October 03, 2026 - 107 views
RGC battled to the final whistle but had to settle for a losing bonus point after going down 31-26 to Pontypool at Pontypool Park.
The Gogs played with 14 men for 55 minutes, with their indiscipline proving costly as the home side took advantage of the extra space at crucial moments.
RGC started brightly, moving the ball through the hands and looking to stretch the home defence. There were encouraging signs in the scrum too, but a couple of promising attacks broke down through misplaced passes.
Pontypool had the first chance to score but missed a long-range penalty before RGC's Sam Williams produced an important turnover at the breakdown.
The home side eventually opened the scoring after 17 minutes when Kieran Meek converted a penalty. Billy McBryde responded two minutes later with a penalty for RGC.
The game's major turning point came after 25 minutes when RGC winger Ieuan Cornelius was shown a red card. Pontypool's Scott Matthews was also shown yellow following an incident which began with a high tackle before a scuffle off the ball saw the decision reversed.
RGC were therefore left with 14 men for the remainder of the game.
Pontypool immediately looked to exploit the extra space and Carrick McDonough crossed in the corner for the first try, with Meek adding the conversion.
Despite being a man down, RGC continued to create pressure and spent periods camped inside the Pontypool half. They eventually reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time when McBryde converted a penalty earned by Delwyn Jones at the breakdown.
RGC went on the attack again after the restart and took the lead in the 43rd minute. Sam Jones broke through after taking a pass from Dion Jones, with McBryde adding the conversion to make it 13-12.
The Gogs were working extremely hard to cover the extra ground required while a man short, but another yellow card made the task even harder.
Sam Jones was sent to the sin bin following an aerial challenge and Pontypool took advantage almost immediately, McDonough crossing for his second try of the afternoon. Meek converted again.
RGC refused to let the setback derail them and McBryde's penalty with 20 minutes remaining brought them back to within a point at 19-18.
The home side then began to make greater use of the space available to them. McDonough narrowly missed out on a hat-trick when his foot was in touch as he crossed the line, before Pontypool eventually extended their lead through Marcus Jones.
Meek's conversion put the home side eight points clear.
RGC continued to push and McBryde added another penalty after further pressure on the Pontypool defence, but the home side struck again when Buster Bodkin crossed for a try, with Meek converting.
That looked to have settled the contest, but RGC continued to attack and were rewarded late on when Sam Williams powered over for a try.
McBryde converted with the final kick of the game to secure RGC a losing bonus point.
For a side that spent 55 minutes playing with 14 men, the Gogs showed considerable determination to stay in the contest and were within touching distance of Pontypool deep into the second half.
RGC are back at Stadiwm Eirias next Saturday, when Newport visit Colwyn Bay. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
