Pontllanfraith traveled west to Swansea to round 2 of the WRU Cup against West Central Div 5 leaders Penlan RFC. After a well observed minutes silence for Armistice Day, Pont kicked off and immediately we under pressure after some strong running from the home side and it wasn’t long before Penlan’s winger crossed for their opening try.
Soon after Andrew Deneen was yellow carded for a tripping up a Penlan attacker with his feet, however it was a case of mistaken identity, as the actual perpetrator was Pont Winger Kian Dugmore. Pont then lost two back rowers to injury with Stu Hares and captain Jake Bean both limping off. With the yellow card and Bean down receiving treatment, Penlan used the two man advantage to score their second try.
Pont achieved a rare bit of first half territory and Hooker Ethan Jones came up just short of the line (not that anyone could see the lines) and then winger Kian Dugmore dropped an interception which in all likelihood would have resulted in a Pont score. From the resulting scrum, Penlan attacked swiftly down the blindside to get deep into Pont territory. Full back Ieuan Beal did momentarily turn the ball over for Pont but a few phases later Penlan had crossed for try number 3.
Matthew “Klunk” Williams was making an impact having come off the bench for the injured Bean and a well timed jackal got Pont a kickable penalty for Josh Meacham to get Pont onto the scoreboard. But Penlan hit back immediately to score their fourth try on the stroke of half time.
HT: Penlan 26-3 Pontllanfraith
Playing uphill the second half, it would’ve been easy for Pont to drop their heads and ship many more tries. But Pont responded well, playing a much tighter game and retaining possession well. Bizarrely the home side seemed more content arguing amongst themselves than playing rugby and their scrum half was yellow carded early in the second period.
After a series of lineouts in the opponents 22, back rower Nathan Meyrick crossed from close range for Pont’s opening try. Penlan’s defense was strong, making Pont work hard for every meter with Matthew Morgan putting in some big carries. After another period of sustained pressure and lineouts, Richard Meyrick Parker crossed to give Pont some hope of a comeback.
Pont piled on more pressure, but with Jay Williams and Rory Butterfield unavailable and Ashton Morgan off injured, Pont found themselves without their three best tighthead props and this meant Penlan were in the ascendancy at scrum time. This helped them to regain possession and clear their lines on multiple occasions. Pont kept coming back at Penlan, spending the majority of the second half in the Penlan’s territory, but the men from Swansea defending well to keep Pont out.
FT: Penlan 26-10 Pontllanfraith
Well played to Penlan on their victory and progress into round 3. Based on that performance you’d expect them to be one of the favourites to make it all the way to the stadium later in the year. As for Pont, they can take many positives from the second half performance, but ultimately the game was lost in the first 20 minutes.
Pont will travel to Abersychan this Saturday in a first verses second league match.
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