A dazzling debut from Evan Nicholls-Ngasseu lit up Cardiff RFC’s final Super Rygbi Cymru Cup contest, as the teenager scored twice against Pontypool RFC at the Cardiff Arms Park.
Accompanying the replacement hooker was an early score by Ben Fry, as Harri Wilde kicked four points from the tee, which saw the Blue and Blacks end their Cup campaign with a 31-19 defeat.
Story of the Game
On a cold but dry evening in the Welsh capital, Dan Fish’s side were on the hunt for a first triumph in the SRC Cup following three successive defeats.
Harri Wilde got proceedings underway at the Arms Park, and it didn’t take long for Cardiff to break the deadlock.
Following some early pressure on the visitors’ defence, Fry showed off his gymnastic skills to score his sixth try of the season. This came after Callum Donoghue-Proud put the hosts on the front foot after breaking into the visitors’ 22.
Then, following some handling through Craig Hudd and Ethan Phillips, it allowed Fry to somersault his way over the whitewash. After Wilde added the extras, hooker Gavin Parry was replaced by debutant Nicholls-Ngasseu with only two minutes on the clock.
Pooler then found themselves with a line-out metres from the Blue and Blacks’ line minutes later. From the line-out, the hosts regained possession through Dewi Cross gathering and offloaded to Joe Goodchild, who kicked upfield.
As the first half went on, the scrum tally grew larger, and the hosts won a penalty, and Wilde kicked up into the 22.
The hosts’ lead soon doubled following pressuring the visitors’ defence. Nicholls-Ngasseu from close range showed great strength to score his first try for Cardiff RFC. Wilde slotted the extras to move Cardiff into a 14-0 lead after 12 minutes.
After doubling up in their tackles, with Nathan Hudd, Sonny McCabe, Fry, and Nicholls-Ngasseu making noticeable hits together, the hosts regained possession.
Winger Goodchild broke upfield and offloaded back on the inside for Ethan Lloyd, and the visitors were then penalised for playing the nine. This was then followed by back-to-back penalties, but frustratingly for Fish’s side, their hard work was not turning into points.
At the start of the second quarter, Pontypool reduced the deficit. From the breakdown, Scott Matthews sneaked his way past the Blue and Blacks defence and offloaded to Morgan Lloyd, who crossed for the visitors first of the evening.
Minutes later, Nathan Hudd was replaced by Tirion Bowen, who dropped onto the blind-side with Craig Hudd moving to the open-side.
Before the half-hour mark, winger Marcus Jones was strong in the air, and this proved to be the catalyst that put the visitors on the front foot.
Former Cardiff captain, Morgan Allen, powerfully broke through the hosts’ defence and offloaded to scrum-half Lloyd to score. Meek added the extras to level proceedings.
Minutes later, Lloyd crossed once again for the visitors following some quick thinking around the breakdown area. Meek added the two points from the tee to put Pooler seven points ahead.
Cardiff were penalised for crossing, and in the closing exchanges of the first half, instead of opting for a shot at the posts, Meek kicked into the corner. The line-out was not straight, as Wilde eventually gathered and kicked to touch.
HT: Cardiff RFC 14-21 Pontypool RFC
As the temperatures dropped, the second half got underway, and Pooler immediately found themselves on the front foot. But they fumbled possession metres away from the hosts’ whitewash.
For large parts of the second half, the Blue and Blacks found themselves on the back-foot constantly defending. But after several penalties inside the hosts’ 22, Pooler was held up over the line following heroic defending.
The visitors were unable to get through the hosts’ strong defence, as after another penalty, Meek added the three points from the tee to extend his side’s lead further.
The Blue and Blacks were once again penalised prior to the hour mark, and this time around, Meek went to the corner. However, the outside-half kicked the ball dead, and from the 22 dropout Wilde kicked to relieve pressure.
Sam Scarfe then broke upfield to continue the visitors’ second-half dominance, but once again the strength of Cardiff shone as they turned the ball over.
After opting for a scrum following a penalty, Allen picked up and powered his way over for the visitors’ fourth of the evening. By adding the extras, it saw Pooler into a commanding 17-point lead.
They did, however, find themselves down to 14-men moments later as loose-head Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths was sent off for ten minutes following a hit on Nicholls-Ngasseu.
With the extra man advantage, Cardiff seemingly began to gather momentum after spending large parts of the second half defending. Wilde made a brilliant cross-field kick to the outside, but once again the hosts were unable to capitalise.
With the clock in the red, Cardiff claimed their third try of the evening. Player of the Match Nicholls-Ngasseu regathered from the line-out and showed some impressive footwork and speed to score his second of the contest.
FT: Cardiff 19-31 Pontypool
Fish’s side now turns their attention firmly back to League action as they face Aberavon RFC at the Talbot Athletic Ground on Saturday, 7 March (KO: 14:30).