Merthyr juggernaut rolls on with 16th victory on the spin

MERTHYR extended their winning streak to 16 games – 14 in the league – with a fiery win.

They took the lead on eight minutes when Matthew Jarvis kicked an easy penalty goal. Both sides found themselves down to 14 men when Pontypridd’s Corey Domachowski was given a red card and Merthyr’s Craig Locke a yellow for their part in a brawl.

Pontypridd were next to score, regaining the ball straight away, and Dale Stuckey ran over in the corner with Ceri Sweeney converting.

But after Merthyr had returned to a full complement of players, Richard Carter ran over for their second try. And they further extended their lead a couple of minutes before the break when Andy Howman scored from close range and Jarvis converted, making it 15-7.

And they were first over in the second half when Josh Martin kicked well for Howman to scoop up. Jarvis converted.

Ponty weren’t giving up. Morgan Sieniawski scored in the corner, with Sweeney doing well to convert from the sideline.

But Merthyr addressed the balance seven minutes later with a bonus-point try from Nathan Trevett from a rolling maul.

Geraint Walsh scored just left of the sticks for Pontypridd with three minutes to go with Sweeney converting.

And Jarvis kicked a last-minute penalty for Merthyr.