Under 11's V Pontarddulais 7/03/10

7th March 2010

Pontardullais 28 - South Gower 14

Tries: Tom Mogridge, Callum Carson.


Conversions: Kieran Charles (2)

A beautiful morning at Pontarddulais saw us turn up with 16 players. 10 of them being forwards, so again it was a full change of forwards at half time.
We started very well and put some good pressure on Pontarddulais with Paul Jones leading the pack onwards.
The 1st try of the game though came from Tom Mogridge. After several phases we got to the half way line and as Moggy was about to pass out, he realised Pontarddulais had more backs than ours and went blind. He raced clear only to be caught up but then stepped his way past 3 more tackles to score in the corner. Kieran converted.
Pontarddulais replied and put us under good pressure but we soaked it up and defended well. Some good work from our forwards in support got us going and Moggy powered his way up the field to within 10 metres of the opposition line. Paul Jones supported him and released to Callum Carson whio burst through tackles to score our 2nd try. Kieran converted.
Again Pontarddulais cam back at us and this time their pressure was too much. Moggy made a great tackle in the corner and we were there in numbers but we just stared at the ball. Doing this allowed their player to pick up and drive over the line.

Half time:

Pontarddulais 7 - South Gower 14

A complete change of our pack and both wings disrupted our momentum but all credit to Pontarddulais they put us under pressure. Poor rucking and poor tackling gifted the opposition their 2nd try of the game.
It seemed today that every time there was a ruck and we lost it they had massive overlaps in their backline which they used perfectly and scored another try. We then upped our game and put pressure on Pontarddulais but when we had a try disallowed for a knock on it took the wind out of our sails a bit. Pontarddulais finished with a breakaway try for their winger to finish the game. If it hadn't of been for Tom Mogridge and Kieran Charles' tackles on their winger today, the score could have been even more.

Final Score:

Pontarddulais 28 - South Gower 14

A game that was there for the taking. Don't get me wrong, Pontarddulais were good today and put us under lots of pressure especially in the forwards. I feel, we lost momentum at half time with all the changes and didn't compete as well as we can at the breakdown. On the upside, some of our play was good but we need to really take our chances when we get given them. Thanks to Pontarddulais who played very well and for providing a lovely atmosphere to play in which is all too rare these days.

Players to Mention:

Paul Jones: Seems to be getting mentioned every week. Another powerful performance, Paul is improving all the time.

Tom Mogridge: Excellent all round game from Moggy today. His running was superb and his tackling was even better. Needs to pass more sometimes from the ruck and get his head up first to see how the game is laid out. However, Tom had a cracker.

Ieaun Hulme: I thought Ieaun performed very well today. He did what was asked of him, he made his tackles and ran and passed well.

Sam Jones: Best game i have seen from Sam in the forwards. Got to every ruck and maul and came out a few times with it.

We have Mumbles at home Sunday. I would like to see everyone training Wednesday as we may play 15 aside.