Pontypridd 18-13 Cardiff

This derby encounter played in front of a 5,000 plus crowd at Sardis Road began with plenty of intensity and with both teams to their credit attempting to be creative despite the cloying conditions. Ponty enjoyed the greater share of early possession but Cardiff always menacing on the counter, and from one such foray into the home half, sending no8 Luke Hamilton over for a close range try which Gareth Davies converted.

Pontypridd showed their forward power with a series of hard drives into opposition territory, but making hard work of turning pressure into points, and in danger of kicking away possession to give Cardiff the opportunity to counter. Capitalising off a dominant scrum Ponty continued to advance, wing Chris Clayton sniping away on a break and flanker Jake Thomas then up in support to cross for a try which Lewis Williams converted.

Cardiff were always in contention, at their best when play was fast and loose, and a penalty kicked by outside half Gareth Davies giving them an interval advantage of 7pts to 10.

The second half continued to be a war of attrition, with the large crowd for the most part remaining muted as both teams slogged out a battle in the mud. Pontypridd had the edge in the forward exchanges, and were rewarded as outside half Williams hoisted over two penalty kicks to claim a narrow lead.

Cardiff were often guilty of infringing and had replacement prop Kristian Gay sin-binned, Ponty taking full advantage with a series of line out drives and scrums with prop Sam Hobbs claiming a crucial touchdown following a communal shunt over the line. The home team attempted to close the game down now into the final ten minutes of play, but Cardiff persistent in their efforts to counter attack, and scoring through a long range penalty kicked by full back Rhys Patchell.

There were still a few nervous moment for Ponty to endure as the clock ticked down, but doing enough to hold on to their hard earned advantage of 18pts to 13, claiming the honours in a typically abrasive derby encounter.

Pontypridd:

15.Gareth Wyatt. 14.Chris Clayton. 13.Gavin Dacey. 12.Dafydd Lockyer. 11.Matthew Nuthall. 10.Lewis K Williams (Dean Gunter). 9.Lewis Jones (Rhys Downes).

1.Stuart Williams (Sam Hobbs). 2.Huw Dowden. 3.Ryan Harford (Pat Palmer). 4.Ryan Savage. 5.Chris Dicomidis – cpt. 6.Jake Thomas. 7.Tom Hetherington. 8.Dan Godfrey.

“Golden Bob” man of the match: Chris Clayton.

Scorers: