Ironmen fall to Pontypridd at Sardis Road

A disappointing and lacklustre second half from the #Ironmen, Pontypridd scoring 16 unanswered points to take the spoils.

After bossing the first 40′ but perhaps not taking enough points when Pontypridd were down to 14 and 13, the Ironmen lost the second half territory and possession battle, and eventually the match.

Much must be said of the Pontypridd response, their second half kicking game through fly half Ben Burnell turned the heavier Merthyr pack and a strong defensive line lead by the young Pontypridd back row, complimented by the experience of Rhys Shellard early in the second half, pushed Merthyr back into their own half. Great tactics, moving the driving line out, out of range, and inviting a much changed Ironmen backline to attempt to go from deep.

The first half efforts of the Merthyr forwards also played it’s part, a tiring eight, not freshened up until 70′ enabled the Pontypridd eight to secure parity and at times the upper hand, disarming Merthyr’s primary threat for most of the second half.

Merthyr were camped on the Pontypridd line for the final minutes of the game, winning penalty after penalty and forcing  the third yellow card of the game, but failing to cross the whitewash to potentially tie the game.

Much to reflect on today, in a game that the Ironmen should really have won, two or three failures to execute, costing try scoring opportunities – opportunities that need to be taken if you decide to reject kicks at goal.

On a positive, Dan Wall went well at hooker, the lineout functioning,  scrummaging well, and winning a number of turnovers in open play. He will be disappointed not to have opened his try scoring account in the second half from a rolling maul, but all in all, a real positive. Well done Dan!

The Ironmen will look back on a slow return to rugby, with only one win in three. It is however still early days after a 500 day stop, not to mention the impact of a lengthy injury list, which in turn limits our style and approach.

Thanks to @Ioan_Dyer from GTFM Radio & Sport for setting the questions tonight. Some very interesting reflections and honesty shared here.

Post match reaction. Merthyr Head Coach, Dale McIntosh.

https://t.co/uuRT8jwALw

The Ironmen will end the first round-robin of fixtures away at Newport before hosting Cardiff at the Wern. Tough games against two of the in form sides in the competition. Lets turn out in good number to cheers the boys on!

#TeamIronmen🖤💛💚