Ponty minis round-up

A round up of Ponty minis' games played against Bridgend Athletic on Sunday 26^th February…

Under 8's Development Pontypridd 20 - 25  Bridgend Athletic

Under 8's Development Pontypridd 10 - 10 Bridgend Development

Under 8's Pontypridd 25 - 40 Bridgend Athletic

Under 10's Pontypridd 28 - 21 Bridgend Athletic

Under 8's Development Pontypridd 20 - 25  Bridgend Athletic

Pontypridd Entertained in a Flowing Game of Rugby…  In a game played at a really fast pace both teams went at each other from the off.  Great tagging won Ponty a turn over for Daffydd Smith to jink his way over the line. Bridgend hit back instantly and again their support play was the key to their success.  Every time Ponty made a tag Bridgend had a man running on to the ball which took them clear and put Ponty on the back foot which lead to three great tries. A fantastic individual try from Owain Morris who danced his way through and around several defenders kept Ponty in the game at half time, although down at 15 - 10, we had it all to do.

Bridgend started off the second half a little better turning Ponty over on a number of occasions.  Also, lack of concentration meant Ponty were not carrying the ball in two hands when instructed and were pulled up several times for handing off.  All this meant Bridgend had most of the possession and scored two more tries.  It was a mountain to climb but Ponty stuck in there and Owain Morris scored another two tries to bring the score line to 20 - 25 with minutes left. Great tagging kept Bridgend out and in the last seconds of the game the ball fell to Jack Layton who sprinted clear of the defence but on his way to the try line was just caught and the ref blew up. A great game played at a high tempo with great skill levels.

Try scorers for Pontypridd: Owain Morris (3) and Daffydd Smith.

Man of the Match - Owain Morris

Team on the Day:

Owain Morris (c), Iwan Cavhil, Jay Jones, Daffydd Smith, Harley Jones, Daniel Griffiths and Jack Layton.




Under 8's Pontypridd 25 - 40 Bridgend Athletic

Pontypridd Gain Plaudits in Game of the Season. Pontypridd played arguably the best tag team in Wales and England on Sunday and pushed them all the way. Bridgend have successfully won the London Under 8's tournament two seasons running seeing off such teams as London Wasps, Harlequins and Richmond.

Pontypridd started off this game with a real bang.  From the first tap Ponty attacked Bridgend, some great running, handling and support work resulted in the team passing the ball along the line for Mason Pritchard to touch down in the corner. Bridgend then came back at Ponty but great defence by the team enabled us to take them six tags and win a turn over.  Ponty again attacked Bridgend and with Bridgend's rush defence closing us down Mason Pritchard looked up and fired a fantastic long pass out to Josh Barnes who rounded the defence to score in the corner to the delight of the parents on the sideline.  This moved was appreciated by Pontypridd Parents and Bridgend parents as when you have a 7 year old with the vision and skill to throw a long pass (about 7m) with accuracy as Mason did and then have another 7 year old, Josh Barnes, to catch it above his head whilst on the run, it shows the level of skill that we have in this squad.

Bridgend hit back with three great tries, as they were tagged they off loaded to support players who ran onto the ball taking them clear of the defence and gain much needed ground.  Ponty worked hard and tagged well but Bridgend always seamed to score on the last tag must to our frustration.   Bridgend again launched an attack but great work but Pontypridd forced Bridgend to knocked the ball on yards from the line.  A quick tap and pass to Lucas Hickman sent him off on his weekly length of the pitch run to score on the stroke of half time and level the scores at 15 all.

Bridgend started the second half very much like Ponty started the first, all out attacked and another 3 well worked tries.  Pontypridd tried their best to hold off Bridgend with Samuel Strafarce, Callum Pearce and Rhys Grainger running around and covering every part of the field but again it was the pass on the last tag that enabled the score. At 30-15 down Ponty could have easily given up but the kept on playing and another great move involving Rhys "Galloping"" Grainger, sprinting down the touch line hurdling defenders tackles only to be tagged before the line.  Although quick thinking by Rhys enabled the move to carry on and a result in a second Try for Mason Pritchard.

Some more great tagging turned Bridgend over and Mason again threw a long pass out to Josh only for the wind to take it slightly off course and in to touch.  Bridgend scored another two well worked tries to seal the game but in the last minute Bridgend dropped the ball, Callum Pearce flicked the ball up one handed to Gruffydd Lloyd who sprinted down the wing leaving everyone behind him. At the final whistle the players left the field to massive applause from all parents as both teams had shown great skill, pride and determination, maybe something older players who played yesterday afternoon in a country that likes to drink Guinness should take note of!

After the final whistle Bridgend Athletics' coach approached me and stated that we were the best team he had ever played and his team had never gone two tries down.  He also thanked us for the warm reception his team received from the parents on the side line and wished us all the best for the remainder of the season.  Like wise I'd like to wish Bridgend Athletic all the best for the rest of the season and hope they win the London Tournament when they play there in two weeks.

Pontypridd Try scorers: Mason Pritchard (2), Lucas Hick am, Josh Barnes and Gruffydd Lloyd.

Man of the Match - Mason Pritchard

Team on the Day: Gruffydd Lloyd (c), Mason Pritchard, Rhys Grainger, Samuel Starfarce, Josh Barnes, Callum Pearce and Lucas Hickman.



Pontypridd Development 10 - 10 Bridgend Development

Dramatic Finish Earn Ponty a Draw…   In the third and final game Pontypridd played some of their youngest players and like their team mates in the previous two games they had a real go. Both teams had good defences that turned each other over time and time again.  Good runs by Tucker and Rhys Little Britton broke the Bridgend defence but the team could not quite finish the moves off. On the stroke of half time Bridgend did score to go into the second half 5-0 up. Another fine run by Rhys Britton ended up with him scoring a try, beating several defenders as he raced to the line. Bridgend hit back with another try but even more tagging by both teams kept the score line at 10-5 to Bridgend. 

Each member of the Pontypridd team was eager to get their hands on the ball and have a go. Unfortunately we were always tagged about one meter from the line and could not turn pressure into points. However in the last minute the ball was worked wide to Owain Morris who side stepped the last player to score a try that earned Pontypridd a draw. All in all it was a great performance and enjoyable day.  As head coach I'd like to express my thanks to the players for the way in which they played the game and to the parents for supporting their children and creating a great atmosphere that made Bridgend Athletic feel so welcome.

Tries - Rhys Britton 1, Owain Morris 1

Man of the Match - Callum Tucker

Team on the day: Christopher Temple (c), Arron, Rhys Morris, Iwan Cavhil, Daffydd Smith, Rhys Britton, Josh Barnes, Callum Tucker and Owain Morris.

Under 10's Pontypridd 28 - 21 Bridgend Athletic

Following a long delay the game finally started and against the run of play pontypridd scored two quick tries through Matthew Logan and Dillon Lewis that were both converted by Harry Walton. Bridgend's forward dominance led to a converted try that  gave a half-time score of 14-7.

Half-time changes by Pontypridd gave them parity up front and resulted in a try for Kai Perry that he then converted. Two late converted tries by Bridgend made for a tense finish with Dillon Lewis gaining a secondtry converted by Kai Perry  to win the game 28 - 21.