Pontypool made it two wins this season against the Blue & Blacks as tries from Morgan Lloyd and Scott Matthews proved enough to win their first game of 2024 However, Pooler were made to work hard for victory as two tries from Dewi Cross and the trusty boot of Harrison James made proceedings interesting.

With the conditions not being favourable for either side, both teams at times struggled to keep ball to hand throughout the encounter.

It was The Blue and Blacks who got on the scoresheet first, it came from a brilliant break from winger Dewi Cross who crossed over the whitewash for the visitors first try of the afternoon. Harrison James could not add the extras as his shot went wide of its intended target.

After not being successful on the first attempt at the posts, flyhalf Matthew Jarvis got the hosts up and running after a penalty kick. 

On 32 minutes, Poolers captain Scott Matthew’s broke away from a driving maul and offloaded to scrum-half Morgan Lloyd who crossed and put the hosts in front for the first time.

Cardiff responded accordingly with Harrison James slotting over a penalty kick, which made things interesting going into the break at a very wet and cold Pontypool Park.

HT: Pontypool 10-8 Cardiff

Matthew Jarvis kept the scoreboard ticking after the 60 minute mark, with another successful penalty kick, which extended Poolers lead by five.

In the last few minutes of play, Poolers Morgan Lloyd sent a kick forward to Mathew Powell who drew The Blue and Blacks defenders, and allowed hooker Peter Lloyd to cross for Poolers second. Jarvis extended the lead further after adding the extras.

With the clock deep into injury time, winger Dewi Cross crashed over for his second of the afternoon and secured the visitors a losing bonus point after another brilliant solo effort. 

This result sees Cardiff remain in fourth place on 54 points whereas Pontypool move to fifth and are now 11 points off a play off spot.