Pontypool RFC v Newport RFC – 28th November 2025 by John Evans
Following the club’s morale-boosting win against Cardiff last Friday night, it was a visit to our other near neighbours a week later. Pontypool Park on a wintery Friday night can be a daunting venue, but the Black & Ambers selected a strong starting XV. There was a first start this term for Lloyd Lewis on the wing, and the selection of Harrison James at 12 was interesting; it would seem our management have a taste for playing two 10s in midfield. It would be fascinating to see how the young man would fit in alongside Jac Lloyd.
Pontypool had, prior to kick off, found themselves where we were just a few weeks ago, flat last in the Super Rygbi Cymru table. However, they have just announced that Dale McIntosh will be joining immediately to assist with the coaching. McIntosh would seem a natural fit for Pontypool RFC and, if nothing else, they will become disciplined and tough to beat. An interesting appointment for sure.
There was a minutes applause for recently deceased former Newport captain, and Welsh International, Mike ‘Spike’ Watkins. Spike needs no introduction to Newport supporters, and the club sends its sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Callum Bradbury was a late withdrawal from the squad with Cerrig Smith ably stepping into his place. Morgan Burgess filled the vacant bench slot.
Light rain began to fall as Kieran Meek, the Pontypool 10 and Captain, started the game. Newport secured the loose ball before Dafydd Buckland found touch. As a guess, Pontypool must have lost the toss as they were playing down the slope in the first half.
Jac Lloyd’s kick was touched in flight which altered its trajectory and made it difficult to deal with for the home defence. Lloyd Lewis was onto it in a flash, forcing a knock on and earning a scrum to Newport, but the reset scrum was hashed, the ball ending up under Pontypool feet. Number 8 Morgan Allen buffaloed away with the ball, centre Pat Lewis carried hard before Allen continued biffing his way forward. Kieran Meek spilled the ball backwards in the tackle, but prop Kelvyn Williams was penalised for hanging onto the ball when Henry Palmer challenged for it.
Newport yielded a penalty on 6 minutes, Pooler going for the corner. Second row Ieuan Jones took the catch as the backs quickly joined the maul to heave the mass across the line and earn a try for the hosts, credited to flanker Scott Matthews. Kieran Meek added the conversion to make it Pontypool 7 Newport 0.
Newport gained an 11th minute scrum penalty, Jac Lloyd opting to kick Newport up to the 22-metre line. Ben Roach took the ball at the front of the line, Hunter Ward, Josh Reid, and Henry Palmer all took turns at softening up the defence. Josh Skinner lunged forward before Carwyn Penny, all movement and energy, shuffled sideways through a tackle, but Lloyd Lewis was tackled into touch with inches to go. Newport gathered the loose line out ball and resumed attacking, going wide quickly. Wing Noah Morgan wisely sought safety in numbers before his forwards arrived to carry forward. Ultimately, it was flanker Hunter Ward who crashed over out wide, draped in red, white and black jerseys. Jac Lloyd added the conversion to make it 7-7 with 15 minutes played and briefly my mind drifted back to the evening of 21st January 1992…
Lloyd Lewis caught the restart kick and sought space in midfield. Harrison James sliced through some weak tackling before popping the ball to a rampaging Cerrig Smith, whose neat pass on to Jac Lloyd saw the outside half dot down in the corner. Initially the referee, Mr Ben Connor, awarded the score, but one of his assistants intervened as he had spotted a knock on between Harrison James’ pass and Cerrig Snith’s pick up.
Pooler went ahead in the 21st minute with a neatly taken try by Keiran Meek. An attack had looked reasonably well contained by the Black & Ambers until prop Jake Wisniewski bounced a would-be tackler away and he was through before being downed close to the line. The ball was quickly recycled before Meek threw a dummy and raced under the crossbar to put his team ahead. He converted his own score to make it Pontypool 14 Newport 7.
Newport clawed their way back via Jac Lloyd again. A neat chip-kick proved troublesome for the hosts back 3 until flanker Callum Davies made it a simple decision for Mr Connor by going right over the top at the ruck. From straight in front of the posts, near the 22, it was bread and butter for a goal kicker of Jac Lloyd’s quality. Pontypool 14 Newport 10 on 25 minutes.
Pontypool gained a scrum penalty on 29 minutes but some silliness and over exuberance saw Mr Connor reverse the penalty. Jac Lloyd kicked to 5-metres out. The rolling maul set and the ball popped out to Harrison James, but he was effectively tackled close to the line and gained a penalty as Newport desperately tried to rescue the situation.
There was then a passage of roughly three minutes of lung-busting effort by everyone on the pitch as forward charged into forward, backs switched play and kicked long, both sides waiting for the other to make a mistake. Morgan Lloyd, the home scrum half, went dangerously close to the Newport line, but Lloyd Lewis switched on his afterburners to ensure that he won that particular duel. Eventually, a poor kick from Joel Mahoney, the other Pooler centre, drew it to a close and everyone, crowd included, could breathe.
Jac Lloyd’s 36th minute kick had full back Carrick McDonough stretching and drew a knock-on at the 10-metre line. Another Jac Lloyd chip-kick saw him regather the ball and pass right to Harrison James, who dropped the ball to his feet to kick ahead, but Mr Connor believed that to be a knock-on, unfortunately.
