Bargoed 28-19 Pontypridd – Match Report
Pontypridd ended their Admiral Welsh Premiership campaign with a 28-19 defeat at Bargoed Park as the hosts sealed their place in the final of the Mid District Cup with a hard-fought win.
Despite tries from Iwan Griffith, Lucus Welch and Jeff Young, it wasn’t enough to beat a Bargoed side who scored three tries in eight first half minutes with a brace from scrum half James Leadbeater.
It was the dream start for Ponty when they opened the scoring in the first minute of the match. The opening kick-off was dropped by the hosts and a scrum provided the platform for a neat first phase move which resulted in Jaydan Pugh breaking through midfield. Pugh found fullback Dale Stuckey in support and his offload found the other supporting run of wing Iwan Griffith who beat the final defender to score his fourth Pontypridd try of the season. Ponty fly half Pugh was at the heart of the break and he kicked the conversion to give the visitors a 7-0 lead.
A second opportunity arrived for Ponty in the 12th minute after a lineout infringement of jumping across and disturbing the lineout take by the home side gave them a penalty. A good touch-finding kick from Jaydan Pugh gave the away side possession inside the hosts’ 22. After a penalty advantage from the rolling maul, Ponty decided to play and their patience was rewarded when scrum half Lucus Welch identified a gap in the defence to break clear and score from short range. Pugh added his second conversion of the contest to give his side a 14-0 lead.
The hosts responded in the 27th minute after a period of play which saw momentum and possession swing multiple times. Bargoed were then awarded a penalty after Ponty were penalised for holding on, they kicked to the corner and after a well worked maul number 8 Rheims Handford was at the back to score his team’s first points.
Bargoed replied with their second try three minutes later with a lovely score finished off by captain James Leadbeater after some neat build up play from second row James Locke and prop Keagan Bale. Fly-half Josh Prosser added his second conversion to level the scores in an entertaining opening half hour.
It got even better for the home crowd five minutes later when they saw their side score their third try in eight minutes after a break from fullback Dylan Williams. Williams fed the supporting Leadbeater for the second time as he picked up a first half brace.
A late chance for Ponty came in the half’s final play but a lineout error saw possession being turned over and Leadbeater kicked the ball out to mark halftime, with the hosts leading 21-14.
HALF TIME – Bargoed 21-14 Pontypridd
Bargoed started the second half in the same fashion they finished the first with a searing break from number 8 Handford in the first minutes of the second forty, only for his pass to evade the supporting Morgan Powell.
The hosts picked up their bonus point a few minutes later when fullback Williams was again involved in the build-up with an out the back offload to wing Powell who had an easy run in to the tryline. Prosser’s conversion extended the lead to 28-14.
But there was a response from the visitors midway through the second half after some sustained pressure through the rolling maul saw replacement hooker Jeff Young ground the ball to narrow the scores to nine points with the game ticking into the final quarter, the conversion from replacement Jacob Symes drifted wide.
Ponty were growing in confidence with an attack almost resulting in a try for wing Griffith after a break from number 8 Joe Miles, only for some excellent covering defence from the hosts pushing the wing into touch.
Some late pressure from the visitors wasn’t enough as Baroged claimed a deserved 28-19 victory with Ponty finishing second in the Welsh Premiership table.
Despite this fixture being the final regular game in the Admiral Welsh Premiership for this season, there is still one more match at Sardis Road where the Mid District Cup Final will take place on May 17th between Merthyr and Bargoed.
FULL TIME – Bargoed 28-19 Pontypridd (10/5/2025)
Match report – Iestyn Thomas
PONTYPRIDD –
15. Dale Stuckey (Rhodri Smith). 14. Iwan Griffith. 13. Stuart Floyd-Ellis. 12. Garyn Smith. 11. Louis Rochefort-Shugar. 10. Jaydan Pugh (Jacob Symes). 9. Lucus Welch (Joel Raikes).
1. Ben Stephens (Ben Drew). 2. Rob Jones (Jeff Young). 3. Morgan Bosanko (Dan Cotterell). 4. Mitch Barnard (Lloyd Riley). 5. Kristian Parker. 6. Will Jameson (Ethan Evans). 7. Cally James (c). 8. Joe Miles.
Subs: 16. Jeff Young. 17. Ben Drew. 18. Dan Cotterell. 19. Lloyd Riley. 20. Ethan Evans. 21. Joel Raikes. 22. Jacob Symes. 23. Rhodri Smith.
Tries: Iwan Griffith, Lucus Welch, Jeff Young
Conversions: Jaydan Pugh x 2
BARGOED –
15. Dylan Williams. 14. David Evans. 13. Rhys Thomas. 12. Matthew Lewis. 11. Morgan Powell. 10. Josh Prosser. 9. James Leadbeater.
1. Louis Jones. 2. Morgan Edwards. 3. Keagan Bale. 4. James Locke. 5. Cory Tucker. 6. Lewis Johnson. 7. Rhys Stephens. 8. Rheims Handford.
Subs: 16. Jason James. 17. Lewis Jones. 18. Josh Parry. 19. Luke Fleming-Jones. 20. Morgan Thomas. 21. Logan Franklyn. 22. Charlie Williams. 23. Will Gregory.
Tries: Rheims Handford, James Leadbeater x 2, David Evans
Conversions: Josh Prosser x 4
Referee: Amber Stamp
Assistant Referee/Third Official: Tony Davies
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