Bedwas 15-37 Pontypridd
Saturday October 28, Bridge Field
Just as one swallow does not make a summer one bad game does not make a bad team. After a three-week break Bedwas returned to the Premiership East with a bump as they failed to find the fluency and rhythm which had taken them to the top of the division.
The home side started brightly as Pontypridd failed to retai possession from the kick-off, and the resulting pressure yielded a penalty for Bedwas. Steffan Jones struck it cleanly to put his side three points ahead.
The joy was short-lived as the visitors regained possession and territory to gain a penalty under the posts which Diggy Bird successfully slotted.
With the Bedwas set-piece not functioning, Pontypridd took a scrum against the head and quick hands saw full-back Lloyd Rowlands cross under the posts. Bird added the conversion and Ponty led 10-3.
Bedwas’ attempts to fight back were constantly thwarted by errors. Dropped passes and missed tackles confounded supporters and coaches. A counter attack from deep by Aaron Bramwell should have produced a try but Matthew John was unable to gather the potentially try scoring pass. At the other end Ponty were equally guilty of dropping the ball and the first half ended without further score.
Playing into the increasingly strengthening wind in the second half, Bedwas knew that to salvage anything from the game they needed to be the first scorers. That was not to be the case as Pontypridd outside-half Bird notched an early penalty.
The lead was extended when Alex Webber made a break through the midfield to set up the supporting Lloyd Rowlands for his second try of the day; Bird once again converting.
Bedwas responded with a well-worked try close to the posts from centre Ross Wardle, but despite Jones’ conversion, another mishap from the restart allowed Ponty to hit back from the kicking tee.
Bedwas made a raft of replacements to try and salvage something from the game and had some possession and territory but gained no rewards for their industry.
Pontypridd steamed back through their centre combination as Aled Summerhill exposed weak home defence to set up his partner Dafydd Lockyer to storm through. Back-rower Rhys Shellard then made an easy break, and the supporting Webber had the simplest of tasks to dot the ball down for the bonus-point clinching try, and replacement outside-half Ceri Sweeney successfully added the conversion.
Bedwas fought to get something from the game and, with the visitors reduced to 14 men, took the opportunity to reduce the deficit when prop Chris Budgen barged through for a try.
• Match report and photography by Ian Lovell of Bedwas RFC.