The half ended with Pontypool trying to extend their lead, but a timely lineout intervention by Ben Roach claimed possession and Newport could jog back to the changing rooms knowing that they had the elements in their favour for the coming 40 minutes.
Half Time: Pontypool RFC 14 Newport RFC 10
There was possibly a little bit of psychology at play as Newport waited in the rain for their opponents to leave the warmth of the changing rooms for a good minute or so. Morgan Allen caught Jac Lloyd’s restart. Hooker Aneurin James was quickly downed, but Carwyn Penny’s kick response to Morgan Lloyd’s clearance must have downhearted even the most ardent Pooler supporter.
A terrific kick by Morgan Lloyd gained Pontypool a 50:22 on 43 minutes, but their lineout inaccuracies simply muddied the waters. They got the job done, eventually, but it took a Newport error to give them a way in. Mr Connor played a long advantage, with plainly nothing coming, but a Pontypool forward flying off his feet at a ruck went unpunished as the original offence was brought back into play. Kieran Meek slotted the three-pointer to make it Pontypool 17 Newport 10 on 46 minutes.
Newport gained a 48th minute penalty as a lineout jumper was taken out in midair. Jac Lloyd went for the corner. The familiar routine of Ben Roach up, then Josh Skinner, Henry Palmer, Garin Harris lunging for the line ensued. Playing with a penalty advantage, Jac Lloyd went to the corner again. Dafydd Buckland whipped the ball away, Harrison James switched direction, but Chay Foster-Smith was judged to have been held up as he crashed over the line. Mr Connor had seen yet another penalty. This time Cerrig Smith caught the line out throw before the forwards drove on, but it was a laser accurate cross-kick to Noah Morgan that earned the try. Jac Lloyd’s conversion from the touchline was impeccable and equalised the scores at 17 points apiece. Amongst all this, Pooler flanker Callum Davies earned himself a ten-minute sit down.
The Black & Ambers worked hard, running with ball in hand, but a Carwyn Penny kick found a sleepy Pooler defence, and it was only the pace of the ball that prevented a second Noah Morgan try.
The front row were replaced en bloc on 56 minutes, Messrs. Harris, Palmer, and Fry making way for Tom Workman, Wade Langley, and Ollie Drake.
A penalty from a Newport scrum, with one man in the bin and a spluttering lineout, only seemed to leave Kieran Meek with one option. However, he took the other option and went to the corner with predictable results.
A good break by Wade Langley had Newport moving forward ominously, with Jac Lloyd pulling the strings he launched a rolling kick to the corner for Lloyd Lewis to chase, but to no avail.
Pontypool were back to full strength as they yielded another penalty. Cerrig Smith took the lineout catch, Wade Langley sized up his options in the heavy rain, broke right, evaded a tackle and crashed over to put Newport ahead for the first time in the match. Jac Lloyd’s two-pointer made it Pontypool 17 Newport 24 with 66 minutes on the clock.
Kyle Tayler replace Josh Reid, and Kobi Rees replaced Harrison James just as Newport were pinged in defence, the two issues not being linked! Kieran Meek pushed for the corner again but his faith in his lineout was misplaced.
Pontypool were awarded another penalty on 72 minutes, but Meek’s kick didn’t find touch and Jac Lloyd could belt the ball clear. Pontypool, to their credit, tried to play rugby but got caught offside again, Jac Lloyd punishing them by placing them back in the corner. There was a palpable sense of desperation amongst the Pontypool team as they refused to be beaten by Newport. They were impressive in defence, but Newport were unable to speed the ball up and Pooler could simply shuffle side to side and snuff out attacks. Jac Lloyd stood back, calling for the ball from Lucas Welsh, newly on for Dafydd Buckland, but his drop goal attempt went wide.
The Black & Ambers moved the ball around from Pooler’s 22 restart and the hosts soon coughed up a penalty in midfield. Jac Lloyd was coolness personified as the ball sailed between the uprights to take the game away from Pontypool. 17-27 with 76 minutes played.
The visitors looked to close the game out, Carwyn Penny calling for the ball as he spotted a channel to kick through for Noah Morgan to chase, but Carrick McDonough claimed the ball. Desperation led Pontypool to play from behind their goal line. With impressive tenacity, they were through the Newport line, centre Joel Mahoney striding away, passing between the backs, over the 22, over halfway until Kieran Meek took the ball and, realising he was well beaten for pace, allowed himself to be tackled in the Newport 22 and relied on his support. Lloyd Lewis was all over him and retrieved the ball illegally, receiving a yellow card from Mr Connor. However, the resulting penalty was poorly executed and rushed. A kick across field was almost straight at Noah Morgan who simply dotted the ball down under pressure to bring the game to an end and claim a thoroughly deserved and professional victory.
Full Time: Pontypool RFC 17 Newport RFC 27
Next Saturday, December 6th, Newport RFC head to mid-Wales for a challenging outing against Llandovery RFC, a team very much like our own in their desire to play open, heads-up rugby. Following that, the Black & Ambers have two home fixtures, against Aberavon on December 13th and RGC on December 20th. This, of course, presents Newport supporters a chance to pick up their goodies for under the Christmas tree! The club shop will be open at both games but get in early as stock may be limited.
Onwards and upwards Newport.
Your City. Your Colours. Your Club
#cotp
Final Score – Pontypool RFC RFC 17 Newport RFC 27
Seren y Gem – Hunter Ward