Social Sardis | Unofficial Pontypridd Rugby Website

Local News
Ponty Observer's weekly roundup of rugby and sporting news can be found here.

Business Advertising
To advertise your business or organisation on the very popular Ponty Town website for just £25 a year - click here.

Editorial
27 April 2008
Ponty beat Aberavon to secure yet another Welsh Cup final at Cardiff on May 17th.

6 April 2008
Superb win for Ponty as they destroyed Bridgend in the Cup. Good to see the BBC covering the event too :(

23 March 2008
Good win for Ponty yesterday sees them stay at 3rd in the league.

15 March 2008
Great win for Wales sees them champions of Europe and we can't wait for the DVD! Still pretty amazing that the WRUin haven't signed Shaun Edwards - what are they playing at? South Africa next?

1 March 2008
Happy St David's Day! Budding poets can now enter the international Anglo-Welsh poetry competition which launches today.

Meanwhile Ponty take on Newport today and are 4th in the table, with C****** last but 12th.

24 Feb 2008
Another couple of good wins for Ponty and through to the next round of the Welsh Cup to play Bridgend in April.

Wales do well second half against Italy and rack up 40 points with all to play for in Croke Park next!

10 Feb 2008
Another good win for Wales and Ponty. What a shame the WRU can't force the new Blues side to change kit to green or something neutral, drop the Cardiff from the title, get rid of Peter Thomas and play a few games at Sardis as well as the new stadium. Wales needs a valleys team for than ever and now is the time.

2 Feb 2008
What a great start to the 6 Nations with a win against England at HQ. Grand Slam 2?

13 January 2008
Happy New Year and all that but two losses to "the team that cannot be mentioned" and Swansea mean it's a tough second half of the season for the boys if they want to get anything from the season. (5th in league at moment)

24 December 2007
Bad weather affected a few games but a good Cup win and another league victory means Ponty stay at 4th place in the table with C****** last but 13.

Merry Christmas to all rugby fans (that doesn't include the Blues of course). :)

18 November 2007
Great win for Ponty away at Maesteg which puts them 4th in the table, way above C****** as usual.

11 November 2007
Great win for Ponty against top of table Neef and a great crowd too.

With the expected appointment of Warren Gatland a follow up to my last column out also. Hope the Observer prints this one in its entirety but if not it's here.

28 October 2007
Looks like the winter weather is here at last, just in time to ruin a season of running rugby. Mmm?

Our masterplan plan for Welsh rugby has been about for a while, about 10 years before so called regional rugby started in Wales but in these times of continued trouble it may be worth stating them again in the vain hope that someone is listening... click here.

21 October 2007
Giving them almost as much pleasure as a C****** defeat Ponty beat Newport and SA beat England yesterday. Perhaps now the media will shut up about a side that only scored 1 try against top class opposition and they can get on with watching the WRUin continue to deny valleys rugby a place in the higher tier of Welsh rugby and laugh when the next coach leaves them in the same mess as we are in now.

11 October 2007
Wales went out of the RWC as expected. So did NZ, which they didn't. Fingers crossed now for France to beat England (otherwise we'll never hear the last of it from the EBC) but who knows who'll win the Cup this year?

Still amazed that no-one from the club seems to care about the possibility of the club moving grounds? Maybe they know something the rest of the Western world don't? Time will tell.

Martyn Williams writes his autobiography which can be bought online by clicking the links opposite and saving a few quid too. How will Wales manage now though seeing as he was the only world class player they had? Oh dear.

23 September 2007
Couple of good wins sees Ponty in 2nd place in the table, way above C****** as usual. Wales beat Japan but will have a tougher time against Fiji next week so we're all wearing grass skirts and Hawaiian shirts as a mark of respect.

15 September 2007
As predicted Wales go out of the RWC again by losing to Oz and a likely heavy loss to SA to follow. Good news is that SA thumped England though. Stephen Jones did little in the match except give away a try that sealed Wales' fate, while Hook came on and looked good. Mike Owen also added something to Wales' handling and should start next time out, along with Hook but as they all know their coach seems to have blinkers on. Next predictions - Georgia will give Ireland a game and Samoa will beat England.

