PONTYPRIDD..................31 EBBW VALE.......................3

IF you had blinked at the start you probably would have missed one of the fastest tries ever scored at this level as Pontypridd got off to a flying start at Sardis Road.

The home side kicked off, the clearing kick was charged down and Dale Stuckey added yet another score to his collection in the corner with a mere 11 seconds showing on the clock.

For Ebbw Vale wing Dafydd Howells, it must have seemed nothing out of the ordinary.

After all, he took a mere eight seconds to score the opening try for Wales U20 against Fiji at the 2014 World Junior Championships.

Despite their flying start, Ponty found the Steelmen a tough nut to crack and were only able to add a Ben Burnell penalty to make it 8-0 at the break.

The visitors then cut the gap with a Richard Powell penalty early in the second half.

But the home pressure eventually told and a second penalty from Wales U20 fly-half Burnell made it 11-3 just before the hour mark.

Then came a crucial turning point in the encounter when Ebbw lost their lock Dan Hill to the sinbin.

That gave Ponty an extra man and Burnell made no mistake with his third penalty of the game to punish Hill further for his dangerous tackle.

Replacement full-back Llywarch Ap Myrddin rounded off a spell of home pressure with a second try before a penalty try made it 26-3.

A second yellow card for the visitors, this time for Jordan Thomas, came out of the penalty try for another bad tackle.

And Ponty finished with a flourish against 13 men to send in Stuckey for his second try of the game.