Pontypridd 19-33 Merthyr – Match Report
Pontypridd fell to a 33-19 defeat to Merthyr in the Valleys Derby at Sardis Road, with a first half brace of tries for wing Finley Baker proving vital.
Despite a first half score from Dale Stuckey and a second half score from Oli Shepherd alongside a penalty try, the visitors were in control for the majority of the game as they narrowed the gap at the top of the Welsh Premiership table to one point.
Merthyr opened the scoring after five minutes through an early penalty from Ben Jones after Ponty tighthead prop Morgan Bosanko was penalised for not rolling away.
Both teams were looking to find territory through their kicking game with an exit kick from the visitors giving Ponty a chance inside the Merthyr half.
But a poor pass and Ponty being caught offside from a knock on gave the away side a chance following a good kick and some sustained pressure inside the hosts’ 22 with consistent carrying, before scrum half James Soanes crossed over for the first try of the match. Ben Jones converted to extend the lead to 10-0 in as many minutes.
Next, a box-kick bounced kindly to openside flanker Lennon Greggains and he broke down the wing only to be stopped by an excellent tackle from fullback Oli Shepherd.
Despite clearing their lines from a lineout, Merthyr had an opportunity in the 22 but a turnover and a quickly taken penalty from Dale Stuckey turned defence into attack.
A first venture into The Ironmen’s 22 eventually yielded points for the hosts. Firstly several forward carries edged Ponty closer to the tryline but they couldn’t quite get over. After two penalties conceded by the away side, the ball was spun out wide to wing Dale Stuckey who held off the defender to score.
A scuffle broke out between the two teams following the try, and referee Andrew Moule reached into his pocket to award a yellow card to Joel Raikes and Merthyr’s Greggains.
Ponty opted to make a change to bring on scrum half Lucus Welch for wing Stuart Floyd-Ellis – Ponty being reduced to 14 men proved costly with Merthyr scoring two tries during the 10 minutes sin-binning period.
The first saw outside centre Cole Swannack breaking through in midfield following a step inside to beat a defender before linking up well with wing Finley Baker. Baker beat the final defender and scored in the corner and Ben Jones’ conversion made it 17-7.
In the build up to the second try fly-half Jones broke through following a Ponty kick, but he was stopped short of the tryline. But some smart play from Craig Locke to notice space on the blindside wing put Baker over for his second. The conversion was missed but Merthyr led 22-7 after 28 minutes.
Ironmen skipper Jones kicked a penalty in the half’s final act after Ponty were caught offside and the visitors led 25-7 at the interval with a lot of work needed to be done for the hosts in the second period.
HALF TIME – Pontypridd 7-25 Merthyr
The second half got underway and after a nice string of possession for Ponty, a penalty gave them a chance inside the 22 only for an overthrow at the lineout resulting in turnover ball. A second opportunity came a couple of minutes later only for a turnover in the tackle and an excellent chase from the visiting side forced a holding-on penalty.
Ben Jones went for the long-range penalty, but his well struck effort dropped short of the crossbar only for a knock on from his opposite man Pugh, with another penalty from the scrum the outside half added the routine penalty.
The Ponty supporters at Sardis did have some hope after 65 minutes following a well worked score for fullback Oli Shepherd – Garyn Smith’s neat inside pass put Stuart Floyd-Ellis into space and he fended off a Merthyr defender to offload inside to Shepherd for the try.
The visitors wrapped up the bonus point try in the final quarter using the rolling maul to good effect and hooker Ellis Shipp peeled away from the maul to seal the victory.
Ponty were then awarded a penalty-try in the final 10 minutes of the match. After a dominant scrum five meters out was getting close to the tryline only for an infringement to stop the momentum short. Referee Moule ran under the posts and awarded a yellow card to replacement Merthyr prop Callum Lewis.
Despite looking for a try which would have earned them two bonus points, Ponty weren’t able to find their way over the line as mistakes kept creeping in to the home side’s play.
Pontypridd will now head to Brecon in their next Welsh Premiership match on the 29th of March, before heading to the Principality Stadium to face Cross Keys in the final of the Welsh Premiership Cup on Saturday 5th April.
FULL TIME – Pontypridd 19-33 Merthyr (22/3/2025)
Match report – Iestyn Thomas
PONTYPRIDD –
15. Oli Shepherd (Louis Rochefort-Shugar). 14. Stuart Floyd-Ellis. 13. Garyn Smith. 12. Ioan Evans. 11. Dale Stuckey. 10. Jaydan Pugh. 9. Joel Raikes (Lucus Welch).
1. Ben Stephens (Ben Drew). 2. Rob Jones (Jeff Young). 3. Morgan Bosanko (Garyn Daniel). 4. Mitch Barnard. 5. Kristian Parker. 6. Lloyd Riley (Will Jameson). 7. Cally James (c). 8. Joe Miles.
Subs: 16. Jeff Young. 17. Ben Drew. 18. Garyn Daniel. 19. Will Jameson. 20. Rhys Emmott. 21. Lucus Welch. 22. Aled Evans. 23. Louis Rochefort-Shugar.
Tries: Dale Stuckey, Oli Shepherd, Penalty-try
Conversions: Jaydan Pugh
Yellow Card: Joel Raikes
MERTHYR –
15. Jack Kathrens. 14. Finley Baker. 13. Cole Swannack. 12. Tom Hughes. 11. Adam Hoskins. 10. Ben Jones (c). 9. James Soanes.
1. Travis Hawkins. 2. Ellis Shipp. 3. Rhys Lewis. 4. Craig Locke. 5. Aled Evans. 6. Daniel Phillips. 7. Lennon Greggains. 8. Sam Cross.
Subs: 16. Ryan Hughes. 17. Callum Lewis. 18. Callum Dawe. 19. Paddy McBride. 20. Kian Evans. 21. Dafydd Land. 22. Rhys Davies. 23. Dafydd Thomas.
Tries: James Soanes, Finley Baker x 2, Ellis Shipp
Conversions: Ben Jones x 2
Penalties: Ben Jones x 3
Yellow Cards: Lennon Greggains, Sam Cross, Callum Lewis
Referee: Andrew Moule
Assistant Referee/Third Official: Mike Sheehan
Golden Bob Man of the Match: Oli Shepherd
