NOT intent on going quietly, Pontypool secured their second Premiership win in five days to heap the pressure on their relegation rivals.

Head coach Gareth Lintern was full of praise for his players after Saturday's 47-26 win: “Cross Keys struggled to cope with us in all areas – there was no weakness in our whole team, everybody played their part.

“There was strength on the wing, in midfield and in the pack. We can play some really useful stuff when it is a level playing field.”

Cross Keys forwards coach Greg Woods admitted: “Full credit to Pontypool, they seemed to want it more and I can't remember the last time that was the case with a Cross Keys side.”

Pooler's back row of Lewis Evans, Adam Brake and in particular Cae Trayhern was immense. They were dominant at the breakdown, carried hard and were in the faces of the visitors from the off.

Fly half Sam Mills brought his backs alive with excellent distribution and Dan Gravell was a threat throughout.

Meanwhile Keys were second best in all facets of the game.

When talisman hooker Lloyd Burns was forced from the field through injury on 10 minutes they lost their main ball carrier. And their lineout then became a mess despite the manful efforts of prop Dan Preece in an unaccustomed position.

The hosts, meanwhile, were quickly into their stride and had a commanding 23-6 lead at the break after crossing for three tries. Scrum half Matthew Thomas was first over on seven minutes, before Gravell barged his way over in the corner.

A third try saw terrific bursts by Gravell and Rhys Bowen set up prop Nicky Blake who produced a lovely assist for Trayhern. Pontypool headed down the tunnel with a spring in their steps after playing some delightful rugby while Keys could only muster a pair of Steve Woodward penalties.

There was more of the same in the second half and Pooler's bonus point was in the bag on 48 minutes when Geraint O'Driscoll, who had booted eight points in the first half, finished a move started by another powerful Evans charge.

Pooler showed no mercy and centre Dan Robinson went over for a fifth score on 64 minutes, Mills and midfield partner Phil Price giving him a simple run in from 10 yards.

Keys did breach the Pooler defence on 74 minutes through wing Nathan Trowbridge after good work by centre Carl Pocock but their afternoon was summed up by the restart. Trayhern snaffled possession and put Gravell over to make the score 47-14.

The scoreboard at the death only flattered Keys thanks to injury time tries by James Leadbeater and Gareth Maule.

Next up for Pooler is a short hop to Ebbw Vale this Saturday.