Two out of three ain’t bad.
Those were the sentiments of Merthyr head coach and ex-Wales lock Ian ‘Yanto’ Evans after his Ironmen defeated valleys rivals Pontypridd 26-14 at Sardis Road on Saturday to complete a league and cup double.
First half tries from hooker Ellis Shipp and scrum-half Dafydd Land were followed by second half scores from wing Dafydd Thomas and centre Cole Swannack. Ben Jones successfully landed with three of his four conversion attempts.
Having already beaten Pontypridd home and away on their way to being crowned Premiership champions, this latest victory saw Merthyr also bag the inaugural Worthington’s Mid District Premiership Cup.
They were denied a shot at winning all three trophies on offer this season after going down to a dramatic defeat to Cross Keys in extra-time in the semi-finals of the WRU Premiership Cup.
Pontypridd would go on to beat Keys in the final at the Principality Stadium.
“It’s a nice ending isn’t it,” said Evans after win number three of the season for his side over Ponty.
“Some boys will be leaving and it’s always nice to finish the season on a high.
“To have the two trophies is fantastic; Cross Keys.. that’s the one that got away but two out of three, as the old song goes, isn’t bad, is it?”
This cup final win over Ponty at Sardis Road would have been all the more sweeter for Merthyr – who had the home dressing room for the final, having finished top of the Mid District Premiership standings.
Those were decided across a total of eight regular home and away Premiership matches between the five Mid District clubs in that league, also including Ponty, Bargoed, Brecon and Ystrad Rhondda.
Bargoed were originally set to line-up against Merthyr in the final after beating Ponty 28-19 in the final regular Premiership match on 10 May, which effectively doubled up as a Mid District semi-final, to edge out Ponty for second place.
However, last Monday, there was an unexpected turn of events when Bargoed informed the Mid District Rugby Union that they would be unable to take their place in the final due to player unavailability in certain key positions. That meant Ponty, as the third highest ranked side in the Mid District standings, were handed a reprieve.
Shipp’s second minute try off a rolling maul for Merthyr, converted by Ben Jones, was cancelled out moments later by a score by centre Stuart Floyd-Ellis for Ponty, converted by Jacob Symes.
Land scored again for the Ironmen on the half-hour, finding a gap at the base of a ruck to run in unopposed. Jones again converted to make it 14-7.
That was a lead Merthyr took into half time, although they had to defend well – with Ponty unable to take their opportunities.
A further two Merthyr tries followed within eight minutes of the re-start; first through wing Thomas, converted by Jones, and then Swannack against his former club. Just over three years ago Swannack memorably scored a dramatic late try to help Ponty beat Merthyr on this ground.
A second Ponty try scored by replacement Ethan Evans, converted by Symes, gave them hope of pulling off a comeback and adding a second trophy of their own for the season.
With the House of Pain bathed in sunshine, temperatures also rose on the field with Merthyr No 8 Sam Cross and Ponty second row Mitch Barnard both shown yellow cards as tempers flared following a heated scuffle.
But in the end it was Merthyr heading back up the A470 with the cup.
The win was also a fitting tribute to Tony Soanes, who recently passed away and was remembered with an impeccably observed minute of silence before kick-off. Tony represented Merthyr as a player, committee and executive member and is the father of Merthyr scrum-half James Soanes.
Speaking afterwards, Merthyr outside half Jones said: “To be fair the first 20 minutes was tough; credit Ponty they started well, they took it to us really, but the boys shone through.
“It was nice to see our backs having a go one v one and taking on boys and scoring some good tries.
“It’s what the boys deserve this season. I’m proud of the boys and we’ll look back and we’ll cherish these memories.
“We came in last June so it’s been an 11-month season and we wanted to finish the last game on a high. We’ve got boys leaving and coaches leaving and unfortunately the father of one of our players passed away – so we wanted to do it for them today.”
Meanwhile having seemingly been left stuck on 99 appearances, Ponty’s final reprieve also meant hooker Rob Jones made his 100th appearance in his last match for the Valley Commandos as bids farewell to Sardis Road, where he has spent the past seven years, to return to his local club Treorchy.
“I’m thrilled to bits to get the opportunity to have 100 caps for this proud club,” he said.
“It was another tough battle and we knew we had to bring that physical edge against a big Merthyr pack, and I think we did that. I think we won it up front in all honesty; we won that physical battle.
“They scored some long-range tries which we weren’t pleased about; just a lack of communication and through individual errors.
“But it’s been a successful season overall, we’ve had a few losses, don’t get me wrong, but to win in the stadium, to finish second in the league against a club and team like Merthyr and to reach another final is something to be proud of.”
