Unbeaten Penarth Youth to provide Good Friday entertainment
There are 30 years this weekend since the Barbarians turned up at the Athletic Field for the last time. It was sad and painful, though inevitable as their Easter Tour schedule had to be initially cut down then eventually
abandoned for good. Penarth, the host of tour opener on Good Friday were the first to be dropped in 1986, but ten years later the game turned professional and Barbarians Easter tour of South Wales was all but never to be
forgotten memories. The supporters and players of both Penarth clubs started celebrating the 30thanniversary last weekend, with two matches, against foreign opposition. Les Limacs (The Snails) the veterans of ES Gimont, a club in Gers region of Gascony, were the first to sample Penarth hospitality on Friday night. Two years ago, another French Veterans side visited Penarth and the fun they had convinced one of the then tourists Jerome Escalas, the President and captain of Limacs to return this March.
The match between Penarth veterans and the visitors was an entertaining 9-tries affair, in which the French surprised their hosts with their skill and pace. Captained by veteran Jason Allen, Penarth fielded an experienced team of whom Simon Crothers, approaching his 50th birthday was probably the most senior. Brendan Bush returned to don the Penarth jersey, so did Gavin Seymour and Geraint Evans who showed great form in the front row. Mike Clare played outside half, a position that enabled him to display his appetite for running rugby, while former skipper Gary Power had a good run at flank-forward. Several of the Penarth first team regulars had an opportunity to have a run, to help them return to form for the remaining League matches. Penarth scored five tries to the visitors’ four to win the match, but the evening ended well after midnight after a most enjoyable dinner and singing session. Appropriately, great time was had by all, one of those occasions that reminded of a bygone era, when the drinking and singing went well into the small hours of the night.
On Sunday afternoon a combined Penarth/ Old Penarthians XV entertained the St. John’s University RFC from Minnesota, who stopped in Penarth for their first match of their tour, which takes them to Bath and Chester as well. The club nicknamed “The Johnies” won the National Small College Rugby Organisation (NSCRO) a few times since 2010 but seemed quite rusty after a three months break. The Combined Penarth XV showed great appetite for running rugby and won comfortable 73-22, but after the break the visitors redeemed themselves with several well-taken tries.
This weekend the anniversary Good Friday fixture is going to be fulfilled by the all-winning Penarth Youth side, against a District Youth XV, as the Crawshays Youth decided to abandon the fixture. Coached by former Neath and Wales B centre Colin Laity, helped by Andy Pyman, who has returned to coaching duties after a break due to poor health, Penarth Youth are enjoying one of their best seasons to date. They are unbeaten so far in their League and as Youth Chairman Richard Smith pointed out this is a particularly talented generation of players as the majority of the squad are only in their first or second year of Youth rugby. The last home match on the Penarth Firsts fixture list for the 2015-16 season is against Llantrisant, Saturday week, on April 2nd when the Seasiders will celebrate 30 years since the last match against the Barbarians in 1986. The former players are invited to attend and the organisers hope to have a good turnout of former Penarth stars.
Written By Chris Thau
