CROSS Keys director of rugby Robert Beale conceded that his side has been taught a lesson in wet-weather rugby by an industrious Pontypridd side.

Ponty bossed proceedings from the off, and Beale admitted that they were good value for their 13-0 win, pointing to the influence of 29-year-old scrum- half Andrew Jenkins.

"We were a poor second best throughout," said Beale. "I thought that Pontypridd were by far the better side, their pack were tremendous and they were well worth their victory.

"There were some contentious issues with the refereeing, but at the end of the day they did to us what we did to them in Pontypridd.

"We couldn't play without the ball and they never gave us the chance to get our hands on it. They played the conditions superbly and I thought their number nine was superb.

"Every time he got the ball he was looking to pin us back and kick it down the tramlines, and he did that brilliantly."

Keys have not been used to frustrating afternoons of late, but the only silver lining that Beale could find was that the hard pre-season graft to improve the Pandy Park surface is paying dividends.

He said: "The pitch was in excellent condition considering all of the rain, and that's about the only positive I can take!

"We struggled without Ben Watkins but he only has his indiscipline to blame for that. We badly missed him in the middle of our line-out and that meant we had to fight for every throw."