You had to go back to 23 April 2016 for the last time Pooler had lost at home in a league game – a 20-17 reverse against RGC – and a bumper crowd of 3,000+ turned up hoping for an extension of the record.
It had been 38-27 to Newport on the opening weekend of the season at Rodney Parade and Swansea, Carmarthen Quins, Pontypridd, Ebbw Vale and Neath had all travelled to Pontypool Park and been sent packing this season.
But Leighton Jones’ home side hadn’t played since 25 November and came into the game undercooked. Then they lost the toss and found themselves playing with the wind and down the slope.
“Winning the toss was a real bonus for us,” admitted Newport head coach Ty Morris. “It meant we could take away the slope from them in the second half.
“The next thing was getting off to a good start, which we did. Matt O’Brien was superb for us once again and it was his early try that set the tone.
“You’d have to say after this that we are real title contenders. It was a great performance and our third try, from Che Hope, showed what we are all about – being brave enough to attack from our own 22 and score at the other end.”
Che Hope on his way to the try line. (Pic: Simon Latham)
The Black & Ambers picked up where they had left off last week at the Brewery Field, where they ran in nine tries, and picked up the first of their three tries in the opening half after only six minutes. They had opted to play up the slope and into the wind after winning the toss and it certainly worked for them.
They dominated the opening exchanges, and it was last week’s man of the match Matt O’Brien who got the scoreboard moving when he took a quick tap penalty five metres out and burrowed his way over for a try that he also converted.
Better was to follow fur minutes later when Elliot Frewen broke into the home 22 and found Johnny Morris in support on his inside to take a scoring pass. O’Brien added the extras and was 14-0.
One-way traffic in may have been, but one mistake can change things. From the re-start Newport made a hash of things, they had a kick charged down and Pat Lewis said thank you very much and flopped over for an early Christmas gift.
O’Brien kicked a simple penalty to keep the scoreboard moving, but the momentum shifted once the home pack got their hands on the ball. All of a sudden Newport found themselves on the defensive and they couldn’t stop home skipper Scott Matthews crossing from close range.
Matt Jarvis’ conversion cut the gap to five points after half-an-hour but it didn’t stay that way. O’Brien received a long kick down field in his 22, threw it infield and Ioan Davies and Oli Andrew raced up the right touchline.
An inside pass to scrum half Hope then enabled him to race the final 20 metres to the line for the try of the game, once again converted by O’Brien. Pontypool had a shot at scoring again in the last move of the half, but were turned over on the Newport line and had to change ends 24-12 in arrears.
With the wind and slope to their advantage in the second half, Newport used O’Brien’s cultured boot to pen back Pooler and make life increasingly difficult for them. To their credit, Pooler kept on fighting and did manage to grab a third try 10 minutes from time through debutant Dan Hill.
But the visitors added two more, the first after winning a turn over penalty on the Pooler 10 metre line close to the left touchline. O’Brien stunned everyone by cross-kicking for Wales U20 wing Andrew to chase on the other flank.
Oli Andrew scores the bonus point try. (Pic: Simon Latham)
He caused enough panic in the home back three that he was left to pick up a loose ball and dive over for another try that O’Brien improved. Morris added his second and it was game, set and match for Newport.
“It was a great occasion for the club, but a disappointing day for the team losing the home record. We thought we might be a bit rusty having not played for a month and that was probably the case,” said Pontypool director of rugby, Leighton Jones.
Newport’s latest bonus-point win keeps them in touch with the top two in the table, leaders Llandovery, who failed to pick up the extra point in their 20-0 home win over Carmarthen Quins, and second placed Ebbw Vale, who ran in seven tries in a 50-31 home win over Merthyr.
The Drovers lead with 53 points, The Steelmen are second with 49 and Newport third with 45. There is then a 10 point gap to Pontypool in fourth.
Scorers: Pontypool: Tries: P Lewis, S Matthews, D Hill; Con: M Jarvis 2. Newport: Tries: J Morris 2, M O’Brien, C Hope, O Andrew; Cons: M O’Brien 4; Pen: M O’Brien
