Pontypridd 17-38 Bedwas – Match Report
Pontypridd and Bedwas met for a mid-season friendly on Thursday evening 20th November in near sub-zero conditions at Sardis Road. It was the men from The Bridge Field who earned the win against a Ponty side who used the match to give game time to lots of members of the wider playing squad, whilst putting minutes into the tanks of some senior players returning from injury lay-offs.
Pontypridd kicked the match off attacking the Pwllgwaun End of the ground and after some good early intent from the home side it was Bedwas, who’s attack from their own 22, yielded the first try of the match. The breakout from defence and a missed tackle in the Ponty midfield nearly saw the away score there and then but a Charlie Hancock tackle deep in the home side’s 22 halted things, albeit temporarily. A few phases later and following a strong carry from Bedwas no.8 Lloyd Jones, his offload saw scrum-half Jak Robbins dive under the posts for the opening score which was converted by skipper James Dixon.
The match restarted and Bedwas applied more pressure but an overthrow from a lineout deep in Ponty territory gave the Valley Commandos a chance to attack from deep, and Rhod Smith chipped a kick into Jude Williams’ hands. Williams was arguably Ponty’s brightest spark on the night but his initial run was thwarted when his kick was charged down into touch.
The contest then turned into a bit of an arm wrestle played around halfway, this was before the away side bagged their second try of the match for hooker Arwel Hughes. Bedwas kicked through from their scrum and the ball bounced up and Jude Williams gathered, but it was then turned over. A cross-field kick nearly yielded a try for Bedwas winger Leo Geraci but he spilled it after Charlie Hancock couldn’t gather either. Referee Andrew Moule was playing a penalty advantage, which Bedwas kicked into the corner before scoring from the rolling maul. Extras missed, but it was a 12-0 lead for the visitors.
The match was now into the second quarter, and with Pontypridd again endeavouring to open their account for the evening it was Bedwas who extended their lead further through a near carbon copy of their previous try via a rolling maul. James Dixon added the conversion to extend the lead to 19 points.
25 minutes had now elapsed and another half-chance came and went for Ponty after some phases and pressure in and around the Bedwas 22 – a chipped kick aimed for Jude Williams was gathered and cleared by the visitors.
The half hour mark was approaching and with this easily Ponty’s brightest moment in the match so far when Jack Davies hit a great line from midfield, and broke deep into Bedwas territory before Rhodri Smith grubbered the ball into touch. Bedwas won their own lineout ball and cleared.
It was now 32 minutes into the half and the hosts thought they were on course to get their first points when, after winning a penalty on halfway, they kicked into Bedwas’ 22. After securing the lineout a promising rumble towards the tryline was well defended by The Bridge Field men who spoiled and won the penalty.
Bedwas cleared, but Pontypridd were to be denied no longer. There was a superb carry and offload from centre Joe Blackburn to the supporting Jude Williams, who then jinked his way through the Bedwas defence, holding off a couple of tacklers in the process to score. Rhod Smith’s conversion reduced the deficit to 7-19.
There was enough time just before the break for Mitch Barnard to be sin-binned for an offence at the breakdown on his own 22. Ponty were under pressure but excellent defence followed by good work over the ball at the ruck by Rhod Smith earned Pontypridd a relieving penalty prior to the half time whistle.
HALF TIME: Pontypridd 7-19 Bedwas
It may have been a friendly on paper, but judging by the way Pontypridd started the second half one can only assume the words spoken at halftime from the coaching team were anything but as the home side came flying out of the blocks.
Bedwas kicked off and good intensity in defence from Ponty forced a ball spill on halfway. Looking to narrow the points margin, Pontypridd were nearly rewarded with an early try in the second period. Firstly, Jude Williams threatened down the left flank before the ball was worked right to Stuart Floyd-Ellis, brought on for the start of the second half, but he was bundled into touch down the right.
