By Zippy
January 14 2007

A review of the action in the Principality Welsh Premiership from Saturday 13th January. Bridgend gained revenge against Llanelli and Ponty kept up their impressive run against Cross Keys.

Bridgend 14 Llanelli 8

Wales on Sunday

LLANELLI flanker Jon Edwards was sent off as Bridgend gained sweet Principality Welsh Premiership revenge at the Brewery Field.

Edwards got his marching orders midway through the second half from referee Nigel Whitehouse - who also showed three yellow cards - after an alleged stamp on Adam Whitney at a ruck.

It left the visitors reduced to 14 men for the final 17 minutes and ultimately allowed Bridgend to avenge their 64-22 hammering at Stradey Park last October.

Leading 9-8 when Edwards saw red, Bridgend rather made a meal of sealing victory.

It was left to veteran Andrew Williams, who turns 36 in March, to grab the match-winning score three minutes from normal time. "I am really happy with the win but I reckon we could have won by 15 or 20 points,'' said Bridgend coach Chris Stephens.

"We are still hurting after our 60-point hiding down there, so I was delighted with the character and commitment the players displayed.

"There was a lot of pride out there. It was nice to have one back on Llanelli, especially as they have gone 10 on the bounce.''

Bridgend edged the first half through the boot of Gareth David, who converted two of his four penalty attempts.

Though Llanelli trailed by a point at the interval, they did score the only try of the half.

That arrived through hooker Aled Gravelle, who crashed over the whitewash after the Llanelli forwards had made some hard yards from a line-out.

If the sending off was the main talking point of the second half, the controversy of the first was the sin-binning of three players in the space of two minutes.

First referee Whitehouse sent Bridgend hooker Ieuan Dobbs and Llanelli wing Quinten Snyman to the cooler following a touchline fracas, which was more handbags than rumble in the jungle.

And immediately after that the Whitehouse yellow card was out again, shown to Rob McCusker for illegal use of hands at a ruck.

Llanelli looked like they might have taken the game by the scruff of the neck in the first 20 minutes but, despite plenty of attacking momentum, they had to make do with a Rhys Priestland penalty.

That was cancelled out by a Roger Davies penalty from the halfway line after which Bridgend started to edge their way in to Llanelli's half, helped by the Edwards dismissal.

Andrew Williams sneaked over to leave the Bridgend faithful in raptures at the final whistle.

Bridgend	14 - 8 (6 - 5)	Llanelli
Tries: Williams		Tries: Gravell
Pens: David 2, Davies		Pens: Priestland

Pontypridd 22 Cross Keys 12

By www.PontypriddRFC.co.uk - Rygbi Pontypridd - Official Website / Y Wefan Swyddogol - The Valleys' Premier Team.

The game against Cross Keys was in doubt until the last minute, as rain and drizzle swept across South Wales throughout Friday night and into Saturday morning. A pitch inspection at 10.00 am decided the issue, and the word was “game on”! A large crowd therefore assembled at a damp Sardis Road eager to see whether the home side could continue its winning run. Unfortunately the news that greeted the faithful was all bad.

First of all, we heard that the new Sardis favourite flanker Tu Tamarua was unable to play due to illness. Then, as the teams finished their warm-up, Pontypridd’s other influential flanker Lee ‘Duck’ Evans pulled a muscle and was unable to start. So the home team was forced to play a back row that consisted of three No. 8s, and team manager Wayne Cullen was on the phone to hooker Richard Emms to come to the ground as quickly as possible to cover as a makeshift flanker. Richard was at work, but dutifully turned up twenty minutes after kick-off to take his place on the bench.

The game started with a period of Keys’ pressure, as their forwards dominated proceedings and Pontypridd were forced to defend a series of scrums, lineouts and forward drives close to their line. The inevitable eventually happened as the visitors spread the ball after another drive towards the line, and the excellent centre Gareth Chapman went over for a try. Full back Aled Thomas got the conversion to make the score 0-7 after five minutes.

Pontypridd rallied somewhat after this early set back, and a good run and kick down the left by Chris Clayton took the game into the visitors’ half. An infringement by Keys then allowed Dai Flanagan to kick a penalty. However, Cross Keys were still well on top in most phases, and were regularly breaking through our defence in the middle of the park. Although a missed penalty kick by Aled Thomas gave Ponty some relief, another good attack down the middle saw flanker Rhys Williams up in support to crash over for the try. Fortunately Aled Thomas missed the very kickable conversion to make it 3-12.

The hard work for Pontypridd continued for the rest of the first half, as a rampant Keys pressed for the score that would give them the commanding lead that their dominance deserved. Their case was not helped by a yellow card for hooker Gary Horrigan, and the additional points did not come. The teams left a very muddy ground at half time with the score unchanged at 3-12.

