The goal-kicking of full-back Bailey Porter, who landed a monster penalty and three conversions for a nine-point haul, proved crucial with Pontypridd kicker Gethin Jenkins having watched a conversion rebound off an upright, such was the margin between success and failure.
Pontypridd took the lead through an early penalty from outside-half Gethin Jenkins and continued to use the power of their pack to pile the pressure on Swansea. There were plenty of errors as the teams felt each other out during a nervous, stop-start opening half laced with plenty of whistle.
Ponty dominated most of it territorially and in terms of possession but wasted a clear chance by failing to pass to any of three unmarked players on the outside with the try line metres away.
Swansea on the attack
It was Swansea who took the initiative against the run of play. The ball broke for them following a line-out and they surged forward with No.8 Noah Williams picking up at the base of a ruck to burrow his way over for the opening try. Full-back Bailey Porter converted with the final kick of a disappointing half for a 7-3 advantage.
Porter extended the lead to seven points with a magnificent, long-range penalty early in the second half, and it got better for them when he converted Will Moore’s try a couple of minutes later to establish a 14-point gap between the teams.
Centre Moore, the son of former Wales captain and lock forward Andy Moore, showed his speed when he sprinted from just inside his half after intercepting a pass.
Swansea had Josh Gallivan quite rightly sin-binned for illegally lifting an opponents’ leg at a driving maul. His departure handed Pontypridd a penalty and line-out near the Swansea try-line but they were unable to capitalise.
Pontypridd should have got a try seconds later but a misplaced pass and a knock-on saw them squander a huge overlap. They eventually made the most of Gallivan being in the sin-bin when fired-up lock Lucca Alexander-White powered over from short-range after bursting on to the ball. Jenkins converted and it was game back on with seven points between the sides.
WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY . . . Swansea Schools coach Jon Fox
“We had tried to focus on getting here for the final and soaking up this atmosphere. We knew Pontypridd were going to be incredible. This was their only loss this season. They brought a lot of power, strength and game management, and had chances.“We defended to a man against a team who wanted to play smart rugby. The boys stuck at it and reaped the rewards. Bailey Porter has been kicking goals all season. His vital penalty from a vast distance was a massive effort for a 15-year-old, an incredible kick. This is what Welsh rugby is about. Having the chance for these lads to play in a stadium like this is just fantastic.”
But another mistake from Pontypridd saw Swansea scrum-half Theo Rodgers, who had dropped to the substitutes’ bench after being injured during the pre-match warm-up, gather the ball and sprint about 75m for a vital try, converted by Porter.
Centre Ioan Leyshon barged his way over for Pontypridd but the conversion of Jenkins rebounded off an upright, meaning they were still two scores behind at 24-15.
They got another try from a driving line-out with Leyshon seemingly again the scorer from under a pile of bodies. It was converted by Jenkins, to close the gap to two points and set up a frantic finish. But time ran out on them.
Scorers: Pontypridd: Tries: I Leyshon 2, L Alexander-White; Cons: G Jenkins 2; Pen; Jenkins. Swansea: Tries: N Williams, W Moore, T Rodgers; Cons: B Porter 3; Pen: B Porter.
U15 Dewar Shield Final Teams
Pontypridd Schools: Rhys Wyatt (Garth Olwg); Sam Price (Garth Olwg), Ioan Leyshon (Garth Olwg), Owen Lewis (Bryn Celynnog), Harry Kinsey (Garth Olwg); Gethin Jenkins (Y Pant), Gethin Downes (Garth Olwg); Wojciech Kudelka (Hawthorn), Lewis Rix (Bryn Celynnog, captain), Alfie Beazer (Llanhari), Lucca Alexander-White (Bryn Celynnog), Ryan Jones (Garth Olwg), Sam Morris (Bryn Celynnog), Alfie Prygodzicz (Llanhari), Alfie John (Garth Olwg)Reps: Dylan Jones (Bryn Celynnog), Caleb Mountjoy (Cardinal Newman), Ethan Hardwidge (Bryn Celynnog), Samson Phillpott (Hawthorn), George Combs (Pontypridd HS), Josh Richards (Llanhari), Jaxon Humphreys (Garth Olwg), Issac Mannings-Burke (Y Pant)
Swansea Schools: Bailey Porter (Penyrheol); Ethan Bolche (Bryntawe), Will Moore (Bishopston), Jack Wilcox (YG Gwyr, captain), Evan Jones (YG Gwyr); Jake Davies (YG Gwyr), Theo Rodgers (YG Gwyr); Isaac Thomas (Morriston), Osian Oliver (Bryntawe), Josh Drew (Bishopston), Luke Fender (Bishopston), Owain Martin (Bryntawe), Ross Rossi (Bishopston), Sam Morgan (Morriston), Noah Williams (Bishopston)Reps: Sam Cawsey (YG Gwyr), Dylan Allit (YG Gwyr), Ryan Blyth , Luke Macauley (Cefn Hengoed), Josh Gallivan (Bryntawe), Jonny Davies (Penyrheol), Evan Godwin (YG Gwyr), Jake Russell (Morriston)
