Holding a narrow 18-17 lead at half time, having been outscored three tries to two in the first half, Pooler then ran in four tries, scoring 24 unanswered points in the second to down the Quins.
Scrum-half Morgan Lloyd was at the double, with hooker Sam Scarfe – his second of the match – and replacement back rower Morgan Allen also on the scoresheet after the break.
Kieran Meek converted two of them, having earlier added the extras to Scarfe’s fifth minute try to open the scoring, as well as kicking two penalties. Lock Buster Bodkin was Pooler’s other first half scorer.
Hooker Lewis Morgan scored twice for Quins, the second one converted by Elis Price, with prop Rhys Fawcett also going over but ultimately those efforts could not prevent a 10th straight defeat in all competitions – a run now stretching back four months.
Pooler head coach Tom Hancock said: “Although I didn’t feel we were playing well in the first half, we knew that we had a strong bench and would be playing down the slope – so there was no panic.
“I thought the bench came on and really made a difference; we kept things simple in the second half, played in the right areas, and ended up with a pretty comfortable victory, which is good for us.”
The rearranged Round 14 fixture, originally postponed on 4 January, was fifth-placed Pooler’s game in hand on Newport.
And by collecting the maximum points on offer against Quins, it moves Hancock’s side to within five of their Gwent neighbours with four regular rounds remaining and ahead of their Sunday showdown with the Black and Ambers – with the derby clash being played at Rodney Parade.
The top four placed teams after the 18 regular rounds of SRC fixtures will have home advantage for the play-offs.
“That’s going to be a huge game and we’re looking forward to it,” continued Hancock. “We didn’t want to make too much of the Newport factor going into the Carmarthen Quins game, it was just all about winning that game.
“But in the back of my mind, I knew that if we could pick up five or six points, it would then allow us to go to Rodney Parade next Sunday and play for not only bragging rights in the Gwent derby, but also the ability to get even closer to jumping into fourth if we manage to put a win together
“So now we’ve a big week ahead. It’s going to be a good experience for our boys to go there and test themselves, so we’re excited by that.”
