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Page 1 of 2 CWMBRAN UNDER 10’S 5 PONTYPRIDD UNDER 10’S 30 The morning started early for Pontypridd at Sardis Road all ready for their last minute away trip to Cwmbran. Darren Pritchard lead the convoy of cars with the destination postcode input into his sat nav, there was no stopping him. We arrived at Cwmbran and started a light warm up. Only to be told we were at the wrong pitch. Yes Darren’s trusty sat nav not only took us via Abertillery but also to the wrong pitch. In one mad hurry we scrambled to ours cars and after a mini tour of Cwmbran we finally found the ground.
The game was played on a full size pitch with Ponty opting to play up hill. The game started at a frantic pace with Ponty on the attack up hill. The forwards won excellent ball time and again but good Cwmbran defence kept us out. The backline started to click and Adam Ashford made good ground before passing to Morgan Burgess who was held up short. The pack arrived quickly and drove Morgan over the line for the first score. Cwmbran tried to counter attack from deep but solid defending from full back Lewis Allen kept Cwmbran out. Ponty then sized the initiative and started to run from everywhere. The uphill trek though to the try line became more difficult. Lucas Hickman made good ground with a typical magical run. He passed the ball out of the tackle to scrum half Shaun Bowditch who was bundled into touch. During this move Lucas took a bad knock to the knee and had to leave the field. Rhys Grainger switch from second row to centre and Big Ben Kondella took the field. The Cwmbran team changed tactics and set up a maul only for Ponty, lead by pack leader Greggor Mackian, to stand tall and drive them backwards before turning them over. The ball bobbed into touch and half time arrived with Ponty leading 0-5. The second half started with Cwmbran throwing everything at Pontypridd but time and time again Ponty’s Rouke’s Drift defence stood up to the pressure with Adam Ox and Ben Kondella ripping the ball away and driving up field. Quick thing by Mason Pritchard enabled a counter attack. Mason got the ball on his 22 and put in a cross kick for winger Adam Ashford to chase. Adam got down and up in one movement and passed the ball to Morgan Burgess who raced clear to score for Ponty. Cwmbran again launch an attack and Ponty’s defensive all in policy in the 22 paid off time and time again with the forwards and backs driving Cwmbran back. Jasper Powell made a big hit up the middle and quick ruck ball saw Lucas Hickman, who had come back on, weave his way through tackler after tackler for a good try. Lloyd Harris came onto the pitch and set about his business of tackling everything that moved. Another turn over saw Ponty attack Cwmbran. Lewis Allen was tackled on the half way line but popped the ball up to Mason Pritchard who ran forward. Another ruck was won and Shaun Bowditch tried to break the defence but was tackled short. The forwards secured the ball again and good passing by Adam Ashford put Lucas away for his second try. More changes were made to the team to ensure everyone had a run out. Liam Morton came on at Scrum Half, Harley Jones and Gethin Llewellyn at prop forward. The game dipped a little as Ponty tried to close the game down. Cwmbran had other ideas and again pushed forward. Amazing defence again kept Cwmbran out with good rucking and mauling from Gethin Llewellyn. Massive kicks up field were well chased by Adam Ashford ensuring all the hard work done by the forwards was rewarded. Morgan Burgess some how got hold of the ball and heard the call “go for the corner”. However, no one told him which corner to go for so he weaved back and forth the pitch leaving defenders all over the place before deciding to dive in at the left corner. Cwmbran attacked once more and to their credit got a well deserve try. From the kick off Ponty attacked Cwmbran and Liam Mortom all most made it into the corner. Shaun Bowditch had a few runs but Cwmbran never gave up. Harley Jones burst out of a ruck and run for the line but again was tackled short. The game now opened up and great attacking saw the ball change hands several times only for Japer Powell to be held up over the line. Ponty again attacked and from a ruck Mason Pritchard picked up and dived over the line. The full time whistle blew and Ponty once again had defeated a team who had beaten them last season. The final score: CWMBRAN UNDER 10’S 5 PONTYPRIDD UNDER 10’S 30 This was a really tough game and Cwmbran never gave up and made us work to the final seconds. This was an awesome team performance with some fine tries. The forwards wore Cwmbran’s defence down enabling our speedy back to finish off the moves. The coaches decided on naming 2 men of the match for this game. Lewis Allen for his tackling and off loading skills and Lloyd “Bomber” Harris for his tackling. Ponty again showed great team spirit with Shaun Bowditch playing scrum half for the first time and Rhys Grainger playing second row, then centre and then second row. Darren offered to lead the convoy for the trip home but for some reason his offer was decline!
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