Prem Review - Boxing Day


By Zippy
December 28 2005

Review of the matches in the Welsh Premiership from Boxing Day. Game of the day was the derby match at the Old Parish where Bridgend narrowly beat Maesteg, Ponty won at Bedwas, for details read on.

Maesteg 10 Bridgend 13

 

The Western Mail

 

A RIP-ROARING derby at the Old Parish Ground ended with Bridgend sneaking a narrow victory over old rivals Maesteg.

 

Maesteg perhaps deserved a draw for the effort put in by their forwards and almost pinched a dramatic victory in the eighth minute of injury time but full-back Lloyd Warner couldn't hold a clever kick from outside-half James Dixon.

 

Bridgend created the better chances, but full-back Gareth David had a rare off-day with the boot, missing three first-half penalties.

 

The opening half was a tremendous forward battle.

 

Maesteg had the edge in the scrums, but Bridgend were a little quicker to the breakdowns thanks mainly to their outstanding flanker Adam Whitney and former Maesteg No 8 Andrew Williams.

 

But it was the battle between veteran scrum-halves, Kevin Ellis of Maesteg and man of the match Brendan Roach of Bridgend which had the 4,000 crowd on its feet time and again and both players were outstanding.

 

Dixon put Maesteg in front with a penalty, but David found his touch with the last kick of the first half to level the scores at half-time.

 

The game turned when Maesteg knocked on at a scrum on the Bridgend line but talked back to referee Tony Rowlands, who changed his decision to a penalty.

 

Roach reacted like lightning to send Chris Tossell away and the centre created room for winger Nathan Trowbridge, who raced 60 metres.

 

The Maesteg defence got to him but not before a clever cross-kick allowed Ryan Howells to gather. The winger was tackled on the line but regained his feet and dived over for David to convert and the full-back stretched the Bridgend lead with a 68th-minute penalty.

 

Maesteg ensured a grandstand finish when skipper and No 8 Karl Hocking drove over for his 124th league try after a series of mauls near the Bridgend line but, although they piled on pressure in the last few minutes, the Bridgend defence held firm.

 

Maesteg 10 - 13
(3 - 3)		 Bridgend
Tries:
K Hocking		   Tries:
R Howells
Pens:
J Dixon.		   Pens:
G David 2
 
Cons:
J Dixon.		   Cons:
G David

 

Bedwas 11 Pontypridd 33

 

By http://www.PontypriddRFC.co.uk - Rygbi Pontypridd - Official Website / Y Wefan Swyddogol - The Valleys' Premier Team.

 

The early possession went mostly Bedwas’ way, and the home team benefiting through a penalty converted by full back Leigh Hinton. Richard Langmead was in turn off target with a similar attempt, as Ponty struggled to be competitive, losing the ball in contact and failing to find touch with their kicks. Bedwas looked far more menacing, attacking from deep, and once more turning pressure into points through a Leigh Hinton penalty.

A half break by hooker Ben Phillips at last gave Pontypridd some momentum, putting points on the board through a penalty kicked by Langmead. The visitors however again lost possession in the tackle, allowing Bedwas to break away at pace, Dragons’ full back Leigh Hinton sprinting clear for a try to hoist his team into a lead of 11 pts to 3. Ponty were still struggling to generate any real momentum, but just keeping in touch courtesy of another Langmead penalty. The home pack were by far the more forceful marauding unit, maintaining their edge, whilst Ponty depended on disjointed attacks from deep which rarely threatened a score.

 

Spurning some kickable penalty attempts, Ponty finally made headway into the home twenty-two with their driving play, with Bedwas flanker Craig Hill ordered off to the sin bin for infringing. The visitors’ policy of keeping the ball in hand finally paid off as centre Dafydd Lockyer burst through on a crash ball run to score, his try converted by Langmead. Frustrations boiled over into a fracas during a scrappy period of play, both teams trying their hand in attack before the half time whistle blew, Pontypridd rather fortunate to claim the advantage by 11 points to 13.

 

With Chris Martenko an effective line out target, Ponty achieved a platform to attack as the second half resumed, and setting up an opportunity for Richard Langmead to stroke over another penalty. The visitors were now looking far more incisive in their forays upfield, bringing centres Lockyer and Riley into play with some good midfield angles. A series of short forward bursts by Ponty culminated in a touchdown claimed by lock Chris Martenko, the score again converted by Langmead. Ponty were now gaining the upper hand in what was still mainly a scrappy contest, claiming a near monopoly of possession to dominate play. A quick tap penalty taken by Wayne Evans saw the dynamic scrum half dart through for an opportunist try wide out, putting Ponty into a clear lead of 11 pts to 28.

 

With Chris Dicomidis on for Dale McIntosh, Ponty defended against a period of home pressure, going into the final quarter of the game. Another substitution saw Grant Harrington coming on for Lee Evans, with Ponty sitting back to defend their lead, but showing plenty of aggression in their tackling duties. The game seemed in danger of losing its way in the enveloping gloom, but Ponty setting up camp in the Bedwas twenty-two, pressing hard for a score, as Leighton Davies came on for Ben Phillips. A rampant charge upfield by lock Chris Dicomidis provided Ponty with the breakthrough they needed, Wayne Evans up in support to cross for a try in the corner. As prop Ian Poley made the briefest of appearances, on as injury time replacement for Ryan Harford, Ponty saw out the dying minutes of the game to claim a deserved victory. This Boxing Day encounter had by no means turned out to be a Christmas cracker, but Ponty getting the festive present they wanted with a valuable away win by 11 pts to 33.

 

Pontypridd 

 

15.Jason Pocock. 14.Chris Clayton. 13.Tom Riley. 12.Dafydd Lockyer. 11.Matthew Nuthall. 10.Richard Langmead. 9.Wayne Evans.

 

1.Stuart Williams. 2.Ben Phillips (Leighton Davies). 3.Ryan Harford (Ian Poley). 4.Dale McIntosh – cpt (Chris Dicomidis. 5.Chris Martenko. 6.Lee Evans (Grant Harrington). 7.Adam Powell. 8.Nathan Strong.

 

Bedwas 11 - 33
(11 - 13)		 Pontypridd
Tries:
L Hinton		   Tries:
D Lockyear, C Martenko, W Evans 2
Pens:
L Hinton 2		   Pens:
L Langley 3
 
  Cons:
L Langley 2

 

Welsh Premiership Table
26 December 2005

  Team
P
W
D
L
F
A
PTS
1 Neath 14 13 0 1 494 190 39
2 Bridgend 15 12 0 3 356 282 36
3 Pontypridd 14 11 0 3 392 237 33
4 Aberavon 14 10 0 4 381 243 30
5 Cross Keys 15 10 0 5 304 229 30
6 Newport 15 10 0 5 317 309 30
7 Llanelli 15 9 0 6 287 318 27
8 Bedwas 15 7 1 7 290 299 22
9 Pontypool 16 5 1 10 245 318 16
10 Swansea 14 5 0 9 355 385 15
11 Maesteg 15 5 0 10 289 376 15
12 Glamorgan Wanderers 14 5 0 9 281 353 15
13 Ebbw Vale 15 4 0 11 280 353 12
14 Llandovery 15 4 0 11 295 343 12
15 Cardiff 15 4 0 11 248 375 12
16 Carmarthen 15 3 0 12 219 423 9