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Page 1 of 2 UNDER 9’s Pontypridd 15 – 0 AberdareUNDER 9’s Dev. Pontypridd 25 – 10 AberdareThe talking point amongst all the supporters before the game was the shock of first Australia and then the mighty All Blacks being dumped out of the World Cup, talk of Ponty’s imminent match and the strength of their opponents quietly and confidently forgotten.
UNDER 9’s Pontypridd 15 – 0 Aberdare Both Eng land and France perfectly illustrated the danger of over-confidence in their opponents and straight from the kick off Captain Jay Jones and his Ponty team were stunned to find themselves battling on their own try-line. Aberdare were possibly the bigger side physically, matching Ponty in both intensity and technique and for the first time this season the boys looked as though they could be overwhelmed. The first quarter of the game was all Aberdare, their players surging forward again and again, Ponty stretched to the limit, just managing to hold out, but everyone feeling it was only a matter of time before Ponty would find themselves behind for the first time this season. Gradually, through sheer willpower and determination the boys fought their way back up field, thanks to a tremendous break by Dafydd Smith. The ball was eventually moved wide to the left and Kiellan Mahoney amidst the excitement and evident relief of the crowd broke the deadlock. Half time quickly followed, suddenly the talk was about Aberdare and the challenge they presented, the World Cup now long forgotten, the doubts in the minds of Ponty supporters plainly visible, their team under pressure, could they cope? The boys clearly had no such doubts, emerging in the second half with renewed determination and belief. Their attempts to run the ball, so effectively stifled by Aberdare in the first half began to bear fruit, their teamwork and flair in attack matching their bravery and courage in defence. Jay ‘The Pocket Battleship’ Jones scored 3 minutes into the second half to provide some breathing space with a typical bulldozing run through the opponents defence. Jay's surging runs this week matched and at times exceeded by Callum ‘Tucker’ Hall who powered up-field like a Chieftain Tank, his ball carrying providing a focus for the team and putting them slowly on the front foot! Gradually, very gradually, allowing them to take some control of the game. Griff ‘Greased Lightning’ Lloyd worked tirelessly all game tackling like a demon to halt Aberdare’s progress and half way through the second half he picked himself up from a crunching tackle to sprint half the length of the pitch to score the final try of the match. The game had been a tough bruising encounter; Aberdare had presented by far the toughest test of the season thus far, being the first side able to put Ponty under sustained pressure for large parts of the game. The players responded with a quite magnificent show of teamwork, courage and determination and the sheer will power that they would simple not be beaten. UNDER 9’s Dev. Pontypridd 25 – 10 Aberdare Both Aberdare and Ponty have a large squad of players and thus the second game showed wholesale changes on both sides. Whether Ponty has greater strength in depth, or whether they had learnt the lessons in the first game is debateable, what is not is the way in the second game Captain Alex Garrett and his team were better able to impose their own running and passing game on their opponents. Aberdare still pressurised Ponty at every available opportunity, but this time Ponty were able to respond and match their opponent’s physicality. Griff ‘Greased Lightning’ Lloyds try after 4 minutes meant that whilst the half time score of 5-0 was the same as in the first match, Ponty were looking the more likely side to come out on top, much to the relief of their supporters. This view was further supported a minute after the break as Carl Blacker showed tremendous speed to jinx through the Aberdare defence and score the second try. Ponty has abundant pace throughout the team and both Dafydd Smith and Lloyd Owens illustrated this perfectly by skilfully avoiding tackles and out-sprinting the Aberdare defence to score Ponty’s third and fourth tries to effectively kill off the game. The intensity of the game was now not quite as severe as in the first match, players on both sides feeling the pain and strain of such a tough physical encounter. Aberdare to their credit took advantage of some weak tackling by the home side to score two tries of their own, the second a fine solo effort started on the half way line. The final try however, in the last minute of the game belonged to Ponty, as Owain Morris with a forceful charge powered over the line to seal a second tremendous victory. It will be interesting next week to see what all the pre-match talk is about!!!
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