A downpour just before kick-off at a packed Sardis Road coupled with the importance of this fixture meant that free-flowing

A downpour just before kick-off at a packed Sardis Road coupled with the importance of this fixture meant that free-flowing rugby was never likely to be on the cards, and that was certainly the case.It was not all bad for the Cardiff coach, David Young, as his side secured a valuable bonus point, meaning they will now face a trip to Scotland to play Edinburgh rather than the daunting journey to Munster. But Young will be far from happy with the poor discipline, weak scrummaging and woeful line-out play from his forwards.His front row in particular turned in a far from impressive performance and were completely outplayed by the Ponty pack. In particular, the poor discipline showed by Peter Rogers caused the most concern.Rogers was sin-binned in the 29th minute, his third consecutive yellow card in as many matches, for his part in collapsing the scrum. His caution came at a time when Cardiff were under the cosh and Young will no doubt give the player some stern words.Rogers’ fellow prop, Kenneth Fourie, was one more player whose poor discipline cost his side dearly. Fourie was sent off for unleashing several punches to the face of Robert Sidoli as the Ponty man lay on the ground. That meant that Cardiff had no recognised prop on the field, leaving Young to reshuffle his pack urgently.Cardiff secured their valuable bonus point by the skin of their teeth, as if it had not been for a last-ditch Martin Williams tackle in the final minute of the game Ponty would have scored a well-deserved try.

As it was, penalties from the full-back Davey secured the victory for the home side.Ponty started the game the stronger, and the closest they came to scoring a try was midway through the first half, when they had a 10-minute spell where they had Cardiff on the ropes. But despite numerous penalties, scrums and line-outs, the home side just could not break Cardiff down.And in a relatively close game the only highlight was a superb second-half run from Rhys Williams The Welsh international ran nearly the length of the field. beating several men, and with only one more left to beat he passed to Dan Baugh. But Baugh just did not have the pace to beat the Ponty full-back and the Cardiff No 8 was swiftly tackled and pushed into touch.A watching Steve Hansen, the Wales coach, would have been far from impressed with the game and in particular the form of Harris. The Cardiff player may have scored three penalties but, in truth, he failed to make his mark.Pontypridd: B Davey; G Wyatt, S Parker, J Lewis, E Lewis; C Sweeney, P John; G Baber; G Jenkins (N Hennessy, 52-60), M Davies (capt), D Bell, B Cockbain, R Sidoli (D McIntosh, 23-33), G Lewis (W O’Connor, 83), M Owen, R Parks.Cardiff: R Williams; A Sullivan (G Woods, 29-39, E Lewis 55), J Robinson, P Muller, C Morgan; I Harris, R Powell; P Rogers, A Lewis, K Fourie, H Senekal, J Tait, R Appleyard (G Powell, 23), D Baugh, M Williams (capt).. Welsh hopes that the national team can brighten up the gloom cast by club performances in the first couple of months of the season depend on coach Steve Hansen’s ability to build a side over the next three weeks.

The weakness of Romania is not likely to cause them any problems, but Fiji and Canada certainly could and they are both potential banana skins if they are not taken seriously.Where I do see a glimmer of light is that suddenly the prospect of a decent pack is starting to emerge. This is mainly thanks to Pontypridd, whose progress over the past year has been substantial. If we can assemble a pack of forwards who can compete then we can make the most of the threat our pace can pose from behind.There are a few permutations that need to be tried up front but I expect the Ponty-pridd front five to be well represented and I would certainly find a place for Martyn Madden, even if it is on the bench. The Llanelli prop has been playing very well in European competition.The selection of Colin Charvis as captain of the autumn internationals is a bold move, but it must be remembered that he performed the role well in the two Tests on the summer tour of South Africa, and it helps to lift the pressure on Scott Quinnell.In fact, I would go further and play Charvis at No. 8, certainly for the first couple of games, to allow Quinnell to stay out of the fray and conserve his strength for a little longer.