Fixture

Saturday November 23^rd

Pontypool 33 – 0 Maesteg Quins

Specsavers Championship

Three times defending Championship champions Pontypool went eight points clear at the top of the division by continuing their flawless beginning to the season, with their ninth bonus point win from as many starts.

Travelling to Pontypool Park is a pleasure and not a chore. Given the conditions it was likely to be a scrappy affair and so it proved, with the match official joining in at times.

Pontypool attacked the scoreboard end. Everyone wants to do their best, even the referee, but if he were shown the replay of Pooler’s first score even he would blush at the Moule [night] mer.

At a seventh minute lineout near the Quins’ 22, supporters witnessed the worst case of ‘dartitis’ ever seen. An earlier throw had gone askew, but on this occasion with players moving around and leaping at inopportune times, home hooker Lewis Ball felt an attachment to the oval namesake in his hands. His first two attempts to throw in were aborted as the choreography did not match the hooker’s timing. Finally releasing the ball on his third attempt, it sailed over the line-out at none too plum an angle, floating almost straight into the hands of home out-half Kieran Meek.

It would have been nice if the whistle sounded to end the absurdity, but opportunity doesn’t knock twice and Meek made ground. Tackled by a defence who now realised the laws were not being applied to this particular incident, the carrier reunited Lewis Ball with the object he found so difficult to part with seconds earlier. The hooker crashed over near the posts. Meek converted.

Did the glaring error affect the result? No, but it gave Pooler a score much earlier than they deserved.

A dropped Pooler scrum allowed the Quins to cut the deficit but the attempt went narrowly wide from forty yards.

Kieran Meek made a break inside Quins’ half and offloaded to scrum-half partner Aaron Quick. Quick’s cross-kick towards the corner was met first by full-back Jake Morgan who hacked ahead and gathered to score. Again Meek converted.

A bout of yellow fever saw several players retreat to the side-line. Slick passing saw the ball go through several pairs of hands in awful conditions. The move ended with a swift transfer to Jake Morgan beat a couple of tacklers who scored his second try.

Five minutes later Pooler were on the attack. Aaron Quick picked up, turned and fed right wing Duan Thomas, and he crossed for Pooler’s bonus-point try. Kieran Meek added the extras.

Expecting to wipe out the Quins in the second half, Pooler came up against as stern a defence as they are likely to face in this league of haves and have nots. No cause was ever lost. Pontypool would call the game scrappy. Quins would say it was heavily and keenly contested

Throughout the scrums were an even contest, with the Quins front five creditably taking on the Pooler pack head-on. It was a fascinating feature of play which, despite the difficult ground conditions, was excellently officiated to allow the compelling competition to take place.

Quins actually managed to sneak the line-out competition, courtesy of a near perfect execution of their own throws, while stealing a number of home attempts. Quins had the Ace in their pack. Tutt, Healy and Williams also combined well with Jay Ronan and their lifters.

Quins’ driving mauls and counter rucking too was not to Pontypool’s liking either and they did very well in this area of play when the circumstances allowed.

The greatest regret was the visiting inability to register a score. Having to play from deep was a problem, as a result of being constantly under pressure. Only Tadgh McGuckin and Geraint Evans managed to make a handful of half-breaks between them.

Yet the manner in which the Quins gave away territory, even when camped right on the try-line, like the dog excrement in Pontypool Park was hard to swallow. Quins fell hook, line and sinker for the hosts ‘rope-a-dope’ tactic. Two gilt edge chances came the visitor’s way, both annulled through weak discipline. Additionally, mouthing-off cancels out great individual and team work. This immature trait needs to be eradicated.

In the face of an onslaught the Quins held firm. Without question everyone in a black jersey threw themselves into the task, holding out for thirty second half minutes before Scott Evans drove over and Meek added the extras for a 33-0 home win.

Pooler obviously deserved their win, despite their claim of being below their best and disappointed with their performance. This is the type of fixture at Pool’s Paradise the Quins want to play in and where the Quins want to be. Nobody could ask any more of those in coal black and blood red who gave every ounce of themselves. That’s why they were still smiling at the end, full in the knowledge nothing more could be asked of each and every one of them.