SEASIDERS WORK IN PROGRESS

CARDIFF QUINS 34 PENARTH 16 – Saturday 23 September 2017

There’s nothing new in Penarth making a slow start to a season, but this run of four straight defeats should definitely be viewed as work in progress, rather than game over. Having to deal with the integration of many new additions to the squad and the absence of key players due to injury means coach Matt Bolton has his work cut out for the time being.

For a start, the opening 40 mins of this game were closely-fought and the Seasiders took the lead after 5 minutes with a James Docherty penalty. The Quins struck back to level the scores after ten minutes, but took the lead five minutes later as they launched an attack down the right flank and slick handling saw their right wing hurtling over in the corner.

While the hosts continued to look lively, they couldn’t repeat the trick and Penarth were holding up well. A wind-assisted 45-metre penalty from Docherty brought the score back to 8-6 after 24 minutes and just before half-time, they took the lead as the outside-half slotted over a third penalty.

Penarth rode their luck at the start of the second half, but after the home left wing had threatened to score twice down the flank, the Quins finally got their act together and again some slick passing put him clear. As the hour mark passed, the hosts were again probing down their favourite touchline, but this time the number 14 came off his wing to put his full-back clear and over in the corner.

Having dropped 13 points behind, the Seasiders decided they really did want something out of this match and went out to get it. Piling on the pressure in the home 22, they drove over but Tonypandy referee Neil Pruett judged they’d been held up. The Quins then scrambled possession from a retreating 5m scrum, but only managed to clear as far as James Crothers. The replacement wing did everything right, passing inside and then following the play over to the right. Captain Tom Luck made a clean line break and found Crothers in support to complete the score.

Having clawed their way back into the game at 22-16 with a superb score and with thirteen minutes remaining, the Seasiders might have built on this and won, but once again it simply wasn’t their day. The Quins struck back as their scrum half made a line-break and, looking for support with two Penarth defenders on his case, he found himself clear and proceeded to score.

Yet again, Penarth fought their way back into contention, if only for a losing bonus point and laid siege in the home 22. Ferocious rucking by the visitors brought a tense finish and the home number eight went off with a yellow card, but as the ball was spun wide after several forward thrusts, the Quins outside centre snaffled a wayward pass and ran ninety metres down the flank to score his side’s fifth try. The match ended with the Seasiders on the wrong end of an apparent thrashing.

Next Saturday’s home fixture against Clwb Rybgi Cymry Caerdydd now takes on an extra significance. Penarth have now lost to the teams in first, second, third and fifth place in the division, but now have a chance to test themselves against 10th-placed Clwb. The Cymry have registered only one win so far, against 11th-placed Llantwit Fardre, who remain winless themselves.

PENARTH Tom Smith, Tom Luck [C], Owain Lorde, Rhys Beynon (James Crothers), Rhys Lloyd (Mitch Hickey), James Docherty, Rhys Morgan (Owen Rees), Richard Merrett, (Liam Richards (Chris Mortimer), Sean O’Sullivan, Dan Seal, Anthony Pine, Miles Jones, Nick Davenport, Owain George

Scorers: James Crothers (try)

Division 2 East Central

Saturday 30th September 2017

PENARTH v Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd

The Athletic Field, Lavernock Road

Kick-off 2.30pm

SEASIDERS LABOUR IN VAIN

PENARTH 5 GILFACH GOCH 38 – Saturday 16 September 2017

There were plenty of puzzling things about this deeply strange encounter, but the main question was how Gilfach scored so many tries and Penarth so few. It really should have been closer.

One thing became clear from the outset: the visitors were playing the referee superbly while the hosts struggled to understand why they were getting penalised all the time. Gilfach full-back C.Davies turned out to be a bit of a long-range specialist as he nailed a 40-metre penalty sending his side into a 3-0 lead after 8 minutes. However, the penalties continued to flow and after a superb turn-over on the line by Nick Davenport, the visitors blindside flanker drove for the line and released his hooker for the first try at the end of the first quarter.

