Merthyr were the victors of the Mid District Premiership Cup with a 26-14 win over Pontypridd at Sardis Road.

Despite tries from Stuart Floyd-Ellis and replacement Ethan Evans, it wasn’t enough for Ponty to claim a second piece of silverware to go alongside their Welsh Premiership Cup success. Merthyr ran in four scores, including a try for former Ponty centre Cole Swannack midway through the second half.

Merthyr opened the scoring almost immediately after Ponty were penalised for holding on from the kick-off. They headed to the corner and utilised a rolling maul with hooker Ellis Shipp on the receiving end to peel away and score the first points of the match, which was converted by fly-half Ben Jones.

Ponty’s response was a positive one and they were awarded a penalty after Merthyr were penalised for not releasing after some good work at the breakdown, and they headed to the corner. A strong carry from centre Garyn Smith provided a platform for the score after a neat pass from Joel Raikes at the base of the ruck put outside centre Stuart Floyd-Ellis into space to stretch out and score. Outside half Jacob Symes levelled the scores with a routine conversion to make it 7-all after five minutes.

The game opened up quite dramatically and Ponty almost crossed for a second try with an attack which was started in their own 22 – Kristian Parker and Joe Miles linked up with Joel Raikes and he nearly put captain Cally James in the corner, only for a try saving tackle from a Merthyr player taking him into touch.

The Welsh Premiership champions had a great chance to re-take the lead with plenty of possession in the Ponty 22, only for a try saving tackle from Jude Williams on his opposite man Dafydd Thomas which sent him into touch.

Merthyr regained the lead after 30 minutes when scrum half Dafydd Land found the gap at the base of a ruck to run in unopposed to score underneath the crossbar, which resulted in a simple conversion for fly-half Jones.

There was a chance for the Valley Commandos in the final play of the half with a rolling maul inside the Merthyr 22, only for some solid Ironmen defence making the ball unplayable as referee Nathan James blew his whistle for the interval with Ponty trailing 14-7.

Merthyr started the second half in similar fashion to the first with a try. An offload from outside centre Cole Swannack freed up space for wing Dafydd Thomas who evaded the tackle of Dale Stuckey to score. Ben Jones continued his 100% record from the tee with a well struck conversion to extend the lead to 21-7.

Merthyr then capitalised on a Ponty error and went the length of the field for their fourth try of the contest. Flanker Jack Perkins broke after a strong counter ruck only to be stopped by scrum-half Raikes, but centre Cole Swannack dived over in the corner to give them a 26-7 lead.

There was a response from the hosts in the next passage of play as replacement Ethan Evans burrowed over from short range, with Symes adding his second conversion of the contest.

Tempers flared with both teams getting involved in a rather heated scuffle which saw two yellow cards, firstly to Merthyr number 8 Sam Cross before Ponty lock Mitch Barnard was also sent to the sin-bin.

Replacement Evans thought he had picked up his second of the game only for the ball being deemed to be held up. This was before number 8 Joe Miles had crossed, but again, referee James couldn’t find a grounding.

Merthyr maintained possession in midfield in the closing stages to claim the league and Mid District cup double.

It was the final act of Pontypridd’s season, with the squad now earning a well-deserved rest ahead of building for the 2025/26 season.

(17/5/2025)

15. Dale Stuckey. 14. Louis Rochefort-Shugar. 13. Stuart Floyd-Ellis. 12. Garyn Smith. 11. Jude Williams (Aled Evans). 10. Jacob Symes. 9. Joel Raikes (Joey Williams).

1. Ben Drew (Dan Cotterell). 2. Rob Jones (Dylan Kelly). 3. Morgan Bosanko (Kian Mattravers). 4. Mitch Barnard. 5. Niall Moore (Ethan Evans). 6. Kristian Parker. 7. Cally James (c). 8. Joe Miles.

16. Dylan Kelly. 17. Kian Mattravers. 18. Garyn Daniel. 19. Ethan Evans. 20. Charlie Manship. 21. Joey Williams. 22. Dan Cotterell. 23. Aled Evans.

Stuart Floyd-Ellis, Ethan Evans

Jacob Symes x 2

Mitch Barnard

15. Jack Kathrens. 14. Dafydd Thomas. 13. Cole Swannack. 12. Tom Hughes. 11. Fin Baker. 10. Ben Jones. 9. Dafydd Land.

1. Travis Hawkins. 2. Ellis Shipp. 3. Callum Dawe. 4. Paddy McBride (c). 5. Craig Locke. 6. Daniel Phillips. 7. Jack Perkins. 8. Sam Cross..

16. Rhys Hughes. 17. Callum Lewis. 18. Morgan Culverhouse. 19. Cerith Lloyd. 20. Zachary Lynam. 21. Kian Evans. 22. Kodie Stone. 23. Ethan Williams.

Ellis Shipp, Dafydd Land, Dafydd Thomas, Cole Swannack

Ben Jones x 3

Sam Cross

Nathan James

Assistant Referee 1: Spencer Clease, Assistant Referee 2: Brian Powell