Bedwas coach Steve Law had asked his side not to be intimidated by the reputation of serial trophy winners Ponty and to go out and express themselves in the club’s first major final. They did just that, but only after they had frozen in the opening 40 minutes.
By half-time Ponty had opened up a 38-6 lead and run in five tries – three of them from the Wales Under 20 centre Harri Millard. At that stage it looked as though the contest was well and truly over.
But Law’s message to his players, no doubt underlined in a stern half-time talk, finally got through and the underdogs almost completed one of the greatest comebacks in Welsh rugby history. They didn’t concede a point in the second half, ran in four more tries themselves and were pressing hard for the winning score when the final whistle blew.
It was a great advertisement for the new development competition, although the presence of some ‘old heads’ in former Welsh internationals Ceri Sweeney and Aled Brew added some vital experience. Sweeney kickd four conversions for the winners, while Brew helped to change the course of the game when he switched to the centre in the second half.
Ponty got off to a flying start an it was full back Geraint Walsh who grabbed the first try. Back row man Rhys Shellard crossed for another and Under 20 Grand Slammer Millard waltzed away for his hat-trick.
The only reply from Bedwas was a try to Matthew Pettit before the break and there were some harsh words spoken in the interval. Both sides lost a player to the sin-bin in the second half – scrum half Tom Rowlands for Bedwas and prop Keiron Assiratti for Ponty – but once Bedwas gathered some momentum they almost became unstoppable.
George Lee, Andrew Waite, Andy Evans and Brew ran in tries and James Dixon added two conversions to set-up a nail-biting finish with the gap reduced from 32 points to a mere four. Ponty just managed to keep their defensive line intact in the frantic finishing moments and stayed on course for a potential treble this season.
