Principality Premiership Pontypool legends Ray Prosser and Graham Price wrung their hands in despair after watching a game lacking in continuity and blighted by poor skills, writes Huw S Thomas.

The only true round of applause to ring out at Pontypool Park was with the half-time announcement that Price had won a bottle of whisky in the raffle.

Price was wise enough to run off to enjoy his whisky before the end of a dreadful game between two poor sides of limited ambition who were determined to kick the ball as far and as often as they could.

The kicking was aimless and misdirected with Llandovery refusing to trust the running game, and a stream of possession was wasted when the option of keeping the ball in hand would have paid far better dividends.

“If you kick, it’s got to be with thought and purpose,” said one bitterly disappointed Llandovery fan.

Club chairman Handel Davies was shocked by the Llandovery performance.

“We had a huge chance of getting our first win of the season,” said Davies, “but we kicked so badly and so often that we handed the game to Ponty on a plate.”

That said, Pontypool had the better of the turgid exchanges for most of the game, their set piece play more reliable and efficient.

The line-out was again a real Achilles’ heel for the Drovers with close range attacks petering out because of this enduring weakness in securing possession on their own throw.

It took a piece of rare initiative to break the first-half deadlock.

Promising Pooler full back Geraint O’Driscoll lightened the depression with a chip and chase try and conversion, answered by a Llandovery try from centre Rhys Williams after the rarity of good approach work from busy hooker Adam Yelland.

Full-back Justin Lewis gave the Drovers a 8-7 lead soon after the break with a close range penalty, only for O’Driscoll to put over two penalties in three attempts.

The appearance of forwards Andrew Jones and Gareth Williams plus full back Dan Rogers injected a bit more zip into the Drovers game and wing Ifan Evans – worked clear at last - was stopped just short of the line by a terrific cover tackle from Pooler flanker Cae Trayhern.

When Trayhern was yellow carded right under his own posts for killing the ball with just three minutes of normal time left, Llandovery had a sniff of victory.

They crucially opted for a Williams penalty to close the gap to 13-11 rather than go for the jugular at a scrum five and afterwards could not construct a vital opening in nine minutes of injury time.

For the second week running Llandovery secured a bonus point, but could so easily have snatched victory if they had only been a little more confident in their handling skills.

Llandovery: J Lewis 6 (D Rogers); I Evans 6, S Soul 5, R Williams 5, V Jenkins 5; L Williams 5 (R Evans), R Walters 5 (capt); E Howells 6 (A Jones), A Yelland 7 (J Littlehales), P Edwards 6, K Davies 6 (T Walker), R McCusker 6 (M Harbut), I Cunningham 6 (G Williams), L Phillips 7, J Edwards 7.