LLANELLI 24 PONTYPOOL 7

PONTYPOOL director of rugby James Chapron admitted his side simply “weren’t at the races” after they were very much second best to Llanelli on Saturday.

This game was the only Premieship encounter to escape the big freeze thanks to the milder weather in the west and Parc y Scarlets’ under-soil heating.

But the heavy rain which lashed down made for terrible conditions and wrote off any hope that this game would be in the class of the two epic encounters between the pair last season.

Pooler won their match 46-40 at home last year while Llanelli triumphed 47-45 at Parc y Scarlets.

In comparison this weekend’s clash was a damp squib in terms of the entertainment stakes.

But Llanelli won’t be complaining. They dominated the first half to effectively win the game in the first 40 minutes, leading 17-0 at the interval.

Chapron’s candid assessment of the match was spot on.

“I thought we didn’t turn up,” he said after the game. “To be fair to Llanelli, they were far more accurate and more clinical.

“They kept the ball when they needed to and took their chances. It wasn’t a pretty game. We made too many errors, particularly in the first half.”

He added: “We got bullied up front but sorted that out a bit in the second half. I think we went through one set of phases and scored and that was all we did all day. It was never going to be a spectacle (because of the weather).

“We just didn’t get a platform well enough to play. We just weren’t at the races. The boys work hard for each other but there are times when we’re not clinical enough and today was one of those days.”

Pooler’s back row toiled hard all day as Chapron pointed out.

“I thought our back row of Craig Attwell, Rhys Bowen and James Thomas were good,” he said.

“And Ryan Owen stood out in the back play in terms of his broken field play, his work rate.”

Llanelli opened the scoring after 18 minutes when lock Joel Galley steadied their ship, crashing over for a try which was converted by full back Diggy Bird.

They were further ahead just over ten minutes later when Bird slotted a penalty before their scrum-half Joe Heatley scored on his Llanelli debut.

He took a quick tap penalty just a few metres from the Pooler line to dart over for another converted try.

The closest the visitors came to scoring in the opening half was when outside-half Tom Hancock narrowly missed with a penalty attempt.

Pooler came out more fired up for the second half but failed to construct much of any note apart from Geraint O’Driscoll, who had switched from full back to stand off for the replaced Hancock, hitting the upright with a penalty early on.

Llanelli came close to scoring a couple of times but Pontypool just managed to keep them out.

There was no score in the second half until the 70th minute when the hard working Attwell barged over for a Pooler try from close range, O’Driscoll kicking the conversion to bring it back to 17-7.

There was a glimmer of a hope that the visitors could grab a bonus point at least.

But that optimism was crushed when Llanelli wing Justin James’ breakaway try sealed the game, Bird’s fine conversion rounding off the scoring.

This was a satisfying win for the league champions but a very disappointing day for Pooler who have now lost four games in a row.

There’s a chance to rediscover their mojo when Aberavon visit Pontypool Park this Saturday.

Llanelli: D Bird, B Davies (R Bayliss 40), N Reynolds, J Lewis (D Eager 77), J James, O Williams (D Morgan 68), J Heatley (G Drewson 40), R Thomas, T Wilson (T Ball 52), A Hopkins (S Gardiner 55), A Powell (capt), J Galley (N White 47), E Price, C Price, A Powell.

Scorers: Tries – Joel Galley, Joe Heatley, Justin James, Convesions – Diggy Bird (3), Penalty – D Bird.

Pontypool: G O’Driscoll, G Williams, D Robinson (A Davies 64), J Dixon, R Owen, T Hancock (R Budina 40), C Morgan (M Thomas 40), D Barlow (J Jeune 40), R Prosser (H Gustafson 55), N Blake, R Jones, D Critchley, R Bowen (T Organ 52), C Attwell (capt) (M Barber 76), J Thomas.

Scorers: Try – Craig Attwell, Conversion – Geraint O’Driscoll

Referee: Gareth Butler (WRU).

Argus star man: Craig Attwell