Pontypridd 47 vs Bonymaen 7

Pontypridd continued their unbeaten run in all competitions this season with a bonus point win over Bonymaen at Sardis Road.

Ponty’s tries came via a hattrick of touchdowns from wing Joe Davies along with scores from Kristian Parker, Louis Rochefort-Shugar, Cai James and Dale Stuckey, whilst scrum half Gareth Andrews was the sole try scorer for the visitors.

Ponty showed some attacking intent after a good defensive set very early into the contest when Joe Davies broke down the wing, but he couldn’t regather his chasing kick.

The visitors had a chance inside the Ponty 22 after a high tackle from second row Kristian Parker, but they were penalised for an obstruction call by referee Lucas Yendle.

With the hosts having a spell of possession inside the Bonymaen half, a neat pass from prop Kian Mattravers gave space for hooker Jeff Young who broke through, but the following pass from Lucus Welch didn’t bounce kindly for number 8 Joe Miles who knocked on.

In the 23^rd minute fly-half Jacob Symes lined up a first shot at goal after Ponty were awarded a penalty from a scrum, but his effort went wide of the posts.

From the restart, a strong carry from centre Ioan Evans provided the platform for the hosts, a looping pass from Symes beat two Bonymaen defenders and wing Joe Davies crossed for his first score of the afternoon.

A few minutes later a lovely looping play from scrum half Lucus Welch, who linked up with replacement Garyn Daniel, saw an attacking move created with forwards and backs combining with some neat handling but play was stopped short of the line.

However, wing Davies burrowed over from short range on the next phase, picking up his second try of the afternoon. Symes’ second superb touchline conversion gave the Valley Commandos a 14-0 lead after half an hour.

Moments before halftime, Kristian Parker crossed from short-range for Ponty’s third try before a non-straight lineout from Bonymaen was the half’s final act with the hosts leading 21-0.

HALF TIME – Pontypridd 21-0 Bonymaen

Ponty started the second half like they ended the first and they wrapped up the four-try bonus point when Louis Rochefort-Shugar stepped the final defender after an excellent cross-field kick from centre Ioan Evans.

Bonymaen showed lots of spirit and opted to run the ball from deep inside their 22 with a break and offload from blindside Brandon Owens, wing Nathan Brooks was in support, but his run was stopped short by a Joe Davies tackle a couple of meters from the tryline.

The hosts added a fifth try through replacement Cai James who broke through the defence and scored from short range, with Jayden Pugh, who came on at half-time, adding the conversion for a 33-0 lead after 55 minutes.

A deliberate knock on from Bonymaen outside centre Steffan Price-Griffiths saw referee Lucas Yendle award a yellow card, and Ponty capitalised with the man advantage when fullback Dale Stuckey crossed from short range for a sixth try for the hosts. Pugh kicked his second conversion for 40-0.

There was a scuffle following the restart which saw referee Yendle hand out a yellow card to Ponty second row Mitch Barnard and visiting hooker Garin Williams.

Bonymaen kept plugging away and they had something to celebrate when Gareth Andrews sniped over from close range in the 73^rd minute. His score was converted by replacement Alan Turner.

The match entered its final stages but there was still time for Joe Davies to seal his hattrick with the game’s final score, he was put away following some nice hands from centres Ioan Evans and Stuart Floyd-Ellis as Ponty claimed a 47-7 win.

The Valley Commandos head to The Wern next weekend to face Merthyr on November 9^th before hosting Brecon at Sardis Road the following week on November 16^th.

FULL TIME – Pontypridd 47-7 Bonymaen (2/11/2024)

Match report – Iestyn Thomas

PONTYPRIDD –

15. Dale Stuckey. 14. Joe Davies. 13. Stuart Floyd-Ellis. 12. Ioan Evans. 11. Louis Rochefort-Shugar. 10. Jacob Symes (Jaydan Pugh). 9. Lucus Welch (Morgan Edwards).

1. Morgan Bosanko. 2. Jeff Young (Rob Jones). 3. Kian Mattravers (Garyn Daniel, Daniel later replaced by Dan Cotterell). 4. Mitch Barnard. 5. Kristian Parker. 6. Lloyd Riley (Cai James). 7. Cally James (c). 8. Joe Miles (Ellis Evans).

Subs: 16. Rob Jones. 17. Dan Cotterell. 18. Garyn Daniel. 19. Ellis Evans. 20. Cai James. 21. Morgan Edwards. 22. Jaydan Pugh. 23. Garyn Smith.

Tries: Joe Davies x 3, Kristian Parker, Louis Rochefort-Shugar, Cai James, Dale Stuckey

Conversions: Jacob Symes x 3, Jaydan Pugh x 3

Yellow Card: Mitch Barnard

BONYMAEN –

15. Lawrence Thomas. 14. Nathan Brooks. 13. Steffan Price-Griffiths. 12. Ben Davies. 11. Luke Darnell. 10. Cameron Setter. 9. Gareth Andrews.

1. Zac Pearce. 2. Garin Williams. 3. Lewis Sullivan. 4. Olly Davies. 5. Joe Yeates. 6. Brandon Owens. 7. Andrew Pritchard (c). 8. Rhys Leonard.

Subs: 16. Alan Turner. 17. Scott Clancy. 18. Sam Kiley. 19. Nick Clancy. 20. Alex Jones. 21. Trystan Heardman. 22. Lewys Bullock. 23. Ricky James.

Try: Gareth Andrews

Conversion: Alan Turner

Yellow Cards: Steffan Price-Griffiths, Garin Williams

Referee: Lucas Yendle

Assistant Referee/Third Official: Neil Perkins

Golden Bob Man of the Match: Jeff Young