5 September 2007
RWC fever grips Wales this week but it won't last long... soon we'll be able to concentrate on the proper rugby in Wales - the Premiership.

26 August 2007
Good couple of results for Ponty, a win for Wales and summer's here at last. France today though.

8 August 2007
Season kicks off with a great loss for Gareth Jenkins against England - a record 62 point hammering - lovely. Next up is Ponty v the Blues... where all Ponty's best players get forced at gun point against their will and better judgement to put on a jersey which has blue in it.

13 July 2007
New official site launched this week (Ok, nice design but still easy to navigate fixture list).

Wales are training hard we hear and the management (but probably not the players) are happy to lose the friendlies coming up (Mmm weird, could really see NZ saying that to the press!).

Fixture against the unspeakable ones arranged for August and the clubhouse has been painted and done out again we hear. That'll be nice. Just as long as they keep the lovely comfy settees I'm sure no-one will mind what colour it is this time.

Looking forward to the new season though with Geraint Lewis back. Shame they couldn't get Richard Parks too! And then maybe keep the talent they develop instead of seeing them get a mortgage down the Bay and sitting on the bench (sure there's a song there somewhere?). Still good news if Edinburgh get booted out of the CL - could mean it all goes tits up and they get rid of regions and go back to clubs... or the WRUin funds a 5th region - called the valleys?

2 June 2007
Wales lose again to Australia and surely now people can see the shapeless team with no game plan whatsoever must be down to coaching (or lack of it) and the WRUin will get rid of Gareth Jenkins and appoint Paul Turner or someone who knows how to coach. Then again, maybe not. Maybe they'll just stick with him. Let him ruin James Hook by picking Stephen Jones, lose miserably in the RWC, then blame it all on something else.

12 May 2007
Ospreys win the Celtic League with C****** last but nine, ha ha. Wales take on Australia next in a bid to get as many players injured as possible. If that doesn't work then they have England, France and Argentina in order to really bugger their chances up at the RWC.

8 May 2007
Season is over for Ponty. Cup lost, league 4th, Chief retires and coach Simon King goes to Aberavon is it? Strange, we heard a rumour he would take over from Lyn Jones at the Ospreys. Ah, well, so much for rumours.

22 April 2007
A brave defeat to Neath sees Ponty's title hopes end at Sardis yesterday. The Turks lose away at Leicester to prove once again that the only chance the stupid, backward-thinking WRUin ever had of a Welsh team winning the European Cup died when they got rid of the Celtic Warriors.

The last few games for the Ospreys still means they have a chance of winning the title, but other than that it's just Wales's badly coached team this summer to look forward to. New fixture list is available here but we'll wait until the Ospreys last game before swapping them over.

8 April 2007
Not much happening in Welsh rugby since Wales easily beat England with Hook and Alfie stars of the show. Ponty on a losing streak which sees them crash out of the Cup and drop to 4th in the table. Looking ahead to the RWC though they do have a slight chance of beating Australia and should finish at least 2nd in the group.

9 September:
Wales v Canada, Nantes, Pool B (1300 BST)

15 September:
Wales v Australia, Cardiff, Pool B (1400 BST)

20 September:
Wales v Japan, Cardiff, Pool B (2000 BST)

29 September:
Wales v Fiji, Nantes, Pool B (1600 BST)

6 October:
QF1: W Pool B v RU Pool A, Marseille (1400 BST)

7 October:
QF3: W Pool A v RU Pool B, Marseille (1400 BST)

13 October:
SF1: W QF1 v W QF2, Stade de France (2000 BST)

14 October:
SF2: W QF3 v W QF4, Stade de France (2000 BST)

19 October:
3rd place play-off, Parc des Princes (2000 BST)

20 October:
Final, Stade de France (2000 BST)

Fixtures, dates and times are subject to late change

18 March 2007
Well it certainly looks like the Welsh public know how to pick an outside half, unlike Welsh coach Gareth Jenkins. Let's hope that the same team starts the next game and Stephen Jones is on the bench.

