Penarth Bowled Over at Pentyrch

Pentyrch 38 – 26 Penarth (HT 28-5)

And so any dreams of the Millenium Stadium in April are cast aside for another year as a calamitous performance, admittedly interjected with flashes of brilliance, saw Penarth bow out of the WRU Bowl in the second round at Pentyrch last Saturday. With just 1 win in 6 matches thus far this season this Seasiders squad need to start turning some of their undoubted promise into results and fast.

Penarth were on the back foot from the outset as a determined Pentyrch side came at them hard and fast and made the most of a strong breeze to dominate territory and possession in the early stages. Then went 7 points up after just 10 minutes and were soon back in the Penarth 22 where centre Rhys Beynon was shown a yellow card for retaliating to some not insignificant provocation from the home outside half. Penarth held firm with 14 men but Pentyrch breached the Penarth defence again just before the half hour mark as outside centre Marley ghosted through some poor tackling to score under the posts.

Penarth then sparked into life with Morgan Smith breaking the line before feeding Beynon who offloaded beautifully to second row Harrison Pugsley who in turn showed great hands to feed Harry Williams to cross for an unconverted score near the corner.

But any thoughts of Penarth being back in the match were soon dismissed as Penarth contrived to concede two of the softest tries you’ll see all season. First a penalty deep in their own 22 was taken quickly rather than hoofed to touch only for the second pass to go to ground where it was promptly hoofed on by Pentyrch centre Huw Rees who then fell on the ball for an easy score. And if that wasn’t bad enough within 5 minutes a horrible mix in the Penarth back line saw the ball passed straight into the hands of Rees to scamper over for another 7 point score. At 28-5 at half time there seemed little hope for the Seasiders.

After what can only have been some harsh words at half time Penarth flew out of the traps and after a period of pressure a fine miss pass from Smith saw Harry Williams open his legs to make a decisive break before feeding Spencer Robinson who showed a clean pair of heels to the defence to go under the posts to close the gap to 16 points with Tom Smith’s conversion.

However, Penarth must still have been basking in their own minor glory because no less than 3 mintues later they were back under their own posts after Pentyrch winger Nathan Williams ran fully 50 metres without so much as a finger being laid on him to score in the corner.

For all their current technical frailities, you cannot say that this Penarth side lacks heart. They put aside the setback and battered the Pentyrch line for the next 10 minutes resulting in a deserved try for Beynon who was a thorn in the home team’s side for the whole game, Rhys Morgan converted and the gap was back to 14 points. It now obviously goes without saying that Pentyrch scored next and that the try was soft and Penarth should have done better, and the game was now lost.

Nevertheless Penarth had the final saw as a mixture of offside and high tackle using no arms saw Penarth collect a penalty try for their troubles to leave the final score 38-26 and end their Bowl journey.

There are many reasons to enjoy the spirit and style of this Penarth team and the backline in particular holds some real gems in the shape of Rhys Beynon, Owain Lord, Tom Smith and the flying wingers Harry Williams and Spencer Robinson who have accumulated three tries each already this season. However, despite the sides ability to put together phases of play which are beyond many at this level they also seem to lack the ability to carry out some of the basics anywhere near adequately enough to really stamp their mark. The number of missed tackles, dropped balls, unnecessary offloads and wayward or absent kicks must be of huge frustration to the coaching team of Matt Bolton and Tristan Davies. To turn the common proverb if this Seasider’s team can learn to walk as well as it can run then they can be a real force this season but there seems to be a lot of hard work to do to make that happen.

Penarth: R.Merrett (S.O’Sullivan) L.Richards, Ryan Jones, H.Pugsley, O.Thomas, O.George (A.Rigby), A.Fulton, C.Mortimer, R.Morgan(c), M.Smith (K.Maddox), S.Robinson, R.Beynon, O.Lord, H.Williams (B.Hill), T.Smith

Scores – H.Williams (t), S.Robinson (t), R.Beynon (t), Penalty Try,  R.Morgan (con), T.Smith (con).

