Rugby Union: Neath pile on the pressure

Pontypridd 14 Neath 21

LLANELLI MAY have run off with the Premier Division title, but the battle for the minor placings is set to go to the death this weekend.

Neath are now back in the hunt for second place, while battle-weary Pontypridd could slip as low as third. Having dominated the first half of this match the home team suddenly lost control and found themselves conceding three tries as they slipped to their fourth play-off defeat in five outings.

A glut of injuries has made life almost impossible for the Pontypridd coach, Dennis John, since the first round of league fixtures ended and he, more than anyone, will be glad to see the back of the season after Saturday's visit to Llanelli. The day before Ponty's trip to Stradey Park, Neath will have home advantage over Ebbw Vale, who drew 23-23 at Llanelli last night. If Neath can win that one then they will overtake Pontypridd, while Ebbw Vale still have ambitions of their own.

Ponty's dominance of the opening 40 minutes was total but the only points the home team could muster were a penalty and drop goal from their international wing Gareth Wyatt in a two minute spell five minutes before the interval.

Then came the dramatic change. Whatever was said in the Neath dressing- room at half-time it did the trick with the visitors responding with three tries. The captain and hooker Mefin Davies grabbed two of them and the scrum-half Mark Davies raced 35 metres from a wrecked Ponty scrum to notch the third.

It did not help the home cause when their flanker Geraint Lewis spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin for punching and their pack was almost a total write-off by the end.

Yet there was still a sting in the tail as Ponty denied Neath a bonus point by sending Wyatt over for a try which keeps them in second place, two points ahead of their rivals.

Pontypridd: Try Wyatt; Penalties Wyatt 2; Drop goal Wyatt. Neath: Tries Mefin Davies 2, Mark Davies; Penalty Pearce; Drop goal Pearce.

Pontypridd: A Barnard; G Wyatt, S Lewis (J Lewis, 52), D James, G O Lewis; P John, M Taylor; M Griffiths, A Lamerton (T Billups, 74) A Griffiths, A Freeman (S Bayliss, 17), D Adams (M Owen, 73), G P Lewis, D McIntosh (capt), M Lloyd.

Neath: R Johnson; D Williams, D Tiueti, T Davies, S Williams; M Pearce, Mark Davies; D Jones, Mefin Davies (capt), D Penisini(M Thomas, 50), M Turner (G Llewellyn, 50), S Martin, R Francis, G Newman, B Sinkinson.

Referee: N Whitehouse (Swansea).