Pontypridd picked up a vital bonus point win over Ystrad Rhondda in their final match of 2024, a last minute try for Joe Miles sealing the win in a back-and-forth battle at Sardis Road.
Three tries from Miles was accompanied by a score from Rob Jones, whilst the visitors fought hard with tries from Kurtis Williams, Liam Wiggins and Kelly Jones.
It was a cagey start from both teams with Ponty’s opening spell of possession resulting in a dropped ball from Cai James, whilst Ystrad Rhondda’s first attacking set saw fullback Alex Webber give a forward pass to wing Cavan Davies.
Ponty created a first chance when fullback Dale Stuckey broke down the wing, but his pass was dropped by Joe Davies who was running a support line on his inside.
The resulting scrum saw the hosts win the ball against the head, but some good breakdown work and an excellent clearance kick from fly-half Rhys Truelove relieved the pressure.
A spilt ball gave Ystrad some field position and they were awarded a penalty when the home side were penalised for offside, but Rhys Truelove’s effort drifted wide of the posts to leave the scores at 0-0 after nine minutes.
The first points of the match came after a quarter of an hour when Ponty turned the screw in the scrum five meters out after a penalty, with number 8 Joe Miles having the simple task of grounding the ball down to give his side the lead.
A second try followed three minutes later as the hosts showed more dominance in the scrum before kicking to the corner. From the lineout, a rolling maul was formed and powered over the tryline with hooker Rob Jones scoring. The conversion from Jaydan Pugh extended the lead to 12-0 after 20 minutes.
It was Ystrad’s turn to use the rolling maul moments later and a strong drive won a penalty inside the Ponty 22. After a couple more penalties in the red zone, referee Joseff Rees went into his pocket to award the home side’s loosehead prop Ben Stephens a yellow card.
Despite the player disadvantage, Ponty held out and rebuffed an attempt to their tryline from Ystrad scrum half Keian Williams when they held the ball up over the line.
The visitors did eventually use the man advantage from a scrum inside their own half. With an overlap on the blindside, Alex Webber dummied his way through the gap and it was a combination of the fullback, Keian Williams and wing Kurtis Williams with some neat handling which saw latter crossing in the corner.
The Pontypridd scrum had still been motoring despite Stephens’ yellow card, with referee Rees losing patience with the Ystrad scrum and gave a yellow card to tighthead prop Jordan Pritchard. Moments later there was some breakdown infringements from the visitors when Ponty were looking for a third try, and Ystrad lock Morgan Burgess was also sent to the sinbin.
With a two-player advantage, Ponty couldn’t quite cross the line as the visitors turned the ball over and a clearance from Webber was the final play of the first half, with the hosts leading 12-5.
HALF TIME – Pontypridd 12-5 Ystrad Rhondda
A break from try scorer Kurtis Williams at the beginning of the second half gave Ystrad an excellent chance to get their second try, but a pass from centre Cole Morgan didn’t go to hand and Ponty survived after two defensive reads from Stuart Floyd-Ellis.
The visitors controlled the territorial battle between the two sides as Ponty struggled to gain any momentum. Ystrad had a brilliant opportunity when Joe Davies was penalised for a push whilst chasing a box kick, with the kick to touch giving the away side some field position in the 22.
After a couple of rolling mauls that were adjudged to have been stopped illegally by the home side, referee Rees gave out a fourth card of the game – this time to Ponty flanker Cai James as pressure mounted on the Ponty defence.
Another penalty followed before eventually the visitors crossed with the maul when hooker Liam Wiggins, at the back of the maul, crashed over to score. The conversion by Truelove fell short as Ponty held on to their two point lead.
Ex-Ponty favourite Alex Webber was having a fine game for the visitors and a break following a box-kick could have given his side the lead, but despite the support outside him his pass didn’t go to hand.
Despite Ystrad enjoying the bulk of possession and territory during this particular period of the contest, it was Ponty who scored next following a break from the scrum by centre Ioan Evans. The ball was recycled with quick phases and it was number 8 Joe Miles who picked up his second try of the afternoon. Jaydan Pugh kicked his second conversion and Ponty led 19-10 after 66 minutes.
From the restart, Ystrad regained possession and broke through with centre Morgan who was hauled down by Stuckey, but two phases later they crossed for their third try through number 8 Kelly Jones who ran an out-to-in angle to break the Ponty defence. A first conversion of the match for fly-half Truelove narrowed the scores back to two points to make for a tense final ten minutes.
The frantic nature of the game continued following the restart, with Joe Davies making a break from a poor Ystrad exit, his inside pass to scrum half Welch saw Ystrad hooker Wiggins shown a yellow card for tackling off the ball.
Number 8 Miles thought he had crossed for his hat-trick as the clock ticked down but he was deemed to have knocked the ball on, which allowed the visitors to clear with a goal line drop out.
With the match now into the dying seconds, Miles rounded off his own fine display with his third when he broke through after a pickup from the breakdown to run in unopposed. Pugh’s third conversion extended the Ponty lead to nine points with the final try sealing the four-try bonus-point for the Valley Commandos.
FULL TIME – Pontypridd 26-17 Ystrad Rhondda (21/12/2024)
Match report – Iestyn Thomas
PONTYPRIDD –
15. Dale Stuckey. 14. Stuart Floyd-Ellis. 13. Garyn Smith (Sam Talbot). 12. Ioan Evans. 11. Joe Davies. 10. Jaydan Pugh. 9. Lucus Welch.
1. Ben Stephens (Ben Drew). 2. Rob Jones (Jeff Young). 3. Morgan Bosanko (Garyn Daniel). 4. Mitch Barnard. 5. Kristian Parker. 6. Cai James. 7. Cally James (c) (Will Jameson). 8. Joe Miles.
Subs: 16. Jeff Young. 17. Ben Drew. 18. Garyn Daniel. 19. Will Jameson. 20. Lloyd Riley. 21. Joey Williams. 22. Jacob Symes. 23. Sam Talbot.
Tries: Joe Miles x 3, Rob Jones
Conversions: Jaydan Pugh x 3
Yellow Cards: Ben Stephens, Cai James
YSTRAD RHONDDA –
15. Alex Webber. 14. Kurtis Williams. 13. Logan Hutchings. 12. Cole Morgan. 11. Cavan Davies. 10. Rhys Truelove. 9. Keian Richards.
1. Tom Stacey. 2. Liam Wiggins. 3. Jordan Pritchard. 4. Rhys Dauncey. 5. Morgan Burgess. 6. Jack Rees. 7. Jarrad Llewellyn (c). 8. Kelly Jones.
Subs: 16. Corben Evans. 17. Leon Moore. 18. David Webb. 19. Thomas John. 20. Garyn Davies. 21. Callum Phillips. 22. Lewis Williams. 23. Josh Williams.
Tries: Kurtis Williams, Liam Wiggins, Kelly Jones
Conversion: Rhys Truelove
Yellow Cards: Jordan Pritchard, Morgan Burgess, Liam Wiggins
Referee: Joseff Rees
Assistant Referee/Third Official: Tony Davies
Golden Bob Man of the Match: Joe Davies
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