SEASIDERS SECOND BEST

Penarth (0) 7 Tylorstown (12) 27

Having broken their duck in a Bowl win the previous week, Penarth now faced a different sort of challenge in the shape of old rivals Tylorstown. You always know what you’re going to get from Tylie and that’s intensity – they haven’t changed a bit. To be fair, a determined Penarth team matched the visitors’ fire, but the Rhondda Fach side were just that  bit better at it.

Nowhere more so than at the breakdown, where the Tigers were able to field specialists in the dark arts to maintain their own possession and consistently slow that of the hosts. That the Seasiders were able to make this a far closer contest than the scoreline suggests is very much to their credit.

Penarth initially came under real pressure in the scrum and although they held their own, Tylorstown always managed to make it difficult to obtain quick ball. The first try arrived after 13 minutes as a 5 metre line-out from a penalty was driven, but as the maul fragmented, the Penarth defence was also split and lock Matthew Paul went over in the corner.

Now the game opened out as both sides attacked with some fluency. The Seasiders came close on a couple of occasions, but it was the Tigers who conjured up a cracker of a try after 25 minutes. Crossing the Penarth 10m line, their outside-half popped up a short pass to the outside centre coming in at an angle and wrong-footing the Penarth defence to go over under the posts.

A Rhys Beynon kick ahead then nearly resulted in a try and Penarth gained a 5m attacking line-out, but this part of the hosts’ game wasn’t delivering the desired results and no score came. The Seasiders were soon back again as Beynon made 20 metres and a penalty was kicked to touch, but again without yielding a score.

Tylorstown were under immense pressure during this second quarter, but survived by conceding a string of penalties without further sanction until they lost their key man and captain to the bench in the 39^th minute.

The opening fifteen minutes of the second half showed Penarth at their best, with relentless pressure being applied by Beynon and his centre partner Owain Lord, added to trademark attacking runs from full-back by Tom Smith. In the end, the centres combined again to bring play up to the visitors’ line, where yet another penalty was tapped before the was ball worked quickly towards the posts where Elliott Smith completed the score.

Much more in this vein as the Seasiders eyed a mere five-point gap at 7-12, but the pressure only resulted in a further yellow card for the visitors as try-scorer Paul departed. Unfortunately, this only served to fire the Tigers up and following a turnover from a Penarth handling error they counter-attacked smartly, creating an overlap out wide where left wing Keiron Richards went over in the corner to extend the lead to 7-17.

Penarth rang the changes in search of a way back into the game and the scoring chances came and went in a game which was visibly disintegrating in the poor conditions. Tylorstown were even under enough pressure to choose to take three points from a rare penalty in the Penarth 22 in the final quarter.

It just wasn’t going to be Penarth’s day, was it? As the contest lost shape entirely as the referee tried to maintain control under a barrage of abuse from the travelling support, openside flanker Adam Phillips claimed the bonus point for his side with a soft fourth try in the 78^th minute.

The Seasiders turned in a number of fine individual performances, but ultimately they failed cope adequately with the visitors’ game-plan or the sort of conditions that turn the ball into a bar of soap.

Hopefully both of these factors will be absent next Saturday as they travel to second-placed Cowbridge in search of that elusive first league win.

PENARTH – Tom Smith, Spencer Robinson, Owain Lord, Rhys Beynon, James Crothers (Harry Williams), Morgan Smith (Kevin Maddox), Rhys Morgan, Richard Merrett, Iwan Baker (Sean O’Sullivan), Ryan Jones, Andy Lang, Harrison Pugsley (Liam Richards), Alex Fulton, Elliott Smith (Owain George), Chris Mortimer.

Scorers –Elliott Smith (T), M Smith (c)

So close but yet so far

Penarth 19-20 Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd

Another game and another near miss and unfortunately for this Penarth side whilst they were no doubt on the wrong side of some unfortunate refereeing decisions it was ultimately their own mistakes which cost them this match. Again though there were significant positives to take from this match, as well as a second consecutive losing bonus point, and this was a marked improvement from the previous weeks match.