Gilfach were certainly a lively bunch and although the Seasiders were enjoying their usual dominance at scrum time, they simply couldn’t get their hands on any useful possession for their dangerous-looking back division. The match continued in this way as only the one side shipped penalties, culminating in a yellow card for Davenport. Despite all this, the effort from the home side was unstinting and they seemed certain to score on the half-hour only for an apparently deliberate knock-on by a Gilfach defender to interrupt the move resulting in nothing more than a scrum.

By now, Davenport had been allowed back on after what seemed like about 15 minutes and the Seasiders gained their reward as the scrum was driven over and the number eight claimed the score. The visitors struck back immediately. The return from the restart was run back down the left flank and outside centre T.Roberts accelerated superbly through a gap that wasn’t really there to score from 40 metres.

As the sides turned round at 5-17 in what still looked like a close game, the second half started with a Gilfach penalty and continued with a Scott Mackie yellow card as Penarth’s travails continued. The hosts recovered well from this set-back and no points were conceded during his absence and right up to the hour mark.

This improvement was sadly punctuated by a smartly-taken try by Gilfach inside-centre L.Davies, but the Seasiders had got to grips with the situation and laid siege to the visitors’ line through a string of penalties and the dismissal of the Gilfach number 5. But by this time Gilfach had also found a way to nullify the Penarth scrum as the last twenty minutes were played out with uncontested scrums.

Trailing 24-5, the Seasiders threw everything at the visitors but had reached a point where they were simply trying too hard and the errors mounted. This made them vulnerable to breaks from the opposition, as Gilfach ran in a further two tries in the last ten minutes. Penarth attacked throughout, even crossing the line on several occasions, but failed to gain any reward.

Once again, the Seasiders’ pack had established a solid platform for a well-balanced back-line, but failed to gain any real traction against well-drilled opposition that didn’t need to dominate proceedings in order to maintain their 100% record and rise to second in the division.

Penarth now travel to the Diamond Ground at Forest Farm to face Cardiff Quins next Saturday. The Quins registered their first win of the season this week against winless Llantwit Fardre.

PENARTH Tom Smith, Tom Luck [C], Owain Lorde (James Crothers), Rhys Beynon, Rhys Lloyd (Mitch Hickey), James Docherty, Rhys Morgan (Alex Fulton), Richard Merrett, Chris Mortimer (Owen Rees), Sean O’Sullivan (Harrison Pugsley), Mike Clare, Matt Allen, Scott Mackie, Nick Davenport, Owain George

Scorers: Nick Davenport (try)

Division 2 East Central
Saturday 23rd September 2017
Cardiff Quins v PENARTH
The Diamond Ground,
Forest Farm Road, Whitchurch
Kick-off 2.30pm

Injury galore upsets Penarth

Penarth 10 – Aberdare 39 – Saturday 2 September 2017

In a match of shifting fortunes it was the hard-working St. John’s Ambulance people who seemed to have the busiest time as the opening game of the new season against the visitors from Aberdare unfolded at the Athletic Field, last weekend. Despite the early injuries, by the end of the first half, Penarth were still in contention leading by 10 points to seven against what looked like an average Aberdare team, while by the end of the match, with three of its key players in the waiting room of the Heath Accident and Emergency Department, they had to acknowledge defeat at the hands of a more determined and purposeful opponent, who dominated the last quarter, scoring at will.

Aberdare scored the first try, but not long after that Penarth bounced back with a try scored by veteran wing-forward Owain George, who has made a comeback after several years of inaction. The first injured player to be carried off was No 8 and Vice-captain Alex Thau, who snapped a ligament in his right foot after about ten minutes of play. As the main ball carrier his absence was sorely felt, not to mention his abrasive tackling, and when scrum-half Gareth Mathias, another uncompromising tackler, joined him in the ambulance with a damaged knee, the writing was on the wall. The third to be carried off was outside-half Morgan Smith, who broke his wrist in a tackle early in the second half.

