Match Report – Saturday 5 March 2016

PENARTH 17 – ST.PETERS 28

Penarth will be particularly disappointed on looking back at this contest. After giving the opposition a seven point lead they hit back straight away, went behind again but grafted their way into a second half lead only to let it slip again.

Conditions were excellent and encouraged open, running rugby. St. Peters took immediate advantage of this from the off, throwing the ball wide and bringing their three quarters straight into the game. Penarth seemed not to sense the early threat and fell off too many tackles allowing St Peters number 10 James Morris a free passage to the line.

This set back galvanised the home side who threw everything into an attack of their own. Behind a pack thundering away at the line scrum half Gareth Mathias sniped away only to be flattened after releasing a probing chip. Referee Mark Jones had no hesitation in judging that a score had been illegally prevented and awarded a penalty try.

Ten minutes gone and the score was all square at 7 – 7.

Now it was the visitors turn to hit back with their back row making Mathias’s life impossible. As so often number 8 Elliot Smith brought an element of calm amongst the storm working the ball out to the home backs where the decision to kick through just let St Peters reapply pressure.

This pressure gained two successive penalties then a yellow card for Louis Chandler in defence. With a one man advantage in the pack St Peters were able to shove Penarth pack back over their own line for a touchdown and conversion.

Wingman Paul Collett was recruited into the back row to return some balance to that contest and frustrated St Peters scrum half, Luke O’Brien temporarily confused his sports and offered a few sideswipes in place of sidesteps A chat from the referee meant that a subsequent infringement gave Penarth stalwart James Docherty a chance for three points that he readily accepted.

Half Time: Penarth 10 – St Peters 14.

After some suffering in the first half the young Penarth front row had by this stage got the measure of the opposition. So the start to the second period saw some exciting running particularly from Alex Thau, engaged twice in a charge down the blind side wing. From the attacking penalty that this gained Docherty declined three points and set up a five meter line out. Secured possession became a perfectly formed rolling maul driven over for Thau to round off his earlier work with the try. Docherty added an element of drama by converting in-off the post.

At this stage, ten minutes in, the home side were running positively and off-loading slickly. Scrum and line out were working and the tackling error rate had improved.

But St Peters had not despaired and applied pressure up front once more achieving four successive 5 meter scrums with a desperate home defence conceding a penalty try.

Penarth were by no means out of it but started to miss tackles again and amongst desperate defence a frustrated Tom Luck got on the wrong end of a red card. St Peters, alert to the chance, worked the ball wide where the gap was and Morris strolled through for their bonus point try.

Penarth threw all their replacements into the fray but apart from an unwelcome session of fisticuffs at the death the action was over.

Penarth will learn from this encounter and develop the positive things in their performance as well as putting in some tackling practice.

Penarth: Rhys Morgan; Paul Collett; Nathan Smith; Tom Luck; James Crothers; James Docherty; Gareth Mathias; Jerome Bryan; Mason Good; Alan Doyle; Lloyd Hutson; Scott Mackie (capt.); Alex Thau; Elliot Smith; Louis Chandler.

Substitutes; Sean O’Sullivan; Mathew Sutton; Riyad Aukbarally; Harry Roberts; Ben Hill.