COMPETITIVE SEASIDERS GELLING NICELY

CAERPHILLY 35 PENARTH 24 – Saturday 19 August 2017

A hastily-assembled Penarth squad boasting a number of debutants faced a powerful-looking Caerphilly side with ambitions of moving up from Division 2 (E) in search of past glories. The hosts certainly looked confident, but were knocked back briefly as the Seasiders took a scrum against the head in their own 22. Making their debuts in the pack were Liam Richards at hooker, Miles Jones on the openside flank and the distinctive figure of Wales international Ben Evans on the tighthead.

This scrum was definitely a marker put down for the rest of the eighty minutes, but didn’t stop Caer on this occasion as they moved into a 7-0 lead with a try from their left wing.

The home side’s strength was clearly in the midfield, where they persistently worked ball quickly to the wings and tested the Penarth defence. After narrowly missing a second try, they were rocked back on their heels by a James Candy break from his own 22, taking play into the Caerphilly half for the first time after 20 minutes. The Seasiders took the 35-metre scrum with something to spare and Alex Thau made a storming break, shaking off several tackles before scoring in the corner.

It was all looking very even all of a sudden, but despite another exhilarating break from Candy, the Seasiders yielded possession in a ponderous attack and Caer’s quick hands in midfield saw the ripped ball delivered to their left wing who ran in his second try down the tramlines. The rest of the half was dominated by the Seasiders and Caerphilly were relieved to hang on to their 14-5 lead come half-time.

Making changes at lock and outside-half for the second period, Penarth were pressing hard in the home 22 before gaining a scrum which they drove to the line for a second Thau try. But the hosts had been making their own changes and it was a real shock when they, too, took a scrum against the head. Confusion reigned in the Seasiders’ defence as a result and the home loose-head popped up for his side’s third try.

Trailing by nine points, Penarth surprised everyone by pulling the score back to 21-19 with a cracking try by Owain Lord, making his debut in the centre with Rhys Lloyd. A clean line-break was followed by exchanged passes with Holder and Owen Rees before he crossed the line

By now the teams were slugging it out toe-to-toe in a match that looked more like a top-of-the-table clash than a friendly and a hard-fought ruck on the Caerphilly 10 metre line was decisively won by Penarth and Thau ran clear to score his third, putting his side into the lead for the first time at 21-24.

Having lost their earlier control of the scrum, the Seasiders were sadly unable to contain a determined home side in the final quarter as their other prop muscled over for their fourth and the full-back scored the fifth in the corner after another slick bout of midfield handling had given him the overlap.

A try-count of 5-4 to the hosts was a good reflection of the contest, but this Penarth side gelled impressively and gave a real indication that they can be a force in Division 2 (East Central) this coming season.  The Seasiders travel to Trelai Park next Saturday to meet Caerau-Ely in their second pre-season friendly.

PENARTH        James Candy, Mitch Hickey, Owain Lord, Rhys Lloyd, James Crothers (Ben Hill), Tom Smith, Gareth Mathias, Matt Holder, Liam Richards, Ben Evans, Matt Allen, Anthony Pine,  Scott Mackie, Alex Thau, Miles Jones

Scorers:           Alex Thau (3 tries), Owain Lord (try),

James Docherty (2 conversions)

Photo Caption: Penarth Team after the Caerphilly Match – Top (l-r) Liam Richards, Rhys Lloyd, James Crothers, Tom Smith, Miles Jones, Ben Hill, Mitch Hickey, Caleb Docking, Anthony Pine, Ben Evans, Coach Matt Bolton , Nathan Smith

Bottom (l-r). Owain Lord, Matt Allen, Matt Holder, Owain George, James Candy, Alex Thau (captain),  Gareth Mathias, Alex Fulton, Owen Rees, James Docherty