to exploit their all round talent and ability. The response was immediate, Ponty as always, showed great passion and determination, driving their opponents back straight from the re-start, inflicting panic in their defence as they were herded back towards their own try line. A hurried back pass led to a dropped ball and Jay ‘the battleship’ Jones opportunistically dropped on it to score. This, we hoped would stir Ponty into life, yet try as hard as they could the winning try just would not emerge, and it was with some relief in the Barkers’ camp when the referee called full time . Pontypridd 45 Earlsdon 0 It became clear after the second game that the tournament would now most likely be won on try count, as neither Barkers’ nor Ponty looked likely to suffer a defeat. The team against Earlsdon saw a number of changes to the previous two, with the squad now being fully utilised. The players knew the task, not only to win, but to win well, every try could be vital! The performance was emphatic, and if anything showed more cohesion than the display in the first two games, at least for the first half. Ponty proved to be too strong, too fast and too forceful, by the second half they did not have to pass, they were able to break the defence almost at will, and to their credit, and the coaches delight, kept up the pressure right to the end. Pontypridd 60 Old Saltians 0 The journey may have been long, the weather uninviting and bitter, yet the final game saw the temperature at boiling point as Ponty knew they needed to keep the pressure on their rivals with a creditable performance and as high a score as possible. The result was obvious within the first two minutes, as again Ponty were able to break through at will, their individual pace and power totally overwhelmed and demoralised their opponents. The referee, fair and consistent, was a constant source or irritation as he seemingly took ages to explain his point or to re-start the game. Ponty were on a mission and to their passion, skill, power and urgency now came a new strength, ruthlessness. They wanted to win this tournament, badly! To the innocent bystander the performance could, and in fact was described by one of the English coaches as ‘Awesome, simply awesome’, to another it could have been described as cruel. The boys, like the mighty All Blacks, showed no mercy for their opponents, as they piled on the points and continued to pillory them even when the game was well and truly won. This was not about teamwork, it was not about flowing, beautiful rugby, it was about showing everyone who the best team was, which team had the individual skills, the power and the pace, and leaving absolutely everybody in no doubt whatsoever. The result of the final game meant Barkers had to score 17 unanswered tries in their final game to emerge victorious. They managed 4, and as a result the U9’s like the other age groups in the tournament showed that Ponty, and Welsh rugby is a force at all levels and no doubt will continue to provide the regional and national sides with talent for years to come. In it’s own way this victory was even more emphatic than the victory in Brecon last week. The boys, in their 4 games had scored 25 tries and conceded only 1, yet another truly magnificent achievement, and one that dazzled and dumbfounded many of the English teams and supporters at this tournament, who were simply awestruck. The performance was summed up concisely by one supporter quite simply as ‘We came, we saw, we kicked their Butts!’ I have followed this team now for 3 years, and the side possesses power, skill and pace throughout. They have a determination, passion and a simple will to win which has yet to be equalled amongst all their opponents of the past 2 years. The talent has been carefully, skilfully, nurtured and developed by the coaches. All the boys can do is compete against the team in front of them, and in 3 out of the 4 games they didn’t just compete they totally outclassed their opponents. Yet, as a proud and impassioned follower, the stark, grim truth is that by their own high standards, and by the immense potential they possess, this was one of their poorest displays of the season. Next season the opponents will be bigger and stronger and tougher, their coaches will know the only way to beat Ponty is to stifle their attacking flair and draw them into a dour physical battle. Individual skills will not be enough, and it will take not just a team, but a squad effort to ensure the tremendous success of this season continues.
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