Pontypool RFC continued their perfect league record with a bonus-point victory over Bedwas RFC, however, head coach Leighton Jones insists there are still plenty of areas to improve on.
Pooler went to the Bridgefield having claimed maximum points in all seven of their previous league fixtures and they had the bonus point secured by half time in this Gwent derby.
Winger Ewan Rosser opened his account in just the second minute and that set the tone although Lloyd Wilkins hit back almost instantly with a penalty.
Joel Mahoney added a second for Pooler before the hosts replied with a try of their own through Hamish Anderson.
Mahoney turned provider to set up Mathew Powell for his first Pooler try before Garin Price touched down on the stroke of half time to deliver the bonus point.
Rosser grabbed his second in the first minute of the second half and sealed his hat-trick 15 minutes later before Scott Matthews marked his 50th appearance with a try at the death. Outside-half Matthew Jarvis struck six conversions.
On the sidelines Jones was pleased to see his side gain another victory, which sees them nine points ahead of third-placed Cross Keys RFC with a game in hand, but was left frustrated by the decision making of both his players and the referee.
“[It’s] a win, five points,” he stated.
“I think in the first half we did play some nice stuff but we let the final pass go to the floor or made the wrong decision so we were a bit frustrated.
“But the second half we came out ready and I’m not too sure where some of the referee’s decisions came from.
“Myself, the other coaches and the players were bemused by some of the decisions he came up with and I think both teams were getting frustrated, and it probably spoiled the second half.
“We’re not moaning because we didn’t get the decisions, I just think that the decisions in general, for both teams, were frustrating.
“I just don’t know where he got some of those decisions from and it’s a shame because both teams were trying to play a bit of rugby.
“We’ll look at ourselves as we always do, we’ll identify where we went wrong.
“We have got some work-ons with final passing, decision making and some contact area stuff, so we have got things to improve.”
“We’ve had one game in four weeks so we’re going to be rusty, but the boys drive high standards of themselves and they will be frustrated that some of those last passes or offloads didn’t go to the right man and we left some tries out there but that’s part and parcel of rugby.”
One man who won’t feel those frustrations as much as others is Rosser, who opened his account for the club with a classy hat-trick.
Despite having to wait five games for his first try Jones has been impressed with the work rate, application and impact from Rosser since he joined and is delighted he has finally been rewarded with a trio of tries.
“He’s been brilliant since he’s come in,” said Jones.
“He hasn’t got that score but he’s created a lot of tries for us and looked really sharp so for him to go over was great because he’s a winger and he wants to be finishing.
“He’s had one and then all of a sudden he’s had three and he’s deserved every single one of them.
“He’s a great local lad and it was nice for him and the team because they are a tight bunch and they were all really happy for him.
“[Powell] looked sharp too. They bring different skillsets to the team so it was nice for him to get on the scoresheet and play some nice rugby.”
