Pontypool 10 Carmarthen 40

AFTER putting in a solid first-half performance against fellow league strugglers Carmarthen Quins, Pontypool once again fell foul of their own ill-discipline, crashing to a 40-10 defeat.

Pooler have now lost all 10 of their Welsh Premiership matches this season and they have conceded no fewer than 161 points in their last three outings.

James Chapron and Mike Hook have taken over coaching duties temporarily – following the recent departures of Gareth Lintern and Jared Lougher – and they face a huge task to try to pull the club out of their current doldrums.

However, Pontypool have proved time after time how resilient they can be when they have their backs to the wall, and they could still come bouncing back before the end of the campaign – as they did in a grand finale last season.

Playing up the slope in the first half, Pontypool looked a much more workmanlike outfit after the Llandovery game debacle and they must have been encouraged to be trailing just 16-10 at the interval.

But they were totally shaken out of their stride when lock Dale Critchley was sin-binned in the 55th minute and, more crucially, when wing forward Sam Pailor was shown the red card for punching an opponent five minutes later.

From then on it was simply a matter of how many points Premiership new boys Quins could score.

Scarlets wing Darren Daniel, who has been signed up for the Wales Sevens team, did most of the damage, crossing for three tries as he and smart young centre Jason Harries exposed some weak Pooler tackling.

However, Daniel’s second try, arising from a kick and chase, should have been disallowed because he clearly obstructed a home defender before making the touchdown.

Wing Richard Carter and flanker Ellis Lloyd also burst over for tries to ensure the Quins had the extra reward of a bonus point.

Pontypool’s 31st-minute try by hard-working wing Steve Taylor followed a deft touch by full back Geraint O’Driscoll, who cleverly created an overlap on the right when good advantage was played by the referee. O’Driscoll converted and he also kicked a 38th-minute penalty goal.

Pontypool managing director Frank Stanton said after the match: “We thought we had done all the hard work at half-time when we trailed by just six points.

“It was very disappointing to see us implode through ill-discipline in the second half. It was not just one individual, but a number of players who were at fault. With the way Gareth Cull was goal- kicking we were just asking for trouble.

“On the brighter side, we played in the first half with more emotion, passion and intensity than we have seen for a long time. We know we’re in a tough position and that we have work to do but we will definitely sort things out.”

Carmarthen Quins head coach Max Howells commented: “We wasted far too many scoring opportunities in the first half but I thought we played some really good rugby in the later stages. Our boys benefited from a stern talking-to at the interval.”

Pontypool: G O’Driscoll; S Taylor, C Cunningham (C Halcomb 78), P Price, G. Williams; S Mills, C Morgan (N Powell 75); N Giles, R Buckley, N Blake (L Davies 66), K Maiden, D Critchley (R Bowen 70), S Pailor, C Trayhern and G Morris, captain.

Scorers: Try – S Taylor (31 mins); conversion – G O’Driscoll; penalty – G O’Driscoll (38 mins).

Carmarthen Quins: A Rees (J Garland 65); D Daniel, J Harries, T Davies, captain, R Carter; G Cull, S Martens (A Williams 68); A Beaujean (M Monaghan 56), B Edwards, K Jones (S Gardener 56), G Evans, M Morgan, H Pugh (I Cunningham 44), E Lloyd and G Williams (K Gibbins 74).

Scorers: Tries – D Daniel (1, 58 and 80 mins), R Carter (29 mins) and E Lloyd (80 + 5 mins); conversions – G Cull (3); penalties – G Cull (27,40 and 51 mins).

Referee: Jon Mason (Dunvant).

Argus star man: Jason Harries.