The loss of the entire midfield combination of 8-9-10 blew apart any meaningful game plan Penarth may have had, not to mention a gratuitous yellow card which saw Penarth inside centre Owain Lord sent to the bin. In the second half loss of discipline and concentration at the lineout denied Penarth valuable possession, a situation compounded by a spate of shoddy tackles in defence, which let the speedy Aberdare wings in, time and again. Despite all that and the increasingly one-sided battle at the breakdown, one has to give the Penarth players credit for their resilience and spirit, in adversarial circumstances. The loss of the three key players for several weeks does not bode well for the plans of Head-coach Matthew Bolton, not to mention the decision of the backs coach John Colderley to step down for family reasons.
Penarth: Sean O’Sullivan (Richard Merrett), Liam Richards (Chris Mortimer), Matt Holder, Owen Thomas, Anthony Pine, Scott Mackie, Owain George, Alex Thau (Miles Jones), Gareth Mathias (Rhys Morgan), Morgan Smith (Tom Hillman)

Scorers: try O.George, Pens J.Docherty, Cons J. Docherty

The Better Life appeal” Tournament in Penarth

Although the “Springbok Head “ has yet to return to Penarth RFC clubhouse from its summer residence at the Glamorganshire Golf Club, the rugby club has been busily preparing for the new season, which will commence on September 2nd, with a home fixture against the old foes Aberdare RFC. Several new signings from the club’s productive Youth Section have strengthened the senior side for its grueling 21-match League campaign, without taking into account the WRU Plate matches and of course, the pre-season warm-up games, planned for the following weeks.

However, this weekend, (Sunday August 13th ) before the final stages of their pre-season build-up kick in, the Penarth club will host a charity rugby tournament in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis foundation, the “Better Life appeal” which is raising funds for the All-Wales Cystic Fibrosis Centre at Llandough Hospital, the one and only such unit in Wales. Twelve teams, including the last year’s winners, Llanharan RFC and their opponents in the final, the Old Penarthians RFC, have confirmed their participation in the Sunday’s tournament. On Sunday at 12.30, the “Better Life appeal” touch rugby tournament kicks off at the Penarth Athletic Field, tournament organizer Penarth-born Harry Roberts announced. Roberts, who made 19 appearances for Penarth in the back row, is a graduate of Loughborough University and a former pupil of Stanwell Comprehensive. Before joining Penarth seniors he played for Penarth Minis and Juniors, Penarth Youth, Blues U16 and Wales U16.

“I have got involved in this project together with a lot of other people, from the members of my family to individuals and business in town, simply because I believed this was a great cause worth the efforts to raise as much money as we could, knowing well that the Penarth community would support us all the way,” Roberts said.

“And I say us, because this is a genuine team effort, in which every single member played a part. I am just one of many and this is why the first tournament held across the road at the Cwrt–y-Vil ground was such a success, having been supported by virtually everyone in Penarth, be they rugby players, families or businesses, from Tesco and Morrison’s to David Lush, Mint and Mustard, Principality, Andrea’s florist, Glass by Design, to mention just a few. They have all donated items and goods for last year’s raffle which was a tremendous success. The same should be said about my own club Penarth RFC, who are hosting the event this year. So please, come on Sunday to watch the matches, enjoy yourself and feel free to donate any item to the raffle, which should enable us to raise the much needed funds for this important project. Details about the project and it value to the community could be found on the “Better Life Appeal” website and anyone wishing to donate anything for the Sunday’s Big Raffle, could contact me on (07860 143089).” Mr Roberts said.

The following week, on Tuesday the 15 August, Penarth travel to Cardiff for a joint training session with the Llandaff North club, which will include contact work with the forwards and backs, as Penarth Head Coach Matthew Bolton explained. The following Saturday, on 19 August, Penarth travel to Caerphilly, the ambitious Division Two East club, aiming under coaches Brett Davy and Christian Ferris, to secure promotion to Division One. The match will kick off at 14.30 at Virginia Park and should offer a good estimate of the relative strength and weakness of the Seasiders, before they start their campaign in Division Two Central in a fortnight’s time. Finally, the Penarth trip to Cardiff where they take on the up and coming Caerau RFC on 26 August at Trelai Park in Ely. (Kick off 14.30), should bring the pre-season build up to an end. The following weekend the League kicks off.

Penarth RFC pre-season Diary (August 2017)

Sunday 13 August – Touch Rugby Tournament for the “Better Life Appeal” Trophy
Tuesday 15 August – Penarth travel to Llandaff North RFC (joint training session)
Saturday 19 August – Penarth travel to Caerphilly RFC (KO 14.30)
Saturday 26 August – Penarth travel to Caerau Ely RFC (KO 14.30)