17 March 2007
Good win for the boys last night as they keep up the pressure on Ebbw Vale (1 point behind and 1 game in hand). How come the bar staff haven't improved in 10 years though?

11 March 2007
Predictable loss away to Italy but at least James Hook looked good at 10...

25 Feb 2007
Much improved Welsh performance against France away but a tough trip to Italy before things come together for the grudge match at home to England. Defence looked solid again but set pieces need more work.

11 Feb 2007
After one of the worst performances I can remember Wales lose to a very poor Scotland team. Perhaps this is the time to get rid of Stephen Jones as captain (and just pick one for each game), get rid of Gareth Jenkins, Nigel Davies and Robin McBryde (the three Turks who have taken Wales backwards) and of course Pickering (who we all know is not a nice man). Bring back Ruddock as director of rugby, Lyn Howells to coach the forwards and a Scott Johnson type character from down under or maybe Paul Turner as backs coach? While we're at it lets sack Lyn Jones at the Ospreys and bring back a valleys region. The only coach to look like he knows what he's doing is Rowland Phillips (defence coach).

8 Feb 2007
Great performances from A W Jones, Martyn Ryan Jones, Peel and Kevin but other than that as they predicted. A 3-0 hammering in the try department - something Wales have lost the art of...

A slightly better side picked for Scotland with M Jones coming in, but why oh why is Shanklin on the bench? He's either fit or he's not!!! Can you imagine NZ picking their best player on the bench or worse still someone not fit? The mind boggles.

2 Feb 2007
We think Gypo has lost the plot picking Czjecki, Robinson and Luscombe behind, Hook out of position and not having the sense to move S Jones to 12 but time will tell... Ireland to win championship they reckon, Wales 3rd or 4th.

21 Jan 2007
A draw for Ponty away to Bedwas, Alfie fancies a nice fat pension plan at the city's failing club (out of Europe yet again no matter how much money they spend) and the Ospreys too are out of Europe which must mean the end of Lyn Jones' future at the club (or at least it would mean that at a professional club) - ahh such is life in Welsh rugby. Championship decider for the 6 Nations kicks of in Cardiff on the 4th and if Wales lose that one then it's all over until the RWC. If only the WRUin had kept the region that would have won Europe, who knows what might have happened...

14 Jan 2007
Good win for the boys against Cross Keys sees Ponty stay 2nd and are now just 2 points behind Ebbw Vale! Another great result in Europe as Leicester hammer the Blues 34-0 in what can only be described as a humiliating defeat.

7 Jan 2007
A another great win for the boys away at Llandovery sees Ponty keep up their title hopes, while crappy C****** lose to Swansea, ha ha. Ponty are now 2nd in the league!

30 Dec 2006
A superb performance from the boys down at Cardiff, two great tries and could have been many more against a poor city team. A great result for the league too as Ponty cement their position in 4th place with just 5 points between the top four clubs. C'mon the Pont!

29 Dec 2006
Good win again for the boys and we're up to 4th in the league. Big game this weekend though against the scum that cannot be mentioned...

15 Dec 2006
Good weekend of rugby as Ponty and the Ospreys win and C****** Blues go out of Europe.

10 Dec 2006
Great win for Ponty against Aberavon, a good thumping for Calvisano by the Ospreys and the best news of the weekend is that C****** get hammered by Munster at home which more or less sees them out of Europe for another year just as they predicted. Ha, ha.

26 Nov 2006
Wales get hammered by the All Blacks after good wins against Canada and the Pacific Islanders in previous weeks. Can anyone beat the Blacks? Maybe only Ireland at the moment. Looks like a good RWC on the horizon though, especially with England losing to SA.

Ponty manage a win against Maesteg but nothing much happening for them this season.

1 Nov 2006
Another loss for Ponty in the league but a great win for the Ospreys against Australia ahead of their clash with Wales.

22 Oct 2006
Good win for the Ospreys in injury time against Sale but didn't see another Warriors shirt or Ponty fan there... maybe time to get rid of the Ospreys from their fixture list? Strange thing that all four Welsh clubs (regions) won their opening game in Europe. It won't last though...

