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Page 1 of 2 Under 16's Pontypridd 22 - 19 Nelson This victory was no mean feat, with a strong Nelson team boosted by a number of Dragons under 16 players who were playing to maintain match fitness.
With both sides lacking match practice due to the recent poor weather, a hastily arranged game went ahead, with Nelson boosting their team by fielding a number of Dragons under 16's players from neighbours Ystrad Mynach, who were in need of a run out before the next round of Regional fixtures. The game started well for Ponty and a 35 metre maul was only stopped when Nelson hauled it down 15 metres short, however Ponty were wide with the penalty attempt. Further power play from the Ponty forwards saw them advance to the Nelson line after a series of pick and drives. With Nelson defending bravely, scrum half Lee Kelleher spun a clever inside pass to giant prop James Sullivan who crashed over for the opening score, which went unconverted. Ponty built on this positive start and a strike against the head by hooker Sam Oliver at a scrum on the Nelson 10 metre line, saw Kelleher launch a blistering attack against a disorganised defence that saw centre Dan Jordan cross for Ponty's second try - again unconverted. The Nelson half backs started to show their Regional experience and demand quick ball from their forwards which they spun wide, away from the heavier Ponty pack. This tactic soon paid dividends and resulted in their first try, which went unconverted. A clever short line out move between Oliver and Marc Jones, saw Ponty drive well into the Nelson 22, and although Nelson were penalised for killing the ball at the resultant ruck, again the penalty drifted wide. Ponty kept up the pressure and a brilliant midfield move from Kelleher, fly half Lewis Smith and centre Jarod Scaplehorn, saw wing Steven Parker cross for Ponty's third try, again unconverted. The second half saw Nelson continue to play a quick expansive game, and it soon paid dividends with the Ponty pack starting to fade badly, and with Ponty's substantial injury list preventing any forward replacements, it was clear that Nelson were gaining the upper hand. However when Nelson seemed to be dominating the game, a long miss pass from the Nelson fly half, was anticipated by Lewis Egal and the Ponty flyer pulled off a brilliant interception , and although superbly tackled by the Nelson fullback, wing Lewis Williams was in support to cross under the posts for a converted try against the run of play. The last twenty minutes was all Nelson, and their expansive play was now causing Ponty real problems, and despite brave defence from Ponty, Nelson pulled back with two excellent converted tries. With the score at 19 points to 22 in Ponty's favour, the game entered the last five minutes, and with both sides desperate for the win, the game turned into a fascinating contest with both sides defending heroically, and Ponty rueing the missed kicks that could have given them some breathing space. Ponty hung on to just steal the honours but both sides emerged with great credit, from an entertaining game of rugby played in a fantastic spirit. Well done both sides and good luck for the remainder of the season. Scorers for Pontypridd with a try apiece were James Sullivan, Dan Jordan, Steven Parker and Lewis Williams. One conversion by Lewis Smith.
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