For their final away match of the season, Brecon had the unenviable task of travelling to Sardis Road, Pontypridd, or as it is known locally, “The House of Pain.”

With Brecon’s relegation from the Premiership now confirmed and facing third-placed Ponty, with a season’s unbeaten home record, Brecon knew there was the possibility of suffering a painful afternoon. Painful it was for much of the first half.

After a very bright opening ten minutes, during which Brecon took the lead with a well-taken Llewelyn Brown penalty, the large, vocal Pontypridd crowd had plenty to shout about. Brecon found it difficult to maintain any continuity and were constantly under pressure. With the bounce of the ball also favouring the home team, Ponty stormed away with five tries to lead 27–3 at half-time.

At the start of the second half, Ponty again put Brecon under pressure. This time, however, Brecon’s defence held and, as confidence grew, they began to impose themselves in Ponty territory. They got close to scoring when they were held up over the line but then conceded a converted try. They were now much more in the game, with improved work at the breakdown and quicker ball allowing them to break the gain line. Eventually they were rewarded with an excellent first try. The crowd started to quieten down, and when Brecon scored a great second there was generous appreciation shown by the home support. By the final whistle, they had restored pride and belief after Pontypridd’s first-half dominance had suggested a heavy defeat.

Brecon had started well. Llewelyn Brown kicked well out of hand, Rhys Davies and Chad Davies made half breaks, and Brown’s penalty gave them a deserved lead. Alwyn Lee, Iwan Dowling Jones and Rakhat Clarkson carried strongly, but the game changed after Brecon squandered a line-out opportunity in the Ponty 22. The ball was overthrown, Ponty won possession and a penalty, and from the resulting pressure prop Ben Drew scored.

Almost from the restart, Ponty struck again. Brecon failed to gather the clearing kick and Ioan Davies surged into the 22 before offloading for Tommy Morgan to score. Brecon responded with pressure of their own but Brown narrowly missed a penalty. From the drop-out, a loose ball was not dealt with and Dale Stuckey broke through to score under the posts, allowing Logan Jones an easy conversion.

Ponty continued to dominate, with another penalty leading to a maul and a yellow card against Brecon. Hooker Connah Hughes scored the bonus-point try from the next line-out, and Joe Miles added a fifth after Stuckey again caused problems. Brecon trailed 27–3 at half-time.

The second half followed a similar pattern early on, but Brecon’s defence tightened and they competed better at the breakdown. They threatened through Josh and Ben Pritchard and Tom Richards, with Richards held up short and Rahkat Clarkson and Rhys Davies denied. However, a chip ahead from Stuckey led to George Thorington scoring under the posts.

Brecon responded strongly. Josh Pritchard made a powerful run, Gruff Peters impressed on debut with quick hands, and Rhys Davies and Tom Richards helped set up captain Jake Newman to score. They added a second after Peters forced a knock-on, Taran Moa showed good handling and Mitchell Baller stepped inside to score under the posts, with Newman converting.

Brecon now face two final games at Parc de Pugh against Llanelli Wanderers on Wednesday and Narberth on Saturday.

The words of their coaches will be ringing in their ears: “We are proud of the second half performance. In that half we kept our work rate high and delivered the speed of ruck ball we needed. Now we have to do it from the start and deliver for the full 80 minutes.”