Pontypridd’s strong start to the second half was rewarded in the 52nd minute when Connah Hughes scored from the back of a rolling maul. Just prior Bedwas gave away a penalty at the tackle breakdown, Ponty kicked into touch and the try was secured. Rhod Smith missed the conversion but the home side were now within striking distance at 12 points to 19.
Bedwas settled into the second half, but ironically their first sustained period of pressure since the restart resulted in Ponty’s best passage of play during the game – an attack and chip was gathered on his own tryline by Stuart Floyd-Ellis, who ran and fed Joey Williams, who passed to Callum Coxley as Ponty played their way out of their own defensive danger zone. Coxley attacked and passed to Jack Davies, Davies broke and fed Hancock and between them all play swept up to Bedwas’ 22. Ponty were hauled down but a cynical penalty was conceded by the away side. The Valley Commandos kicked into the corner and Connah Hughes bagged his second try at the rear of another strong rolling maul. The conversion was missed by Smith, but it was now game on at 17 points to 19 just after the hour mark.
With the deficit standing at now just two points, Ponty continued to put on pressure determined to go into the lead for the first time in the match. Attacking, deep in Bedwas’ 22 Stuart Floyd-Ellis was tackled and he offloaded off the floor but the ball was picked off by Eli Shuffley who almost ran the length of the pitch, only to be hauled down by the chasing Charlie Hancock. However, the offload in the tackle found the supporting Jak Robbins who crossed for his second try of the evening. The conversion was good and the 7-point swing was complete with Bedwas extending their lead to 26 points to 17.
Then there was a killer blow for Ponty when, from the restart, some missed tackles allowed Bedwas to score again virtually straight away through replacement Cai Jones. The successful conversion made it 33-17 to the away side after 66 minutes.
Pontypridd had made, and were continuing to make numerous changes which often cost continuity in the team’s play, and it was Bedwas who had the final say in the game when replacement winger Milo Crompton crossed in the right-hand corner with a couple of minutes left.
The match proved to be a good work-out Pontypridd who utilised their full squad, against a very good Bedwas side who deserved their win on the night. Pontypridd return to action in just over two weeks time when they host Cardiff Met in the Premiership on Saturday 6th December.
FULL TIME: Pontypridd 17-38 Bedwas
Match report – Geraint Thomas (20/11/2025)
PONTYPRIDD –
15. Charlie Hancock. 14. Owen Parry. 13. Jack Davies. 12. Joe Blackburn. 11. Jude Williams. 10. Rhodri Smith. 9. Lloyd Dennett.
1. Ben Drew. 2. Connah Hughes. 3. Dan Cotterell. 4. Mitch Barnard. 5. Joe Buckle. 6. Elis Evans. 7. Ben Bora. 8. Joe Miles (c).
Subs: Kian Mattravers. Freddie Rickards. Rhys Conquer. Joey Williams. Callum Coxley. Rhodri Hext. Stuart Floyd-Ellis.
Please note – All Ponty substitutes listed came on during the match.
Tries: Jude Williams, Connah Hughes x 2
Conversions: Rhodri Smith
Yellow Card: Mitch Barnard
BEDWAS –
15. Jack Compton. 14. Will Mahoney. 13. Hamish Anderson. 12. Jake Lee. 11. Leo Geraci. 10. James Dixon (c). 9. Jak Robbins.
1. Ioan Hill. 2. Arwel Hughes. 3. Rhys Hutcherson. 4. Ben Sier. 5. Will Fishlock. 6. Lewis Crane. 7. Owen Jones. 8. Lloyd Jones.
Subs: Ryan Thomas. Jordan Rogers. Brynley Toms. Mike Dacey. Tom Fitzpatrick. Ben Eedy. Rhys Morgans. Harry Oliver. Dewi Thomas. Christian Francis. Luke Crane. Cai Jones. Eli Shuffley. Lewis Bowden. Adam Williams. Rhys Peters. Milo Crompton. Aaron Billingham.
Tries: Jak Robbins x 2, Arwel Hughes x 2, Cai Jones, Milo Crompton
Conversions: James Dixon x 4
Referee: Andrew Moule
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