Merthyr took the honours in the Valleys battle of the Welsh Premiership at the weekend when they beat Pontypridd 39-21 on the new artificial pitch at Sardis Road. Geraint Powell of The VietGwent blog was there to see history in the making.
“Pontypridd’s success is because of their family and families and they are supported by communities. They are not backed by millionaires or whatever, but they have got tradition and that’s held them in good stead and that’s what has won them leagues and cups. Everyone thought it was about money but it never has been. The fortunate part is that the jersey held its tradition and that is what we have got to do in Merthyr. We’ve got to install something in that jersey and people will understand what that jersey means…at the end of the day we are Merthyr and Ponty is Ponty. You know, we are green and they are black. End of story.” – Dale “the Chief” McIntosh, Merthyr RFC forwards coach, WRU TV 19 September 2016
These are wonderful sentiments from the Chief, in an era when many know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
One of the fundamental problems with Welsh rugby is that some fans are too focussed upon the history made by past generations, not upon creating their own new history for future generations. And focussed upon the history of their own club, to the total exclusion of the history of all other clubs. The professional game break with the club past, towards club neutral regions going forwards, was not properly made in 1995 or in 2003. Welsh rugby could really do with a visit from Mr Spock, to remind all that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Last season’s Cup match in March, between a Pontypridd team heading towards topping the WRU Premiership table yet again and a Merthyr team heading towards winning the ultra-competitive WRU Championship, was a classic of sorts. Not because of the quality of the play, for the monsoon conditions turned the pitch into a quagmire and the rugby ball into a bar of soap, a throwback to the early 1960s, but an enthralling 6-5 titanic struggle in the mud. Even referee Craig Evans, officiating again yesterday, had to change his jersey at half time back in March…
Saturday was the birth of a new era in Pontypridd, the opening match of their new 3G pitch. Everybody knew this was going to be the event of the weekend in Welsh rugby. Ospreys players Rhys Webb, Bradley Davies, Scott Baldwin and Sam Davies were there, unwinding after a difficult Friday night in Dublin. So was Bristol’s British Lion, Ian Evans. WRU director Martin Davies. WRU kicking coach, and Pontypridd old boy, Neil Jenkins. And I suspect nothing would stop Phil Steele of BBC Wales from attending this match. #LoveClubRugby. And another 4-5,000 Welsh rugby fans.
There was no great history of club rivalry between Pontypridd and Merthyr. It is true that Merthyr were one of the 11 founder clubs of the WRU at the Castle Hotel in Merthyr in March 1881, but somehow and somewhat baffling that they failed to become a 1st class Western Mail Championship/Whitbread Merit Table club. Soccer captured the large town. Rather than competing against Pontypridd, Merthyr have spent their Mid District history competing against the surrounding pit villages of that locality such as Cilfynydd, Abercynon , Ynysybwl, and also of the nearby Ely and of the Rhondda Valleys.
This is new history, the “battle of the East Glamorgan valleys“, and it is very good history in the making. The geography is blessed, Pontypridd at the southern end and Merthyr at the northern heads, arguably the strongest rugby player development area in Welsh rugby nestled in between them. The “Merthyr revolution” may currently be driven by the wallet of Sir Stan Thomas, but there is also a huge Pontypridd cultural influence and which will hopefully add a sustainable culture to a sustainable upgraded The Wern ground asset once transient benefactors have moved on or passed away. Not just coaches Lee Jarvis and Dale “the Chief” McIntosh, but stalwart players such as Craig Locke, James Howe (outstanding yesterday, in the loose and in the tight) and Gavin Dacey at the heart of Pontypridd’s dominance of the WRU Premiership a few seasons ago.
Not all Pontypridd fans will agree with me, maybe not any of them, but the WRU Premiership needed an end to Pontypridd’s total dominance. And the Blues region needed a 3rd WRU Premiership club and a 2nd one north of the M4 motorway. Without this happening, the failures of the region would always be wrongly dismissed as “just a Cardiff v Ponty thing” and the club branding/governance problems at the #WalesCapitalRegion would again go unaddressed in the next RSA. You either have a club identity or a regional identity, you can’t be a little bit regional any more than you can be a little bit pregnant. You either are or you aren’t. There is no ambiguity with “Ospreylia, the One True Region“.
And despite the best efforts of irresponsible elements within the media, there is no niggle between the wider fan bases of these old rugby clubs. Hell of a lot of banter, before during and after. Bragging rights now held by Merthyr, until the next clash.
Merthyr were warmly clapped on to and off the pitch. I had to leave the clubhouse about 7.30pm. I don’t tend to linger long at Pontypridd, as the longer one stays there the greater one’s reluctance to leave at all. A Welsh rugby clubhouse at its very egalitarian best. Craig Locke was still going strong. The Chief looked like he was settling in for the evening. The heavens by then had opened in South Wales, leaving Parc y Scarlets down west nearly devoid of a crowd altogether for the visit of struggling Connacht.
The new 3G surface will suit Pontypridd, their forward dominance having departed with players to Merthyr and into retirement. But the return of Chris Dicomidis bolsters their second row. Their strength now is in their backs, a lovely high tempo offloading match at times and enabling them to claw back an early 0-14 deficit. If they pull clear of an opponent, they may run away with some games. And they have the Rhondda Schools phenomenon and Coleg y Cymoedd on their door step. Young backs make the senior game grade faster, as most fans appreciate.
But Pontypridd are desperately short of props. One leaving for Merthyr in 2015 (and rampant yesterday), one long-term injured, another apparently having stepped down to his community club due to work commitments. Even their two young academy props last season from the adjacent Rhondda were inexplicably switched to Cardiff RFC this season by the Blues region. Merthyr had the Pontypridd scrum under the cosh from start to finish, although I would have loved to have had an aerial camera to review a couple of the scrums. That’s where you target Pontypridd at present, at scrum. The bane of Southern Hemisphere rugby, watching Northern Hemisphere teams scrummage for penalties.
Merthyr did target there, very specifically. Their strength is at forward. Their backs efficient, but not game chasers. Gary Powell and Rhys Downe controlled the game from half back, behind a dominant pack. The goal kicking of Matthew Jarvis was immaculate, albeit still several signs of the temperament issues that haven’t always done him any favours in the past. But a strong pack, even without Andy Powell. Osian Davies the epitome of the modern 7 jackal, Craig Locke and Ben Murphy excellent in the lineout and the front row dominant. They weathered the storm, the loss of a 14 point lead, and slowly pulled clear again.
And Merthyr are also a streetwise team, which I always like to see, closing the space with referee (the excellent young) Craig Evans getting little offside line policing help behind him from his touchline officials. Play the officials, not the laws. You have to hit Dafydd Lockyer back on the gain line, whether you get there in time legally or illegally. No referee has eyes in the back of his head, no game of rugby would ever break out nowadays under the current tome of a law book if the referee did and he rigidly applied all the laws. Do your research, and adapt to interpretations on the day and tune in to his requirements. As long as referees are consistent to both sides, the best teams cope.
Both of these clubs should comfortably finish in the Top 8, if they can consistently back up their better recent performances, from where anything can then happen in the second half of this season. No team looks dominant, exactly what the WRU Premiership requires at this stage in its commercial competition platform and player development rebirth.
This article first appeared on The VietGwent, a Welsh rugby blog. https://thevietgwent.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/pontypridd-21-merthyr-39-the-great-new-semi-pro-club-battle-of-the-east-glamorgan-valleys-in-bluesonia/