LLANELLI RUGBY LOSE CROWN TOO

Llanelli failed to defend their Premiership crown after falling to a 15-13 defeat at the hands of Pontypridd.

This also meant that Pontypridd have finally got their revenge for the defeat they suffered in the play-off final last season. Craig Price scored the only try of the match and it was left to the five penalties from Lewis Williams to win the match.

The five penalties were also sufficient for Pontypridd to get the victory in the match that took the crown away from Llanelli. When Pontypridd's Gary Williams was sent off in the final few minutes, it gave Llanelli a slight hope in the match.

However, Pontypridd did not fall under the pressure after they held on to achieve a remarkable win over the current holders. It must be noted that Pontypridd felt injustice of great magnitude when the two sides met each other in the play-off final last season. This 15-13 win would go a long way into erasing the memories of the painful defeat.

Pontypridd were 16 points ahead of Llanelli in the table, but allowed themselves to go into the final few minutes of the match nervously. The 24-18 win that Llanelli achieved at Sardis Road was the reason for this match going into the 15-13 win at rain filled Sardis Road.
Pontypridd head coach Dale McIntosh said prior to the match that these 80 min would be the most important in the career of every Llanelli player.

They definitely did not disappoint the faith he had in them. Williams managed to take advantage of the fact that Llanelli were penalised for offside. The fact that Llanelli were missing Nic Cudd proved to be a major factor in Llanelli getting the victory. There was no cutting edge in the play from Llanelli due to the absence of Nic Cudd.