Pontypridd 42 - 14 Swansea

In front of a 3,500 crowd (not bad for a wet and windy Tuesday night) Ponty managed to run in 6 tries in the poor conditions compared with the visitors 2 tries.

Shaun James, (perhaps having a point to prove to coach Lynn Howells) got the scoreboard ticking over after ten minutes with a strong burst through the Swansea defence to score the games first try. Jenkins added the extras to put Ponty 7- 0 up. Then after dominating in all areas of play Ponty were rewarded with a second try through full back Matthew Nuthall where the eighteen year old showed his strength to hold off a few Swansea tacklers and dive over the line. Jenkins again added the conversion and a cricket score looked on the cards.

However, to their credit, Swansea managed to venture into the Ponty 22 and thanks to some individual skill through outside half Rob Sweeney Swansea were rewarded with a converted try. A clever kick through the Ponty defence allowed Sweeney to touch down under the posts and convert the try.

But it wasn't long before Ponty scored again. A catch and drive from a lineout in Ponty's own 22 brought Ponty into Swansea's 22 before some good play allowed Richard Parks to score out wide and despite heavy rainfall Jenkins slotted over the conversion to restore a 14 point lead.

Before the break there was still time for another score as centre Shaun James who had been impressive for the whole half bounced off a number of Swansea tacklers before diving under the posts to score. At half time the lead was 28 - 7.

In the second half the game became more disjointed with both teams making wholesale changes. However, Ponty managed to keep running in the tries as Matthew Nuthall, a youngster who is being targeted by a number of regions sprinted upfield onto a Shaun James kick to gather the ball and score under the posts for his second of the game.

Swansea managed to respond again, with Rob Sweeney the scorer of the first bouncing off a Ponty tackler on the line to crash over. His conversion from out wide was good and Swasea had reduced Ponty's lead to 35 - 14.

From then on the match got worse as the conditions began to dictate. However, Jenkins who had kicked well out of hand all night got Ponty upfield and from a lineout in the Swansea 22, under 21 flanker Mark Lewis managed to score a try in the corner. Jenkins maintained his 100% record by slotting over the conversion and bringing an end to the match.

On Friday, Bridgend will pose a much tougher test for Ponty although new regional coach Lynn Howells may use the game as an opportunity to compare some of his fringe players against those from Bridgend.

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