Valleys Derbies At Sardis Road – A Rivalry For The Ages
As Pontypridd RFC prepare to welcome neighbours Merthyr RFC to Sardis Road this Saturday 22nd March, we thought we’d have a look at all the competitive matches that have taken place at The House Of Pain between the two rival clubs since the Covid-pandemic.
If history is anything to go by then there won’t be much between the two teams come 4:15pm this Saturday – don’t take our word for it, let’s have a look at all five Valleys Derby battles since October 2021…
Saturday 2nd October 2021: Pontypridd 21-14 Merthyr –
This was Ponty’s second competitive match at home since the Covid shutdown. A brace of tries from Dale Stuckey contributed to the win that afternoon in the Premiership Cup. To give a flavour of these battles, an excerpt taken from the end of the Match Report that day said:
“Phase after phase from Merthyr is matched by tackle after tackle from Ponty. In the 85th minute there is an overlap on the left-hand side attacking the clubhouse and that man Norton looks for all money like he’s going to score but superb commitment from Ponty and he is tackled into touch. But just when you thought it was all over the referee brings Merthyr back for a penalty on the Ponty try line. Merthyr again kick to touch and from the lineout rolling maul, Evan Lloyd is adjudged to have infringed and shown a yellow card. The 14 men of Ponty wouldn’t be denied and after a backs-against-the wall end to the match we win the penalty, which we kick out to signal the end of a bruising valleys derby.”
Saturday 5th March 2022: Pontypridd 19-17 Merthyr –
“Pontypridd sealed a dramatic 19-17 victory over Merthyr with a last gasp try and conversion at Sardis Road.” – That man Dale Stuckey once again did the business for Ponty. He converted a Cole Swannack try in the dying seconds of the match to give the home side a huge Premiership derby win that particular afternoon.
Saturday 12th November 2022: Pontypridd 18-24 Merthyr –
It may have been eight months later, but this time it was The Ironmen’s turn to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and exact their revenge after what happened in this fixture the previous season. Joseph Scrivens kicked an 80th minute penalty to put Pontypridd 18-17 up, just before the carnage unfolded. Ponty found themselves down to 13 men deep, deep into injury-time but thought they had managed to hold out until Sam Jones scored with the last play to win it for Merthyr.
Saturday 23rd September 2023: Pontypridd 27-30 Merthyr –
This encounter was Ponty’s third home match of the season, but this time in the Welsh Cup, and it was nip and tuck all the way through. Pontypridd were leading towards the end before going down to 14 men, and like in the previous encounter between the two rivals at Sardis the numerical disadvantage cost them when ex-Valley Commando Lloyd Rowlands scored to give The Ironmen the lead. The home side rallied at the end of the tie, but Merthyr held out for the win.
Thursday 14th March 2024: Pontypridd 25-22 Merthyr –
This was the last Valleys Derby played at Sardis Road, nearly exactly a year ago and it was Pontypridd who earned the bragging rights in extremely wet conditions. Despite the awful weather it was an entertaining contest, one which Ponty fell behind in 17 points to 12 after 44 minutes. However, the home side rallied and regained the lead before a late Merthyr try tied the scores at 22-all. Then in the 77th minute Ben Burnell held his nerve to kick a penalty-goal to seal the win.
These matches mean so much to everyone involved with both clubs, and the size of the crowd at Sardis for this fixture always exhibits this. The hard stats again only confirm the close-fought nature of these games, and focussing on the five encounters in this piece post-Covid illustrates it. Pontypridd have edged the combined overall score by just three points – 110 points to 107. But it’s Merthyr who have scored more tries overall, 14 compared to 9 for Ponty.
Arguably the most telling stat is the winning margin in Valleys Derbies at Sardis Road – the biggest win being just seven points out of the five matches. So with all this in mind, why would you want to be anywhere else other than Sardis Road this Saturday?!
SATURDAY 22nd MARCH AT SARDIS ROAD: Pontypridd v Merthyr, kick-off 2:30pm
