Pontllanfraith made the long journey north to Knighton to face Tref Y Clawdd aided by a 52 seater coach full of travelling support. The two hour plus journey did take its toll on Pont’s utility back Lee Butcher who was suffering from his previous nights exploits (see pic). Due to player unavailability, Pont made 8 changes to the match day squad that beat Hollybush last week, but despite this squad was full of quality which is testament to the great depth Coach Clarkey and Maggs have developed within the squad this year.
Pont kicked off and were on the back foot for the first 10 minutes as the referee seemed to be penalising them for everything nut despite all the territory and possession, all Tref Y Clawdd could manage was a missed penalty kick. Pont’s first visit into the oppositions 22 saw them awarded with a kickable penalty but Captain Nathan Meyrick opted for the corner. His confidence was justified as a well executed driving lineout saw hooker Jarrad Hook go over for the opening try. Tref Y Clawdd soon attempted a long distance penalty but came up short. Two phases later Tref Y Clawdd charged down the clearance kick and their flanker scored to even up the scores after running a beautiful angle off their outside half. From this point on Pontllanfraiths set piece dominated, with props Craig Williams and debutant tighthead Steve Osbourne giving their opposite numbers a torrid time at the scrum winning a few against the head. Meanwhile Tref Y Clawdd’s lineout was also misfiring with Mark Counsell pinching the home sides throws on numerous occasions.
Pont turned the pressure into points as winger Tom Haddock offloaded (en route to the stingy nettles) back inside to Lee Butcher for the second try. Shortly before half time second rower Chris Price went over for the third try after he sold half the defence his dummy.
HT: Tref Y Clawdd 5 – 17 Pontllanfraith
Searching for a bonus point, Pont were guilty of trying a bit too hard in the second half, opting for the miracle offload at times when patience might have been the better option. After months of training with the club debutant “Naked Steve” was having a superb debut getting over the gain line on multiple occasions. More scrum pressure forced the turnover inside the opponent’s 5 meter line and centre Kevin Chamberlain crashed over the bonus point try. The remaining 10 minutes saw Tref Y Clawdd have their best period of possession of the game but the Pont defence held strong to deny the hosts any more points.
FT: Tref Y Clawdd 5 – 24 Pontllanfraith
Massive thanks to the travelling supporters who braved the long journey in big numbers. Pontllanfraith are the only team this season the travel to Tref Y Clawdd and come away with the maximum 5 points. The result leaves Pont 4 points clear of Hollybush at the top of table, with Hollybush having 1 game in hand. Pont end the season in two weeks when they travel to Girling.
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