SEASIDERS OUTRUN BY LIVELY VILLAGERS

DINAS POWIS 22 PENARTH 8 – Saturday 26 September 2015

A glorious afternoon at the Common played host to what looked as if it would be a massacre of the hapless visitors, but ended up as a classic curate’s egg of a game.

The opening ten minutes showed just how lively the home side were going to be behind the scrum and waves of attacks crashed down on the Seasiders’ scrambled defence. Each clearance inevitably ended up in the hands of the Villagers’ backs and it was a real surprise that the opening score didn’t arrive until the 11^th minute.

After the outside centre had gone over for a converted try, it felt as if the next score wouldn’t be long in coming. In fact it was another eight minutes before Dinas extended their lead to 10-0 with a penalty. The restart was dropped on to the home 22, so they proceeded to run it right back into Penarth’s 22. The left wing, having been tackled by Ben Donovan, nevertheless twisted free and scored in the corner.

With 24 minutes gone, Dinas looked faster, fitter and considerable meaner. There seemed little the Seasiders could do to get on to the scoreboard, let alone fight back. However, fight back they did and the rest of the game was surprisingly even in the end. Having gained the measure of the home pack, it was now Penarth’s turn to dictate the pace of the game, even if their only reward was a Nathan Smith penalty with the last kick of the half.

Sadly, within three minutes of the beginning of the second half, the Villagers had hassled their way to a third try as they arrived in numbers to follow up a long clearance and scored in the corner. As it turned out, Dinas had shot their bolt, but since they were 22-3 in front with most of the second half to play, this was both an opportunity and a serious challenge for Penarth. They started well, as a period of pressure in the home 22 yielded a penalty in front of the posts and a quick tap saw Alex Thau over in the corner.

The remaining 25 minutes were entirely taken up with a fruitless search for a way back into the game and, with time running out, a losing bonus point. For some reason, with all the replacements on the field and Dinas offering little opposition, the Seasiders just couldn’t make it count and came away with nothing. The Villagers had secured the points with a flat-out opening 25 minutes, but despite their early dominance, must have been disappointed by their own failure to secure a bonus point.

Penarth drop to third in the table as Dinas leap-frogged over them into second place behind leaders Porth and next Saturday Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd are the visitors to the Athletic Field. The Cardiff club have lost three of their first four games and sit in 8^th position, 6 points behind the Seasiders, having lost 22-45 at home to Llantrisant last Saturday

PENARTH         Rhys Morgan, Tom Luck, Adam Lewis, Nathan Smith, Ben Donovan, James Docherty (James Crothers), Chris Mortimer, Richard Merrett (Owen James), Mason Good (Joe Page), Sean O’Sullivan (Alan Doyle), Stuart Clarke (Jerome Bryan), Matt Allen, Scott Mackie [c],  Elliott Smith, Alex Thau.

Scorers:            Thau (try), N.Smith 1C

Swalec League Division 2 East Central

Saturday 3^rd October 2015

PENARTH v Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd

The Athletic Field, Lavernock Road

Kick-off 2.30pm

DOMINANT SEASIDERS SEE OFF LOCAL RIVALS

BARRY 9 PENARTH 25 – Saturday 12 September 2015
The first Vale derby of this season duly arrived last Saturday as Barry welcomed Penarth back to the undeniably picturesque Reservoir Field just eight years after the last meeting between the clubs.
The Seasiders started positively with a stiff breeze at their backs as a Merrett-led pack demolished their opponents in the first scrum of the game and James Docherty potted three points. This pattern in the scrums was to continue for the rest of the game and, in the remainder of a messy first half, the same effect was observed in the mauls.

Unfortunately, if you have the upper hand up front, you’re largely dependent on the referee’s response and a string of penalties is no use to you if you don’t kick them. Of course, the temptation will always be to assume that one more push will inevitably lead to a well-deserved try and this pretty well explains why the score was still 0-3 after 39 minutes.

Despite the referee’s obvious preference for awarding penalty after penalty instead of handing out yellow cards, the search for a pushover try continued and was finally rewarded as Scot Mackie went over just before half-time. The first period came to a close as the Barry front row popped up for the umpteenth time, only for the referee to penalise Penarth for not scrummaging straight! Outside-half Einan Scott slotted over the penalty against the wind and the sides turned around with the Seasiders leading 10-3, but losing scrum-half Gareth Mathias, who was injured in the last passage of play.
Now Barry had the wind advantage and while we waited to see how the Seasiders would solve the puzzle of turning their dominance in the tight into points, Scott converted another couple of penalties to reduce the arrears to a single point with 30 minutes to go.

