Neath 19-24 Pontypridd – Match Report
Pontypridd held on to top spot in the Admiral Welsh Premiership with a dramatic 24-19 win at the Gnoll against Neath.
A brace of tries from Rob Jones alongside scores from Dale Stuckey and nine points from the boot of Jaydan Pugh was enough despite playing the second half with 14 players following a red card for scrum half Joel Raikes.
The opening stages saw the hosts have a couple of opportunities inside the Ponty 22, the first being a lineout which was pinched by captain Cally James, before a linebreak from fullback Gareth Rees off a first phase lineout move.
But after multiple forward carries, Ponty survived and were awarded a penalty.
Despite the wind blowing into Ponty’s faces, they managed to gain some field position and were given a scrum following a knock on from the hosts.
With the visitors’ first spell inside the opposing half, inside centre Garyn Smith broke through midfield, but his pass to scrum half Joel Raikes was deliberately knocked on by Neath winger Ki Morgan, who was shown a yellow card by referee Joseff Rees.
After an attempted rolling maul was turned over following some good defence from Neath openside flanker Gethin Tremlett, hooker Rob Jones broke down the wing following a pre-planned lineout move, but was stopped short by a try saving tackle from Rhodri Cole.
Eventually the first points were scored after 19 minutes as Ponty capitalised on the man advantage.
With room out wide, Oli Shepherd’s attempted pass was stopped by a thumping tackle which saw the ball spill loose. It was picked up by fly-half Jaydan Pugh who put centre Smith into space and he fed Dale Stuckey who scored in the left hand corner.
Pugh added the conversion to give his side a 7-0 advantage after 20 minutes.
A combination of Joel Raikes’ kicking game and the wind at the Gnoll saw the visitors retain a couple of box kicks which weren’t claimed by the hosts, with the game opening up with Ponty gaining field position.
With the Welsh All Blacks’ discipline continuing to creek, the rolling maul was used with the backs joining in to offer assistance, but they couldn’t get the ball away from Rob Jones who grounded for a second try.
Pugh’s second conversion gave Ponty a 14-0 lead, yet there was a response from Neath with wing Matthew Jenkins scoring in the corner after a patient attacking set inside Ponty’s 22.
Both set of players came to blows after grounding the ball, with Joel Raikes deemed to have struck a player off the ball and was awarded a red card by referee Rees.
With a player disadvantage for the moments left in the first half, Ponty held out to lead 14-5 at the interval.
HALF TIME – Neath 5-14 Pontypridd
Jaydan Pugh opened the scoring 5 minutes into the second half with a penalty following a turnover from Cally James.
The hosts managed to pick up the first try of the second period following a sneaky lineout move after the visitors were penalised for being off their feet.
Instead of throwing to the player at the back of the lineout who was lifted, hooker Evan Kneath threw to the front to his prop Jack Powell who almost provided the pass for captain Ben Williams to score.
After some quick ball, lock Matthew Davies burrowed over from close range, with Steff Williams’ conversion narrowing the scores to five points. The score stood at 12-17 with half an hour left in the match.
The 14-men of the Valley Commandos hadn’t given up on the scoreboard and they crossed for their third try of the afternoon – a second rolling maul score for hooker Jones after a powerful Ponty effort, Pugh added the extras to give his side a bit of breathing space on the scoreboard – 12-24 as the match headed into the final quarter.
The rolling maul was proving to be a weapon for both teams and replacement Josh Clark crossed following a strong Neath drive, Williams’ second conversion meant it was just a five point game heading into the final 10 minutes.
After a late scrum penalty, Neath had another opportunity in the 22 and an attempt to win the game, but they were denied by some excellent Ponty defence.
With the hosts throwing everything at Pontypridd in the final few moments, a knock on was the final attacking set that the visitors had to survive, and fly-half Pugh booted the ball out of play to signal the end of the game and it was the Valley Commandos who remained top of the Welsh Premiership.
Pontypridd return to Sardis Road next weekend when they welcome Cross Keys RFC on Saturday 7th December.
FULL TIME – Neath 19-24 Pontypridd (30/11/2024)
Match report – Iestyn Thomas
PONTYPRIDD –
15. Oli Shepherd. 14. Louis Rochefort-Shugar (Lucus Welch). 13. Stuart Floyd-Ellis. 12. Garyn Smith. 11. Dale Stuckey. 10. Jaydan Pugh. 9. Joel Raikes.
1. Ben Stephens (Ben Drew). 2. Rob Jones (Jeff Young). 3. Kian Mattravers (Dan Cotterell). 4. Mitch Barnard (Will Jameson). 5. Kristian Parker. 6. Cai James. 7. Cally James (c). 8. Joe Miles (Lloyd Riley).
Subs: 16. Jeff Young. 17. Ben Drew. 18. Dan Cotterell. 19. Will Jameson. 20. Lloyd Riley. 21. Lucus Welch. 22. Jacob Symes. 23. Sam Talbot.
Tries: Dale Stuckey, Rob Jones x 2
Conversions: Jaydan Pugh x 3
Penalty: Jaydan Pugh
Red Card: Joel Raikes
NEATH –
15. Gareth Rees. 14. Ki Morgan. 13. Morgan Jones. 12. Kieran Charles. 11. Matthew Jenkins. 10. Steff Williams. 9. Rhodri Cole.
1. Jack Powell. 2. Evan Kneath. 3. Mason Morgan. 4. Cai Arnold. 5. Matthew Davies. 6. Jacob Blackmore. 7. Gethin Tremlett. 8. Ben Williams (c).
Subs: 16. Josh Clark. 17. Gareth Lloyd. 18. Tarik Dabeh. 19. Dan Watkins. 20. Owain Morgan. 21. Ellis Lewis. 22. Lewis Evans. 23. Iestyn Morgan.
Tries: Matthew Jenkins, Matthew Davies, Josh Clark
Conversions: Steff Williams x 2
Yellow Card: Ki Morgan
Referee: Joseff Rees
Assistant Referee/Third Official: Jon Hardy
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