Carmarthen Quins 13 : 16 Pontypridd – MATCH REPORT
Sat 1st December 2018, 14:30, Carmarthen Park, Principality Premiership
Lewis Williams’ penalty goal 10 minutes from time was just enough to give Pontypridd a priceless 16-13 victory over a spirited Carmarthen Quins side.
It didn’t take RFU referee Charlie Gayther long to make his first impact on proceedings, giving the first penalty of the game to the home side inside two minutes. But, former Scarlet Aled Thomas saw his kick just drift wide, although the Quins fullback did make up for the miss moments later to give his side an early 3-0 lead.
Pontypridd quickly found themselves under the pump soon after Thomas’ kick and escaped potentially sticky situation metres from their own line. A grubber kick through from Quins fly-half Jac Wilson was superbly scooped up by Jamie Hill who offloaded to Alex Webber to boot the ball Upfield and save Pontypridd from further trouble.
Defence was soon turned into to attack as Pontypridd scored the first try of the game. Hooker Rob Jones found Sean Moore from the lineout, 15-metres from the Quins try-line, and the ball was recycled to winger Corey Howells who burst through the defence to put
Pontypridd into the lead. Williams kicked the extras and the Valley Commandos were back in business, or so they thought.
Soon after Thomas missed his second kick of the day, the Quins found themselves back in-front with a try of their own. A loose kick from Pontypridd fly-half Lewis Williams was claimed and after phases of play the ball was thrown out wide to centre Osion Knott who beat
Williams and Stuckey to score under the posts. An easy conversion was followed by an even easier penalty goal from Aled Thomas to give the Quins a 13-7 advantage
at half-time.
Unfortunately for the home supporters, Thomas’ kick was the final points they would see from their side as Pontypridd dominated the second half. A string of penalties conceded by the Quins culminated in a yellow card for prop Javan Sebastian after Lewis Williams tied the game at 13-13 with two exceptional penalty kicks.
The defence of the home side kept Pontypridd at bay though with the Quins not conceding a point during Sebastian’s absence. But, 10 minutes from the end of the game the brave resistance of the Carmarthen Quins was broken. After Lewis Williams missed his second kick of the game, the Pontypridd fly-half was given a reprieve by the referee and calmly slotted over 45-metre kick to give Pontypridd a definitive 16-13 lead.
At the final whistle, the sense of relief in the air was clear for everyone to see. Pontypridd move to within inches of Merthyr after the league leaders home defeat to Newport and will be looking to make further strides against Bargoed next week.
15. Dale Stuckey, 14. Alex Webber, 13. Alex Knott, 12. Daf Lockyer, 11. Corey Howells, 10. Lewis Williams, 9. Jamie Hill (Joel Raikes), 8. Sean Moore, 7. Rhys Shellard, 6. Lloyd Evans (Rhodri Jones), 5. Chris Dicomidis, 4. Shay Smallman, 3. Will Davies King (Gareth Smith), 2. Robert Oliver Jones (Joe Page), 1. Corey Domachowski (Ian George).
Tries: Howells (25”)
Cons: Williams (26”)
Pens: Williams (43”, 45”, 70”)
Man of the Match: Corey Domachowski
By Nathan Parker – Pontypridd Media Team