The game could not have started any better for Penarth as Spencer Robinson fielded a long kick from the Clwb Rygbi fly half and fed the returning Nick Davenport who set off on a barnstorming run, the type of which was one of the highlights of last season. As Davenport was finally felled the ball was worked swiftly from left to right where Harry Williams showed pace and power to score out wide. A beautifully judged conversion from Morgan Smith saw Penarth establish an early 7 point with a gusty wind at their backs.

Then followed a rather bizarre passage of play deep in the Penarth half where despite the aforementioned strong wind the home side repeatedly failed to make use of the same to clear their lines. The result was that after a turnover ball a quick snipe from Clwb scrum half Mike Perry opened up a gap which flanker Deian Thomas was only happy to charge through and score under the posts to leave an easy conversion for the prodigious boot of Oli Jenkins.

A tight calf saw Elliott Smith withdraw from proceedings after 15 minutes to be replaced by birthday boy Mike Clare at number 8 and debutant Oli Burrows had 10 minutes convalescence after a bump to the head with Harrison Pugsley entering the breach temporarily. Penarth were once again totally dominant in the scrum and were winning penalties at will, albeit the referee seemed to take a dim view of much of the Seasiders other work particularly at the breakdown which was a constant source of relief for the visitors. From one such scrum penalty deep in their 22 Penarth scored an early contender for try of the season. Skipper Rhys Morgan went quickly and fed Morgan Smith who streamed through the defence before releasing speedster Robinson on the wing, three outrageous side steps and 50 metres later it looked like the young winger was going over for the try but he was pulled just inches short of the line. However, fresh from his rest Burrows was right on hand to sweep the ball off the deck and complete the formalities, although Morgan Smith was unable to add the extras from a far easier position than his first attempt. So at half time Penarth were holding a 12-7 lead.

The second half opened with Clwb exerting territorial pressure from the boots of Perry and Jenkins and with a strong wind in their faces Penarth struggled to escape. Some steady phases saw Richard Merrett make yards outside the 22 but the prop became isolated and an attempt to remove unwanted Clwb hands from the ensuing ruck saw captain Morgan rummaging around for a jumper to keep himself warm as he spent 10 minutes on the touchline. It was in this period that Clwb capitalised and ultimately won the match. Jenkins added three points for the penalty and swiftly afterwards, following what appeared to all and sundry to be a knock on by the Clwb forwards, the Penarth defence one again opened invitingly for Thomas to romp over for his second try of the match. Jenkins added the extras and a further penalty shortly after to the visitors open up an 8 point lead with 20 minutes to go.

But as with last week Penarth refused to give up and the rest of the match saw the home side relentlessly attacking the visitors line. This change in mind set is certainly one of things that coaches Matt Bolton and Tristan Davies must be pleased with as on too many occasions last season in a position like this Penarth folded all too easily. With 10 minutes to go and following a number of thwarted attacks Penarth secured a scrum 5 metres from the Clwb line. A sustained press saw the Penarth pack moving ominously towards the line, and no doubt a timely 41st birthday present for Mike Clare, when the Clwb scrum disintegrated and the referee headed straight under the posts for a penalty try.

As with last week Penarth then found themselves in great positions in the Clwb 22 only for the lineout to fail them once again. But they were not put off and some fine running from Tom Smith and James Thatcher along with some nice touches from the returning Kevin Maddox so Penarth up a potential match winning position with a penalty 5 metres from the line and 10 metres to the left of the posts. Conceding that the wind conditions were not conducive to goal kicking Penarth put their trust in the pack. However, Clwb had encountered a very timely and convenient injury to their prop forward meaning scrums would have to be passive and Penarth’s inevitable shunt to the line was thwarted before it started. Both Aaron Ellis and Nick Davenport were stopped in their tracks just inches short of the line before the referee decided that Penarth had been guilty of holding on to the ball in the ruck within in sight of the line and victory. Clwb were able to secure the ball and retain until the clock reached 80 minutes and see it off the park for victory.

