Pontypridd 47-35 Neath – Match Report
It was second versus fourth in the league standings ahead of kick-off at Sardis Road between the two most successful clubs in the history of the semi-professional Welsh Premiership, and the fare served up by Pontypridd and Neath didn’t disappoint.
The two teams contributed 82 points and 12 tries between them, with the Valley Commandos ultimately earning the bonus-point win that kept their title aspirations on track.
Ponty were forced into a couple of changes ahead of kick off, one of them seeing young second row Lucca Alexander-White being promoted from the bench into the starting XV for his club debut.
Pontypridd kicked off the contest and won an early penalty, but Logan Jones’ effort off the tee drifted wide.
Shortly after, Neath were awarded a penalty when the home side were penalised for holding on, and they worked their way upfield after the initial kick to touch. The lineout was just inside Ponty’s 10 metre line, Neath won their throw, but Ponty disrupted the rolling maul.
A few minutes later Neath were awarded another penalty which they kicked right into the corner and really ramped up the pressure on Pontypridd. That pressure told when hooker Kian Jones crashed over at the back of the rolling maul. The try was converted by flyhalf Steff Williams and the away side had an early 7-0 lead.
Neath doubled their lead just a couple of minutes later through winger Ki Morgan. Ponty looked to apply the pressure but winger Morgan flew up out of the defensive line and picked off an intercept to sprint clear from long distance. The conversion was successful and Neath now led 14-0 after a little more than 12 minutes on the clock.
Then came an onslaught from the Valley Commandos, one of which was of pretty epic proportions as they ran in no fewer than five tries within a 15-minute period of play!
Despite Pontypridd being behind in the match, the noticeable theme was the team wanting to play a high-tempo game on the front foot, and in the 14th minute Logan Jones took a flat pass, hit a great angle and went through a gap to score. He converted his own try and the home side had reduced their deficit at 7-14.
Within the blink of an eye Ponty scored again – breaking out from their own 22, the ball was flapped backwards on halfway by a Neath hand and was gathered by Garyn Smith. From the ruck the home side attacked the blindside and Cally James fed Joe Davies, Davies broke through and two-on-one he fed the supporting Joel Raikes who scored a trademark try from his point of view.
The match did briefly settle down, relatively speaking, in terms of the scoreboard. Both sides continued to show a willingness to attack, and then Pontypridd earned themselves a penalty on halfway after some good work at the breakdown after Neath were penalised for holding on. Logan Jones kicked to touch and the home side had a lineout just outside the Neath 22. Initially that particular set piece came to nothing, before Pontypridd fed into a scrum between the 22 and 10 metre lines a couple of phases later. Ponty fed into the scrum and spread the ball straight away and this move paid off when Joe Davies cantered in for an excellent score. Logan Jones’ conversion was good, and Pontypridd led 19-14 after 25 minutes.
The home side were now in all-out attack mode and two minutes later Logan Jones scored his second try. Wave after wave of pressure saw Joe Davies break as Ponty worked their way up to the Neath 22. They were awarded a penalty, tapped it quickly, and a couple of phases later Jones dived over for his brace, which he converted.
From the restart Pontypridd scored again following another attack from deep when eventually some very good hands in midfield saw Stuart Floyd-Ellis give the decisive pass to Joe Davies who went over for his second try. Logan Jones’ superb touchline conversion saw Ponty reduce their early 14 point deficit into a 33 points to 14 lead with just half an hour on the clock.
Neath were probably wondering what had hit them, but they showed defiance and got the game’s next score when they turned to their most potent weapon – the rolling maul. They won a penalty on Ponty’s 22, kicked into the corner and the lineout rolling maul crossed the tryline, and after long hard look referee Gareth Newman awarded the try which Steff Williams converted.
In terms of points, that would be it for the first period although there was still one good chance for Ponty prior to the halftime oranges when Joe Davies went on one of his trademark barnstorming runs swatting defenders away in the process. Davies was eventually hauled down, and the ball was kicked wide for Louis Rochefort-Shugar but he couldn’t quite gather and the ball ran into touch for halftime.
HALF TIME: Pontypridd 33-21 Neath
Neath kicked off the second half and initially Pontypridd struggled to get out of their own 22 after Neath secured a turnover at a ruck. They spun the ball wide but it didn’t go to hand and eventually the home side cleared their lines.
