PRINCIPALITY PREMIERSHIP
Bulls run out of steam despite shocking
PONTYPRIDD .............37 BARGOED ....................15
BARGOED travelled to Sardis Road knowing that several recent games have drifted away from them in the final quarter and this was no different.
The Bulls remained competitive throughout but late scores made the result look more decisive than perhaps they deserved.
There is no doubting the class that the home side had, particularly when moving the ball wide with pace but the Bulls can be consoled that most sides have had to dig deep to put them away.
Bargoed took the lead with a well struck James Hallett penalty with just two minutes gone before full back Callum Hall squared it five minutes later.
The home crowd was stunned into silence when a scrum was disrupted on a Ponty feed and as it wheeled Bargoed scrum half James Pizey harassed No 8 Dan Godfrey and opposite number Dane Blacker to allow hooker Leigh Meades to snap up the loose ball and cross in the corner.
Hallett’s conversion attempt shaved the left post and Bargoed were 3-8 up after 19 minutes.
Bargoed defended comfortably up to the half hour when a poor clearance kick was run back by the slick Pontypridd backs and wing Lewis Williams crossed for a well taken try to square it at 8-8.
Matters took a turn for the worse for the Bulls with referee Robert Price showing a yellow card to second row Grant Rogers on 37 minutes for coming round the side of a ruck and dislodging the ball from the Dane Blacker’s hands.
Pontypridd took full advantage kicking to the corner and a catch and drive from the lineout was stopped well by the Bargoed defence but a second drive came on and over the eight went with hooker Liam Belcher coming up with the ball to make it 13-8 at the break.
Pontypridd looked determined to make Bargoed pay for being a man down and with just two minutes gone in the second half second row Hemi Barnes punched a hole through the centre