15 Oct 2006
Good win for Ponty sees them joint 4th in the table while C****** are joint 6th. Boring game but a good win with bonus point for the Ospreys sees them move to 4th in the Magners League while a loss to Ulster sees the Blues languish in 8th (ha, ha).

Heineken Cup starts next week with their nearest team the Ospreys taking on Sale at home while the C****** Blues will hopefully lose away in France. If the Turks are still afloat (we hope not) they take on London Irish away.

7 Oct 2006
Great to hear Brent Cockbain speaking such sense and also typical of the BBC to allow Ieuan "one-eyed Turk" Evans to have a platform to disagree with him. The row regarding the Scarlets wanting to build on a floodplain to pay off their debts and get a loan from the WRUin for millions when they have plenty of assets in Dwayne Peel, Stephen Jones and Regan King to sell off is incredible! You could write a soap opera on this... ahh, now there's an idea.

After criticism of Lyn Jones' coaching we hear that Kevin Hopkins is to assist him at the Ospreys.

Next week's Ponty Observer sees the first column from their resident editor, with a little swipe at the WRUin and the state of the game in Wales and particular the Warriors and valleys rugby. To read the unedited column visit our font color="#99CC00">rugby writing page and click on the link. Although judging by the new CEO of the WRUin's comments they are not going to get top class rugby back where it belongs until he goes the same way Moffett did -

"We cannot turn the clock back," he says. "The regions are now their structure and they have to recognise their strengths and go forward. They also have to recognise the strengths and the interest in rugby in Pontypridd and all those great valley areas, and work to harness that as best they can."

Sounds pretty much like "Screw you Ponty" to me. :(

30 Sept 2006
At last we see a performance from the Ospreys, albeit against a second string Gloucester. Justin Marshall was outstanding as was man of the match ex-Ponty boy Sonny Parker. Even Henson looked good, which will be a relief for Wales' fans.

24 Sept 2006
Good home win for Ponty but the Ospreys get hammered away at Ulster. Surely Lyn Jones must go as there is no way a team with this many class players could consistently perform so bad.

P.P.S.
We've emailed the BBC, Observer, ScumV, Ponty rugby and the Celtic Warriors websites so they may get some joy, who knows these days.

18 Sept 2006
A 100% success record this weekend as Ponty break their duck with a nice win over Aberavon away. In the other matches the Ospreys win twice and move up to 2nd in the Celtic League while C****** lose in Ireland.

11 Sept 2006
Not a great weekend at all for rugby in Ponty with the boys getting stuffed down at Neef. The Ospreys (Celtic League favourites) also lost away to Connacht. Makes you wonder what coach Lyn Jones is doing still in a job. But some good news for them as the old grand master Yoda takes on the Edinburgh job - at least they have another regional side to half-heartedly follow now.

31 Aug 2006
Fixture list updated to show Ospreys dates. Might actually be worth following this closest approximation to a regional set up this season. Ponty players being finalised, and fixtures proper starting this Saturday so it's an exciting time in Ponty this weekend. And once again let's hope that the C****** Blues fail miserably in all games and competitions they play and that Gethin and Sid don't get picked for Wales with Duncan Jones and Alun Wyn Jones in pole position, thus highlighting the errors of their ways still further. :) Roll on Scarlets & Dragons to the wall and Warriors II. Mind you the WRU has just given an extra £300,000 to each of the four clubs to stop that happening. Shame on them when they could have financed a 5th region (Valley Commandos) with £1.2 million. Makes you realise their mindset doesn't it.

25 Aug 2006
Ponty look to have sorted their final squad for the coming season and have got 3 out of 3 wins under their belts in the friendlies so all bodes well for the new season.

Season Ticket Information
Ground Membership:
Full: £70
Concession: £35 (over 65 or full time education on 1st September 2006)

Access to the Ground/Enclosure area for all home premiership games, opportunity to apply to enter the draw for Wales home Six Nations international match tickets.

Season tickets are available from the Club office weekdays between 9:00am and 12:00pm, or on match days.