Winger Mathew Powell was pleased to get back into the action in the win over Maesteg Harlequins RFC after six weeks away from the field.
Powell wasn’t part of the squad that saw off Cardiff Met RFC on January 7, which meant his last involvement came on the first weekend of December in the victory at Bedwas RFC – a game in which he opened his account for the club.
That long break without the ball in hand meant he was full of energy and he certainly showed that on the pitch with darting runs, trickery and quick footwork to produce an eye-catching display.
“I haven’t played for a while so I was like a coiled spring in training,” confessed Powell.
“I couldn’t wait to put the boots back on and get out there.
“I was just excited to get the ball in my hands and run with the boys again.
“We’ve worked a lot on our fitness, we pride ourselves on being a fit team and in the second half we were downwind and down the slope, the boys worked hard and holes opened up.
“They were heavy upfront and at certain times in the game we were able to exploit that.”
The 28-year-old opened the scoring at Pontypool Park and was joined on the scoresheet by Adam Stratton, Mike Herbert, Ashley Sweet, Dai Langdon and hat-trick hero Amosa Nove. Outside-half Matthew Jarvis contributed with 14 points from the tee.
The eight-try haul kept the supporters happy on a cold afternoon but it was the defensive display that ensured Powell left the field with a smile on his face.
“We weren’t happy at half time but we were against the wind and up the slope,” he continued.
“So to get the bonus point early in the second half when we were downwind, the boys were a little bit more relaxed but still with that bit of edge.
“We always want to run things right we don’t like getting things wrong but it definitely helped getting it when we did.
“We’ve conceded a couple of tries over the last few weeks from kick chase so we’ve worked a lot on that so for them not to score [a try] was pleasing but I think our kicking battle, and our shape after our kicking, was good, they didn’t break our line once.”
