It was a case of the best team losing, according to Pooler director of rugby Leighton Jones, and it was one of the best performances by an away team at Pontypool Park in a long, long time.
“The best team definitely lost. They were far hungrier than we were and were far more clinical,” admitted Jones.
“That was a get out of jail free card used by us. The driving lineout probably brought us back to win the game.
“They’ve got one or two boys who have come down from the Premiership, they’re all from the same village, they are all mates and you could clearly see that out there when they were putting big hits in or when we were making mistakes. They were all over it.
“They are passionate, and their hearts are on their sleeves, and they definitely wanted it more than us. We simply made error after error.
“The conditions changed, and we were trying to play an offloading game. We had 3-on-1s and boys were trying to go themselves – it was just a bad day all round.
“But games like that are good for us. Some of the boys will have to look at their work rate and attitude – maybe a few egos were dented.
“If we don’t put the hard work in, any team in this league can beat us. The sign of a good team, and a good squad, is winning when not playing great and we managed to do that.”
Referee Steff Edwards awarded the penalty try to the home side in the dying moments and Pooler were relieved to have picked up another five points.
Pooler were forced to work hard after finding themselves 15-7 down at half time courtesy of some magic from Alex Webber, who set up two excellent tries with his pace and vision for McCauley Rowley and Cole Morgan to cross. Rhys Truelove added a conversion and penalty.
Morgan added his second try after the break and Truelove added the extras and kicked a penalty it make it 25-14. Ieuan Jones marked his 50th appearance for Pontypool with an opening try and then Scott Matthews scored twice to set-up a grandstand finish.
The home side piled on the pressure in the final minutes and the crucial penalty try completed a miraculous recovery. Pooler are now two points behind league leaders Neath with a game in hand.
Neath held onto top spot after easing to a 32-0 victory over Beddau. The home side found dominance up front early on but struggled to break down a resilient Beddau defence at first.
Steff Williams kicked two penalties, before he glided past two forwards, to score the game’s first try. Leading 11-0 at half time, Neath quickly got back to work after the break, when Jacob Blackmore pushed his way over the line.
The home side continued to make the most of their forward dominance when Sion Crocker added another, before Steff Williams scored from a fantastic solo effort to grab the bonus point.
Narberth got back to winning ways, with a convincing 30-10 win in the end against Cardiff Met. The students were edged out by the Otters in the first half, the visitors leading 9-7 in a cagey affair.
Three penalties from full back Nick Gale stole the lead from a Tom Pritchard try which Jamini Hodgkins converted for the Archers. Narberth then led 16-10 with 15 minutes left, thanks to an Ashley Sutton try and Gale conversion, before they sealed the win with two late tries from Jordan McDonald and Dafydd Roti.
Elsewhere, Maesteg Quins produced a shock 9-3 victory over Bedwas at home, having lost to the same side the weekend before in the cup competition. Owen Howe was the hero as he kicked three penalties in tricky conditions to one by Lloyd Wilkins for the visitors.
Bargoed continued to put pressure on both Neath and Pontypool, as they won their fifth game in a row, 35-3, at home against Ystalyfera to stay in third.
Trebanos prevailed against Tata Steel, as both sides looked to get off the mark for the season. The Swansea Valley side backed up their cup win last week against Glamorgan Wanderers, with a 38-20 win in a game that could have gone either way.
Cross Keys earned themselves a dominant 41-27 win over Glamorgan Wanderers in a game of nine tries. The game exploded into life with two excellent tries out wide from home wing Walker Price, and a try for Morgan Williams meant that Cross Keys led 28-7 at half time.
The Wanderers managed to pick up four tries of their own to bag a bonus-point, with prop Freddie Barnes going over for the vital fourth.
