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Pontypridd 36 Llandovery 21 Principality Premiership 10:52am Thursday 3rd September 2009 Pontypridd have not lost a Premiership match at Sardis Road since November 2007 and never looked like surrendering that record to the disappointing Drovers, writes Huw S Thomas. Llandovery started with five new signings and used two more as replacements but apart from a promising beginning, they played second fiddle to a more composed and well-organised Pontypridd. Llandovery were not good enough up front and were powerless to stop the Ponty forwards mauling their way over from short-range line-outs on three occasions. Coach Rob Appleyard has much work to do to get the Llandovery forwards more disciplined and forceful in the rucks and mauls. Protection of the ball carrier was poor while there was a marked inability to front up to the rugged competitiveness of the home eight. Appleyard bemoaned his sides inability to establish any parity in the battle of the loose. We looked threatening early on when we had a bit of ball but when Ponty took a grip up front, it was always going to be hard. The set pieces were fine but unless we can compete more out in the open spaces, we will suffer, he said. And suffer the Drovers did, losing no end of ball in the contact area. It had all started well for Llandovery with good lineout ball from lock Louie Tonkin and on-loan Scarlet No 8 Josh Turnbull giving the backs chances to probe. Centres Rhys Williams and Dan Rogers all but got clear but the Drovers took a 5-3 lead when wing Ifan Evans made good use of an overlap on the right before a failure to keep their discipline in their own 22 then started to cost the Drovers dearly. Penalties from fly-half Aaron Bramwell and a try from scrum-half Rhys Downes gave Ponty a 14-8 lead, fly-half Cerith Rees having kicked an angled penalty for the Drovers. Despite two more Rees penalties after the break, the home forwards took firm control and driven lineouts fashioned tries for lock Chris Dicomidis and replacements Rhys Lloyd and Kristan Baller. The little ball they had was poorly used by the Llandovery backs and it was only when little Lee Rees went on at scrum-half that the pace of the Llandovery game quickened. Tonkin ran well to make use of an overlap for a try, well converted by replacement Dan Etteridge, to make the scoreline suggest Llandovery had pushed Ponty hard but it was far from being the case.
2022-02-27
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