Review of the 2019-20 season
A new format for a newly sponsored league awaited Pontypridd, who were to compete in the twelve club Indigo Premiership, with direct relegation to the Championship for the first time.
The culling of four clubs as sixteen went down to twelve entailed that the remaining Premiership clubs bolstered their squads in preparation for the season to come with the prospect of a far more competitive division.
Summer recruits to the Ponty squad included back rowers Kristian Parker and Sion Parry from Ebbw Vale and Bedwas respectively, hooker Nathan Huish from Bedlinog, centre Corey Sheppard from Ystrad Rhondda and scrum half Tom Rowlands from Bedwas.
Following a low key pre-season with a defeat against Newport and wins over Clifton and Bargoed, all at home, Ponty went into the league campaign at the deep end, away to a strongly recruited Cardiff. The match gave an indication of things to come, close fought with a score at the death sealing a 24pts to 23 win for the capital team.
The next weekend brought Ponty’s cup aspirations to a shuddering halt, going down to a 39pts to 19 defeat away to Merthyr.
Left to concentrate on the league, Ponty began a roller coaster ride of mixed form and results, many of them going down to the wire. These were typified by two encounters going from October into November, Ponty snatching a last gasp win away to strugglers Bridgend then yielding the initiative to lose narrowly at home to title contenders Aberavon.
Difficult as it was to put any shape to such a topsy-turvey campaign, Ponty were mostly winning at home and losing away, playing very well at times but frustrating their supporters and the pundits with their poor form at others. Two highlights, and surely the top two performances of the season, were home wins against reigning champions Merthyr by 31pts to 7 and against runaway league leaders Cardiff by 26pts to 25 at Sardis Road before the end of the year.
Going into 2020 it became obvious that Ponty would not challenge for honours, but increasingly obvious that the Premiership campaign would struggle to be completed in any case. A spell of bad weather, typified by the extreme flooding of Storms Ciara and Dennis saw games postponed, then came another storm from the east, the spread of a deadly virus which turned into a pandemic and a global crisis.
By mid March the WRU, like every other sporting body world-wide, had to concede that its competitions could not be fulfilled. The Premiership was abandoned, null and void, with Ponty in fifth position, although having played more games than many other teams, with a record of ten wins and eight defeats.
So ended the season that in effect never was, and not the most memorable for Pontypridd RFC. The campaign had been blighted by long term injuries to influential players such as Alex Knott, Chris Dicomidis and Rhys Shellard but had seen others making significant contributions. Lock Kristian Parker in his first season with the club was a stand-out performer and made the most starts. Flanker Morgan Sieniawski was again on top form, earning a call up to the Wales Sevens squad. Props Huw Owen and Morgan Bosanko were the models of consistency. Centre Mason Grady was drafted in from the Blues Academy at only seventeen years of age and made his mark. Top try scorer was winger Dale Stuckey, closely followed by Alex Webber, a potent attacking pair.
The writing off of the 2019 – 20 campaign might have left Cardiff ruing a lost title and Bridgend maybe relieved to avoid relegation but in truth might have just suited Pontypridd, in the hope of better times ahead, always living to fight another day.
*All the 2019-20 season statistics to follow…
