Thomas pleased to be back after long injury lay-off

Duan Thomas was delighted to be back on the field in a Pontypool jersey for the first time in 10 months in the victory over RGC 1404.

The centre was named in the starting line-up for the first time since the final game of last season away at Ystalyfera and he was pleased to be back among the action.

It wasn’t clear for much of the game if Thomas would be marking his return with a victory after an evenly contested first 40 minutes.

Mathew Powell got his first try since returning from injury in the opening minutes before Matthew Jarvis added a penalty.

Dion Jones struck penalties for RGC either side of a Sam Scarfe try from a driving lineout.

Wales U20 international Harri Ford managed to touch down for the visitors before Powell sent Matt Bancroft clear for his first Pontypool try but a third Jones penalty kept RGC within reach.

The to-and-fro contest continued in the second half but Pooler’s defence remained unbreached while Scott Matthews came off the bench to deliver the bonus point with Jarvis sealing the win with a late penalty.

The try bonus point was Pooler’s fourth in a row and meant Thomas was able to enjoy his return to action even more.

“It’s been a long time, over 10 months,” said Thomas.

“It’s been very tough mentally but even though I’ve been out of the games, I’ve still been part of the squad in training and matchdays.

“So I haven’t been far away from the action but it’s nice to be actually playing.

“I was a bit shocked and nervous [when told I was playing] but most of all I was excited just to be playing with the boys again.”

Thomas was in the thick of the action as he played the entirety of the game, which became largely scrappy in parts.

“I think it was always going to be scrappy,” continued centre Thomas.

“I know that RGC haven’t had a lot of games go their way but looking at the results, all of their games have been close so to get five points against them, we’re happy with that.

“We had that dip [in form] but our attitude towards training and the way we’ve adapted has been excellent.

“That’s coming from the coaches down to the senior players. We’ve all really bought in and it’s paying off.”

Pooler now have a week off to rest bodies before travelling to local rivals Ebbw Vale for a midweek Gwent derby on April 18^th.