Deon Smith hailed his teammates as “a special group” after their stunning comeback against promotion and title rivals Bargoed RFC at Pontypool Park.
Pooler were staring at a possible gruelling defeat after just 20 minutes with the Bulls leading 20-0.
But centre Pat Lewis dragged the hosts back into the game before a Matthew Jarvis penalty from the halfway line fired up the crowd.
Deon Smith added another try to close the gap even further before a second Jarvis kick levelled the score after the break.
A Keaton Davies try was cancelled out by a penalty try before Smith edged Pooler ahead. Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths then came off the bench to seal the triumph at the end.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start but I think it shows the squad we are,” said Smith.
“We are close and I think that showed in the performance massively. To come back from 20 points down the way we did is special, there aren’t many squads that will do it.
“Bargoed are a decent side and everyone that comes here to the Park is always raring to go.
“We probably got caught sleeping a bit and that’s on us as a group and going forward that will be a focus for us.
“But after that 20 minutes we turned it around and showed what we are about.
“It’s a special group of boys. As much as it’s the matchday squad on a Saturday it’s also the work that has been put in during the week by the boys that have unfortunately just missed out.
“The replacements and the rest of the squad probably play a bigger part than the starting squad because without those boys you can’t prep. The group is really tight knit.”
Smith’s double means he now has six tries in eight appearances and while the winger is always delighted to get on the scoresheet for his hometown club he insists his teammates deserve the credit.
“It’s always nice to cross the whitewash but it’s just about being in the right place at the right time,” he added.
“The forwards did really well for both of my tries so the thanks goes to them really. I’m on the end of it and it’s nice to finish it off for the group rather than on an individual basis.
“I’m a Pontypool boy, it’s a special place for me.
“My family have been lifelong supporters so to run out on the Park in front of them is very special.
“We are a very close squad, the majority of us are Pontypool boys and you want to do the community and the club proud.”
