LATE BURST LEAVES SEASIDERS POINTLESS

Porth 35 Penarth 18 – Saturday 3 January 2015

Things didn’t look good as the teams came out at the Welfare Ground in Porth last Saturday, as the Seasiders had suffered late withdrawals and were unable to field a qualified front row. For third-placed Harlequins, this might have been a blessing in disguise, as the Penarth pack had been going well.

Playing with the wind and down the slope, despite a lively start by the home backs, the Seasiders looked comfortable at only 6-3 down after ten minutes, but then sprang a real surprise at the end of the first quarter as they surged into the lead. Quins cleared to touch from a scrum on their own 22, but a superb catch-and-drive saw Penarth maul irresistibly to the corner, with James Docherty marking the try.

They went further ahead on the half-hour courtesy of a Docherty penalty following another line-out drive and for a short while the hosts looked rattled. However, they soon regained their composure, coming back strongly with a two-try burst that brought the score to 18-13 at half time. First a mesmerising display of handling by the backs pulled the Seasiders defence one way and then other before a long pass put right wing S.Evans in at the corner. Then, with a beautifully-timed run, number 8 G.Lewis latched on to a short pass by scrum half D.Morris to crash over.

As the teams turned round, so did the wind and this played no small part in keeping the Seasiders in the game during a scoreless third quarter. Penarth held the hosts comfortably, even though Richard Howells was on the receving end of a yellow card on 52 minutes. However, a lot of the pressure was actually coming from the visitors and when Gareth Mathias broke clean through and hacked ahead on the hour, a surprise looked on the cards.

The scrum-half was impeded on the line, but Scott Mackie followed up smartly to score. With only 20 minutes remaining, it was 18-18 and anyone’s game. Even when Porth regained the lead with a penalty five minutes later, the game didn’t seem beyond the Seasiders’ reach, but as in the first half, a late two-try burst saw off their challenge as the hosts claimed a bonus point and moved up to second in the table.

Both tries went to right wing Evans, the first another utterly convincing three-quarter move that pulled the Penarth defence out of shape again and the second a precision long pass from a passive scrum to the corner.

Bizarrely, the final five minutes belonged entirely to the Seasiders, as the visitors launched wave upon wave of attacks in the home 22. Desperate defence from the hosts kept them out and honours were even in the end, even if the score delivered a well-deserved victory to the home side.

Hopefully with a fully-functioning front row, Penarth welcome league leaders Brecon to the Athletic Field next Saturday. With the bottom of the table starting to get uncomfortably close, this may not be the ideal time to face a team who have only lost once in ten league games, but there was enough fight and skill on show against Porth to suggest that the match is by no means a foregone conclusion.

PENARTH Rhys Morgan, Tom Luck, Alex Thau, Kevin Maddox, James Crothers, Nathan Smith,
Gareth Mathias. Richard Merrett, James Docherty, Simon Barry, Mike Clare, Stuart Clarke, Scott Mackie [C], Elliott Smith, Richard Howells.

Scorers: James Docherty T, 2P, C
Scot Mackie T