Fun in the sun for Seasiders
Big win puts Penarth on the brink of promotion
Penarth 55-19 Clwb Rygbi (HT 19-12)
There was a party atmosphere at a sun-soaked Athletic Field on Saturday afternoon as Penarth celebrated two personal milestones with a thumping 55-19 victory over Clwb Rygbi which has left them on the cusp of promotion to Division 2.
The result was a fitting way to celebrate veteran players Jimmy Crothers and James Docherty making their 400th and 300th appearances for the Seasiders 1st XV respectively and both players managed to get their names on the score sheet as well as being treated to a standing ovation as they were replaced a minute before full time.
With perfect weather conditions the Seasiders flew out of the blocks and early tries from Tom Griffiths, via a powerful rolling maul, and Docherty, with a delightful pirouette out of contact from another dominant lineout, gave Penarth an early 12 point lead. However, as players and supporters alike were aware, Clwb are no walkover and just like in the return fixture a month ago they came straight back at Penarth with a try of their own.
Penarth were no perturbed however and following some more excellent work from the pack, who were dominant in scrum and lineout all afternoon, a penalty was awarded 15m from the Clwb line. Some quick thinking from full back Ben Jones saw him take a tap penalty to feed Joe Williams on a sharp angle and there was no stopping the lively centre.
Penarth’s indiscipline gave Clwb a valuable foothold in Penarth territory from where they were able to execute a well-rehearsed lineout drive of their own to narrow the gap to 7 points at half-time, 19-12.
The Seasiders were quickest out of the blocks again in the second half and picked up the bonus point try within 3 minutes as livewire scrum half Spencer Robinson fielded a towering kick and found himself in acres of space. Needing no invitation to gallop into the 22 he drew the last defenders before slipping the ball to Joe Williams who dotted down for his second of the day.
When Clwb subsequently scored their third try to narrow the gap once again it was starting to look like the game might go to the wire, but from this point Penarth’s dominance became total.
Crothers marked his 400th game by rounding off a beautiful move which started with a sharp break from Robinson who found Joe Williams in support before Ben Jones drew the last man to send Crothers in at the corner.
First Griffiths scored his second of the game from another well executed lineout drive before Docherty added a penalty to take Penarth 3 converted tries clear with 15 minutes to go. Another offence at scrum time led to another penalty for Penarth deep in the Clwb 22 from which Harry Roberts showed great alertness to take quickly and give Nathan Frost space to dot down in the corner.
The only blot on the Penarth copybook was a late red card for wing Ben Wellington for clumsy rather than dangerous high tackle, although parity of numbers was maintained as the oppositions captain also saw red for throwing a punch in the ensuing melee.
After Crothers and Docherty departed to a well-deserved ovation from the home supporters and players there was still time for some icing on the cake as another forward drive saw Frost score his second of the day and Jones added a fine conversion.
With Llanharan beating St Albans, Penarth’s promotion will be all but secured with another 3 pts. The first opportunity for that will come on Wednesday night as Penarth face their most likely challengers for the League title, Llanharan, in what should be an absolute belter of a game.
Penarth: Geraint Williams, Tom Griffiths (Mason Good), Ryan Jones (Bradman Williams), Nathan Frost, Cam Sultana, Mike Lang (Andy Lang), Harry Roberts, Miles Jones, Spencer Robinson, James Docherty (Osian Phillips), Josh Powell, Andy Richards (Ben Wellington), Joe Williams, James Crothers, Ben Jones.
Scorers: T Griffiths (2 tries), J Williams (2 tries), N Frost (2 tries) J Crothers (try) J Docherty (try, 5 cons, pen)
