THE Pontypool front row is alive and living in Australia, a suburb of Sydney, in fact, and I've seen them for myself.

Not the real thing, of course, but in the shape of a large grog which adorns the home of former Pontypool wing Keith Masters, who was a member of their championship winning sides between 1973 and 1975.

He played nearly 100 games for Pooler on the wing, and is clearly proud of it, placing a cabinet of memorabilia, also including team photographs and two pages from Price's book in a frame at his home in the Hornsby district of Sydney.

Keith emigrated there 20 years ago and has prospered in Australia, an associate director in a firm of quantity surveyors in the city.

Keith, who lived most of his life in Newport before emigrating, also played for Newport HSOB for a number of years, and proudly displays a number of their team photos, as well as a picture of him shaking hands with Muhammad Ali on tour in America with the Old Boys.

* It was quite a reunion Down Under with Newport people at the weekend, most of them at a Masters family barbecue, including Peter and Elaine Griffiths, Roddy Jones and the Edwards' Graham and John, though not related.

The barbecue was affected by rain at first, which Roddy says will delight fellow Old Boy Tony Hughes back in Newport, but it did brighten up later.

That was yesterday before the New Zealand game, but Saturday in Sydney was a treat, glorious sunshine, temperatures in the eighties and Darling Harbour, the Opera House, and grounds, which was staging a wedding as we passed by, and the Harbour Bridge.

We nearly had a subterranean view of the lot as we decided to take a water taxi around the bay, only for the driver to operate it more like a speedboat in the fairly choppy water.

I was taking a photograph when over came the water, soaking 'Biffo' Elaine and myself. A bit more force and it would have been man overboard.

But we survived, and on strolling past cafes at Darling Harbour, were greeted with shouts of 'Argus, Argus' from inside one of them, and a cheery wave from people I have to admit I didn't recognise.

But on a weekend like this, the Saturday weather and the magnificent performance by Wales yesterday, it's good to be Down Under.

It's the last leg this week in Brisbane - or is it? Can Wales knock England out? If they do we've got a bit of hasty reorganisation to do, like cancelling flights and trying to find somewhere to stay back in Sydney for the semi-final.

A pipe dream??