To be fair to Penarth, Barry never ever looked as if they were going to score any tries, but the indefatigable Scott looked a sure bet to convert every penalty and with the wind at his back, there was real concern that this would be enough to swing the game. This was no time for travelling supporters of a nervous disposition.

No change to the Seasiders’ tactics, then, as they continued to push the Barry eight around the park, but everything changed abruptly on the hour as the referee finally (and inexplicably) woke up to what was going on and somewhat belatedly started dealing out the yellow cards.

No change to the Seasiders’ tactics, then. Until four minutes from time that is, when they finally decided to risk a kick at the posts and Docherty mercifully stretched the lead to four points. With time running out, the Seasiders went for one last line-out drive and lock Craig Llewelyn departed with a yellow card for his rather obvious part in pulling the maul down. Much pressure on the home line yet again from Penarth, but this time they were able to make the numbers count as the defence was pulled across far enough for a smart pass to allow Ben Donovan in at the corner.

With the Seasiders still leading 18-9 in injury time, Docherty was first a bouncing ball in his own half and hacked ahead. Although Barry regained possession, they were under such pressure that a pass inside ended up in the hands of Nathan Smith, who ran 40 metres to score under the posts.

The final score was an accurate reflection of Penarth’s dominance, but they really should have put the game beyond Barry’s reach much earlier. The win leaves the undefeated Seasiders second in the league behind Porth Harlequins.
Next Saturday Penarth welcome Pontyclun to the Athletic Field.

PENARTH Rhys Morgan, Mike Gubb (James Crothers), Adam Lewis, Nathan Smith, Ben Donovan, James Docherty, Gareth Mathias (Tom Smith), Richard Merrett, Mason Good (Joe Page), Sean O’Sullivan (Alan Doyle), Stuart Clarke (Matt Allen), Richard Howells, Scot Mackie [c], Alex Thau.
Scorers: Mackie, Donovan, N.Smith (tries), Docherty 2C, 2P

SWALEC League Division 2 East Central
Saturday 19th September 2015
PENARTH v Pontyclun
Athletic Field, Lavernock Road
Kick-off 2.30pm

SEASIDERS SHOWING REAL PROMISE

Saturday 15 August 2015 – Penarth 7 Trebanos 31

The Seasiders began their preparation for the 2015-16 campaign in Division 2 East Central at Cwrt-y-Vil playing fields last Saturday welcoming Division 1 West Central Trebanos to Penarth for the first time. The Swansea Valley club had enjoyed a successful season in 2014-15, finishing in third place behind champions Bonymaen and runners-up Skewen.

Penarth, meanwhile, were looking to build on their encouraging finish to last season, which saw them rise from the edge of the relegation zone to a comfortable eighth position with a late surge.

Naturally it wasn’t possible to assess the visitors’ squad, but the pack were impressively large and they gave the impression that they’d come for a run-out rather than a serious physical test. The Seasiders, on the other hand, fielded a number of new faces and were probably going to gain a lot of experience from a work-out against a team from a higher division. So it proved.

The pattern of the game was set in the first five minutes, as a protracted tussle in midfield suddenly erupted after ‘Banos missed a line-out on their own throw, but regained possession before their well-drilled back division put it through the hands for a score under the posts.

Despite this early set-back, Penarth were showing encouraging levels of resilience and the visitors were never able to impose themselves, relying instead on occasional bursts of inspiration. Because of this, the score remained at 0-7 until five minutes before half-time, when a rare excursion into the home 22 yielded a 5-metre scrum. This was wheeled expertly and the number went over under the posts.

The key to keeping the visitors’ opportunities to a minimum was the level of commitment Penarth brought to their defence. There was the set piece, where ‘Banos were able to exert huge pressure, but gained little advantage and the midfield, where most of the play took place as the Seasiders tackled their powerful visitors to a standstill.

However, those occasional moments of inspiration kept on cropping up and it’s fair to say that ‘Banos managed to move play into the Seasiders’ 22 on five occasions in the eighty minutes and scored a try every time. Both early, a minute after the restart and late, with the last move of the game. In between, there was a fourth from the visitors, lifting a lengthy Penarth siege for a breakaway try and then a delightful piece of individual skill from debutant outside half Adam Lewis, running the length of the field with the visitors’ defence in hot pursuit for what felt like rather more than a consolation score.

Overall, you had to say the Seasiders squad showed considerable promise against powerful opponents and when to full strength should make a good showing in the coming season. A second friendly is scheduled for Saturday 29-Aug-15, with a trip across the border to Lydney and the season opens on 05-Sep-15 with a home game against Gwernyfed.

Saturday 29-Aug-15, Friendly: Lydney v PENARTH  Kick-off 2.30pm

Saturday 05-Sep-15, Div 2 East Central: PENARTH v Gwernyfed, Kick-off 2.30pm