Talismanic back-rower Matthews, again wearing the captain’s armband, led from the front and was among the Pooler scorers as they edged an absorbing opening round contest that saw 13 tries scored.
In the end, though, the match was settled from the kicking tee, with outside half Evan Lloyd – a summer recruit from Ebbw Vale – snatching victory with a penalty in the 78th minute. It secured a second home victory for Tom Hancock’s men over the Drovers in 2026, having run out 40-24 victors when the sides last met back in April.
Meanwhile, having finished bottom of SRC last season, winning just four of their regular league 18 matches, Pooler are tipped to be challenging at the top of the table this season – and they couldn’t have asked for a better start.
“Ecstatic to be on the right side of a close game after being on the wrong end of it too many times last year,” said Matthews.
“Llandovery have come here as the defending champions and, to be fair, they’re a good side, they’ve earned that title over the last few years.
“We wanted to be a little bit tougher to break down, and I was disappointed we didn’t do that at times, but what I’m massively grateful and proud of the boys for is the effort to stick it in and that never-say-die attitude.
“That’s sort of the old way, the historical side of Pontypool that we want to be, with playing a little bit more rugby, but I’m delighted that the boys dug in there and, to come away with a late win, it’s exciting times.”
Lock Liam Antrobus scored in each half for Pooler, with flankers Matthews and Ben Williams, wing Rhys Cole and full back Ewan Rosser also going over. Lloyd landed with five conversions as well as the decisive penalty at the death.
The Drovers outscored their hosts seven tries to six but ultimately had to settle for two bonus points. Outside half Sam Potter and wing Llien Morgan both scored twice. Flanker Tom Curry, scrum-half Rhodri Lewis and prop Jamie Hughes were also on the scoresheet. Potter added two conversions and Jack Maynard one.
Having won the toss and elected to play downhill with the wind in the first half, the visitors got off to the perfect start when Potter went over after just 66 seconds. It was a topsy-turvy game in which the lead changed hands on a further seven occasions and the champions held a 12-point lead just after the half-hour mark and were 29-19 up at half time.
“It was a good game for the neutral, but obviously disappointed we didn’t find a way to win it,” said Drovers’ head coach Euros Evans.
“There were lots of positives overall, but disappointed we lost control in the last five minutes of the game. There were a few errors from our perspective towards the end, and it gave them an opportunity in the 22 that they took advantage of.
“It was a disappointing way to end what had been a decent performance up until then, but Pontypool Park is going to be a tough place for teams to come to this year and it’s not the end of the world that we’ve come away with two points.”