Athletic miss out in thriller
Barry RFC 2nd XV 34-24 Penarth RFC 2nd XV (HT 27-5)
Despite a huge second half effort Penarth Athletic’s cup run came to an end at the first hurdle against a good Barry side at Reservoir fields on Saturday.
With Barry unable to field a front row the game was played throughout with passive scrums which is a significant handicap to this Penarth team and their devastating trio of Richard Merrett, Ryan Jones and captain Liam Richards. And despite a great start when Thaine Baker caught Morgan Smith’s initial kick off the pattern of the first half was set early on. Penarth would dominate territory and possession but when Barry managed to get hold of the ball their electric back line, and in particular their full back and left wing caused Penarth all sorts of problems registering 3 tries between them by the break.
Penarth were guilty of some slack handling and some sloppy defence but still managed to pick up a try from Leon Appiah in the first half. However a further two scores from Barry saw the home side establish a significant 27-5 lead at half time.
It must be noted that the second team pitch at Barry has one of the most pronounced slopes in south wales and it proved to be a bit of a leveller as Penarth got up a head of steam charging down the hill. They once again dominated possession and territory and soon got back into the game with a try from Elliott Smith converted by Andy Richards.
With their tails up Penarth came flooding back down the slope and after some sustained pressure it was Ryan Jones who bundled over the line for Penarth’s third try. And a fourth followed soon after as Appiah went over for his second and a stunning touchline conversion from Richards put Penarth to within 3 points.
But just as it looked like Penarth were back in it, a couple of loose kicks saw Barry establish a territorial foothold. In a tense 10 minute spell Barry through everything at Penarth but the defence was resolute and repelled attack after attack. However, eventually the pressure was too much and Barry snuck over for their sixth try to finish the match and seal passage into the second round.
Penarth 2nds: Sean O’Sullivan, Liam Richards (c), Ryan Jones, Harrison Pugsley, Ben Heywood, Thaine Baker, Rob Rees, Mike Lang, Ben McCarthy, Morgan Smith, Leon Appiah, James Walsh, Tom Venn, Jake Briscombe, Alex Fulton – Bench Caleb Docking, Sam Harries, Ian Cabral, Lloyd Ellis
Scorers: L Appiah (2t), R Jones (t), E Smith (t), A Richards (3c)
Team: R Merrett, L Richards, R Jones (L Ellis), A Lang (R Jones), B Heywood (T Addicott), T Baker, R Rees, E Smith, O Williams, M Smith (H Leach), L Appiah, C Mortimer, A Richards, R McLelland, J Briscombe