Shortly after, a Pontypridd cross-field kick came to nothing, but the team were playing with a penalty advantage. They kicked to touch and threw into a lineout on the Neath 10 metre line, a strong rolling maul made 15 metres of ground and the ball was spun into midfield. Big carries from Jordan Coxley and Lucca Alexander-White gave Ponty even more front foot ball, and a well-measured kick over the top from Logan Jones saw fullback Jorge Lucey gather and score for a well worked sixth Ponty try early in the second half. Another superb touchline conversion from Logan Jones extended the lead to 40 points to 21.
Neath pressed after the restart but good work from Jordan Coxley at a ruck won Ponty the ball and a couple of phases later they cleared their lines, but Neath would be the next on the scoreboard. After winning a penalty, Neath kicked into the corner and their rolling maul yielded a penalty-try for them, and a yellow card for Cai James.
Ponty returned to attack mode after the restart and worked an opening down the right attacking the Clubhouse end of the ground, but Joe Davies’ run, chip and chase came to nothing when the ball went into touch.
The match was approaching the hour mark and the home side threw into a lineout on halfway, and after initially losing the ball skipper Cally James won it back for his side after some superb work at the ruck. Ponty worked their way upfield and had possession inside the Neath 22. The match was very loose at this point, and Ponty coughed up possession and then found themselves back in their own 22.
The Valley Commandos kept Neath out and would then get their seventh and final try of a pulsating Premiership encounter. The home side enjoyed more territory in the Neath red zone, and it paid off when a Stuart Floyd-Ellis chip over the top was gathered by Mitch Barnard to score. Logan Jones added yet another brilliant conversion from wide out for a 47-28 lead.
The last ten minutes or so were fairly scrappy, due in the large to a combination of multiple replacements coming on to the pitch and Neath throwing everything they had left in the tank at Ponty.
A serious looking knee injury to Cally James halted proceedings for a while, before Stuart Floyd-Ellis was shown a yellow card for being offside at a ruck.
Neath’s pressure saw them score the match’s final try, predictably through their strong rolling maul, with just a few minutes left on the clock. Steff Williams’ conversion put the Welsh All Blacks within range of securing two losing bonus-points.
But some excellent Pontypridd defence either side of one last good attack from the home side saw the Valley Commandos add five match points to their Premiership tally and remain in the hunt for the 2025/26 title.
FULL TIME: Pontypridd 47-35 Neath
Match Report – Geraint Thomas (7/3/2026)
PONTYPRIDD:
15. Jorge Lucey (Rhodri Smith). 14. Joe Davies (George Thorrington). 13. Stuart Floyd-Ellis. 12. Garyn Smith. 11. Louis Rochefort-Shugar. 10.Logan Jones. 9. Joel Raikes (Lloyd Dennett).
1. Ben Drew (Dan Cotterell). 2. Louis Tovey (Connah Hughes). 3. Finian Murray (Kian Mattravers). 4. Mitch Barnard. 5. Lucca Alexander-White (Elis Evans). 6. Cai James. 7. Cally James (c). 8. Jordan Coxley (Ben Bora).
Subs: 16. Connah Hughes. 17. Dan Cotterell. 18. Kian Mattravers. 19. Elis Evans. 20. Ben Bora. 21. Lloyd Dennett. 22. Rhodri Smith. 23. George Thorrington.
Tries: Logan Jones x 2, Joel Raikes, Joe Davies x 2, Jorge Lucey, Mitch Barnard
Conversions: Logan Jones x 6
Yellow Cards: Cai James, Stuart Floyd-Ellis
NEATH:
15. Charlie Thomas. 14. Louis Rees. 13. Jon Bayliss. 12. Sean Wilcox. 11. Ki Morgan. 10. Steff Williams. 9. Kaden Davies.
1. Mason Morgan. 2. Kian Jones. 3. Marley Lovell. 4. Matthew Davies. 5. Steff Lewis. 6. Casey Williams. 7. Gethin Tremlett. 8. Ben Williams (c).
Subs: Morgan Little, Josh Jones, Ben Uphill, Josh Hughes, Jacob Blackmore, Will Pope, Ellis Lewis, Iestyn Morgan
Tries: Kian Jones, Ki Morgan, Ben Williams, Penalty-try, To Be Confirmed
Conversions: Steff Williams x 4
Referee: Gareth Newman
AR3: Peter Mortimer
Golden Bob Man of the Match: Lucca Alexander-White
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