Pontypridd made one change at half time, bringing on scrum half Wayne Evans for the battling Ryan Harries. The home side were doing much better in the first ten minutes or so of the half, but were making little impact against a well organised Keys defence. Neil Burnett came on for an injured Gavin Dacey, and so the home side would have the use of his mighty boot if needed.

The break for Ponty came after about fifteen minutes when Chris Clayton broke through and then put a good kick through towards the Keys’ line. Chris and full back Lawrence Price were chasing hard, and the latter just got the touchdown out on the left at the clubhouse end. Dai Flanagan missed the conversion, but the scoreline looked a bit better at 8-12.

However, the next ten minutes saw Cross Keys back in the driving seat for much of the time. With hooker Lee Pearce now on for Leighton Davies and prop Nick Eaves on for Stuart Williams, the forward battle was relentless and being fought out to a draw. Neither pack could gain a clear advantage over the other, but Keys always looked dangerous. They should have got a try on the left at the Pwllgwaun end, but the Ponty defence just forced their winger into touch right on the corner flag. A collective sigh of relief went up from the crowd as the touch judge raised his flag for a Ponty lineout.

At this stage in the game Pontypridd looked ragged again, and failed to clear their lines time and time again as poorly directed kicks went straight to the opposition. The cry went up from the crowd to get the ball to Neil Burnett so that he could hoof us down the park, but it did not happen. However the home backs were looking better and better all the time, and Ponty eventually managed to spend enough time in the opposing half to allow Dai Flanagan to kick a penalty to take the score to 11-12.

Now it was Keys turn to look ragged as Pontypridd started to pressurize them into giving away a series of penalties that resulted in two yellow cards and another Dai Flanagan penalty kick at goal. It went over, and the home side were in the lead for the first time at 14-12. After this the result was rarely in doubt. Cross Keys could now make little impression on the game with thirteen men against fifteen, and most of the play was in the visitors’ half.

Eventually frustration boiled over into a big punch-up on the half way line in front of the stand. Four or five players from each side were involved, and the result was another yellow for Cross Keys and a red card for home prop Nick Eaves. And so the game moved to a conclusion with twelve men against fourteen. Another Dai Flanagan penalty gave Pontypridd a 17-12 lead, and it was difficult to see a way back for Cross Keys.

In the final minutes a high kick and good chase by Dan Hitchings ended with the Ponty wing collaring the Keys catcher, and desperate defence by the visitors failed to keep Neil Burnett out as the replacement centre went over way out on the right. The difficult conversion just faded left of the posts, and shortly afterwards the whistle went with Pontypridd the winners by 22-12. The home crowd therefore went home happy, apart from the few who were being treated for minor heart attacks and the two who had shot themselves at half-time muttering “not again”!

After the Llandovery game, where Pontypridd battled back from a 19-3 deficit at half time, the general feeling was that we had got out of jail yet again and were just a trifle lucky to have come away with the win. However, Pontypridd were on top for long periods in the second half, and it was the visitors’ own indiscipline that made the difference in the end.

The disruptions in the back row obviously created problems for Pontypridd, and the makeshift flankers Dale McIntosh and Tom Games did well. The latter, playing his first full game for Ponty and normally a No. 6 or No. 8, warmed to his unfamiliar role, and did some very good work in the second half. It was also pleasing to see winger Dan Hitchings having his best game for Pontypridd for some time. Wayne Evans also showed his qualities, and today the Blues’ loss was certainly our gain.

Pontypridd	22 - 12 (3 - 12)	Cross Keys
Tries: Price, Burnett		Tries: Chapman, Williams
Pens: Flanagan 4
		Cons: Thomas

Welsh Premiership table

13 January 2007   Team P W D L F A PTS 1 Ebbw Vale 18 12 2 4 381 327 38 2 Pontypridd 18 12 0 6 370 351 36 3 Newport 17 11 2 4 435 282 35 4 Neath 18 10 2 6 463 342 32 5 Llanelli 17 10 1 6 421 310 31 6 Cardiff 18 9 1 8 432 373 28 7 Bridgend 18 9 0 9 348 344 27 8 Aberavon 15 8 1 6 348 326 25 9 Glamorgan Wanderers 18 6 1 11 358 458 19 10 Swansea 18 6 0 12 286 439 18 11 Maesteg 16 6 0 10 318 354 18 12 Bedwas 17 6 0 11 247 342 18 13 Cross Keys 15 5 2 8 277 297 17 14 Llandovery 17 4 0 13 319 458 12