CHEPSTOW 17 – 11 PONTLLANFRAITHPont eased off the zero point mark on Saturday by finishing within seven points of fellow basement dwellers Chepstow and in the process, earning themselves a much deserved bonus point. With most games called off due to the freezing weather, there was much speculation and some anticipation that the away fixture to Chepstow may also be postponed. However, the call came through on Saturday morning confirming the pitch was playable. So the boys in blue made their way down the M4.
Dan Welsh was joined up front with promising youngster Rhys Morris and journeyman Don Hale. The talented Justin Preece partnered Captain Steve Reynolds in the second row. The Jones, Williams, Welsh trio made up an exciting backrow combination. Nuggety scrum half Aaron Farmer and ex-Welsh youth player coach Wayne Grimstead filled the half back positions while Gavin Lynch and Pete Thomas played at inside and outside centre respectively. Aaron Romanic and Ryan Peplar took place on the wings with kicking maestro Chris Miles once again slotting in at full back.
As the match kicked off, the boys looked like they were still on the Magor services roundabout as Chepstow put on early pressure. A nifty lineout move later, coupled with some poor tackling allowed Chepstow to go over for a try after a few minutes of play. Pont struggled to contain Chepstow’s big number eight early on as he ran through defenders at will. This resulted in Chepstow going over for their second with only ten minutes on the clock. The second quarter saw the Pont boys start to get a bit of parity in their game as they put together a number of good phases of play. It was good to see the likes of Captain Steve Reynolds and powerhouse Vincent Welsh get the ball in hand and bounce off a few defenders. The pressure told late on in the first half when Nantyglo flanker Chris Williams came on as a replacement and scored a cracking try for Pontllanfraith with the vocal Pont supporters cheering him in. Chris Miles just missed the conversion and Pont went into the break 10-8 behind.
The second half saw Pont attack straight from the kick off and looked to be in control. They got a valuable penalty kick ten minutes in which Miles duly converted. Now 10-11 in the lead Pont were in unchartered territory. They got back into Chepstow’s 22 but gave away a dubious penalty that allowed the home side to attack. A lucky bounce later and Chepstow were back in the lead 17-11.
Try as they did, Pont couldn’t break down the Chepstow defence to get that first league win but all the signs point to the club having much better 2009 than they did 2008.