Penarth will no doubt be disheartened by the manner of the defeat but there were good signs not least in terms of personnel. Seeing Ellis, Davenport and Anthony Pine back on the field gives Penarth a huge boost in the forwards whilst the continued spark provided by Robinson on the wing and Tom Smith at full back are enough to excite the home supporters. Next week sees Penarth make their first foray into the WRU bowl where they will face Division 3 East Central B side Llantwit Major, it will be the Llantwit’s second trip to Penarth in as many weeks as they were defeated in the league by the Old Pens last week.

Penarth: Richard Merrett, Ryan Jones, Alan Doyle, Nick Davenport, Anthony Pine (Aaron Ellis), Oli Burrows (Harrison Pugsley), Chris Mortimer, Elliott Smith (Mike Clare), Rhys Morgan, Morgan Smith, Spencer Robinson, Harry Wiliams (Kevin Maddox), James Thatcher, James Crothers, Tom Smith

Scorers: Harry Williams (t), Oli Burrows (t) Penalty Try, Morgan Smith (c).

Much to learn for Seasiders

ST.ALBANS 31 PENARTH 19

After an encouraging defeat 19-24 last week as Machen drew their noses in front with the last move of the game, Penarth will learn far more from this encounter with Div 3 East Central B St.Albans at Tremorfa Park.

Admittedly the Seasiders were fielding a scratch side, with many players still missing and a lot of those present forced to play out of position. However, by the end of the game, two things had become quite clear. One: Penarth are going to have no trouble scoring tries this season. There’s enough quality and invention in the back division to make it look all too easy at times. Two: Penarth are going to leak scores like a sieve unless they can get their defence sorted out. Plenty for the coaching team to get their teeth into over the next fortnight before the season proper opens a week on Saturday.

St.Albans opened proceedings with a stiff breeze at their backs and good field position, but it was the Seasiders who looked to score first. A cracking break from Ben Hill, shaking off two tackles, fed Owen Rees on the right wing who set Harry Williams running from the 10m line. The centre looked certain to score, but some speedy work from the cover saw him hauled down a metre short.

Penarth soon suffered another blow as George Kynaston was stretchered off and sole replacement Rhys Morgan came on at full-back. Another break from Hill promised much, but this time scrum-half Spencer Robinson jinked to the line without completing the score. Robinson was beginning to show some real class as the Seasiders scrum settled and began to dominate. The first try arrived as they finally got it dead right. Rees took a pass out wide and made 20m before again feeding a pass inside to Williams who held off the cover to score in the corner.

The lead was short-lived, as the ‘Buns fought their way into the Penarth 22 for the first time after 24 minutes. Their outside centre skipped past a flat-footed defence to score behind the posts. A crucial missed tackle six minutes later allowed him to double his tally and good approach work on the stroke of half-time pulled a struggling Seasiders’ defence so far out of shape that the number 8 could stroll in at the corner with a spare team-mate in support.

Three tries in 13 minutes had left the hosts with a healthy 17-5 lead, so what could Penarth do with wind advantage in the second period?  The answer came after only two minutes as a replacement for the home side skipped past a static defence to score his side’s fourth in the corner.

The ‘Buns’ defence was nevertheless tested as James Docherty kept them pinned in their own half, but they showed far more resolution and technique than the visitors and it wasn’t until the 56^th minute that the Seasiders clawed one back. A Penarth scrum in the 22 was reset twice before Morgan pickled up and went over. Three minutes later the Seasiders came back to within a score at 24-19 as Robinson took a pass after a turnover in his own 22, beat one tackler and them steamed down the left flank for a superb individual try.

This was as good as it got and although Penarth dominated the final quarter, they never looked remotely like scoring and, as so often happens, St.Albans even managed a fifth try of their own as the inside centre was worked through a gap.

The Division Three East Central A league season begins a week on Saturday as Penarth welcome Penytrch to the Athletic Field

Team: Matt Holder, Iwan Baker, Sean O Sullivan, Mike Clare, Andrew Lang, Liam Richards, Alex Fulton, Chris Mortimer, Spencer Robinson, James Docherty, Owen Rees, Harry Williams, James Crothers, Ben Hill, George Kynaston (Rhys Morgan)

Scorers: Harry Williams (t), Rhys Morgan (t), Spencer Robinson (t), James Docherty (2c)