A BRIDGE TOO FAR

Penarth 18 Pontyclun 55 – Saturday 31 January 2015

The Seasiders were looking for a win, with the bottom four breathing down their necks, but ultimately fell some way short of finding one against 3rd-placed Pontyclun.

To be fair, Penarth coped superbly with a cobbled-together second row and encountered little difficulty in the tight. Scrum and line-out went well, while ruck, maul and breakdown were never really a problem.

What they never came to terms with was the speed of thought and inventiveness of the visitors’ midfield, orchestrated superbly by inside-centre Darren Lear, running riot every time they approached the Seasiders’ twenty-two.

After Penarth took an early lead with a Docherty penalty, the writing was visibly on the wall as number 8 Jack Theaker drove into the 22, putting full-back Adam Lewis in at the corner. It turned out they had two strong ball-carriers in the pack, as minutes later loose-head Teifion Jones crashed into the 22, a clever inside pass sending the whole defence the wrong way and wing Dan Meredith strolling under the posts.

To emphasise the evenness of the contest (except in the small matter of scoring tries), the only score in the next twenty minutes was a second Docherty penalty, but two quick tries at the end of the half moved the score on from a respectable-looking 6-12 to a daunting 6-24. First a lost scrum allowed wing Delme Price in at the corner, while four minutes later a missed tackle opened the way for scrum-half M.Theaker to score under the posts.

The second half opened messily and no score was registered for twenty otherwise eventful minutes. The main features being a red card for the Pontyclun number 9 for an appalling spear-tackle on James Docherty (who was thankfully unhurt) and the curious incident of the dismissed water-boy.

Then the floodgates opened as the visitors took the game away from the Seasiders with a sustained burst of scoring. Five tries were to follow in the space of only 14 minutes. Teifion Jones was too much of a handful as he surged though from 10m out and as the Penarth defence reeled, he completed his hat-trick three minutes later. Further tries followed as Price scored his second, replacement Tom Greene pounced on a loose ball to score and full-back Lewis completed the scoring with his own second try.

With seven minutes remaining, the Seasiders showed considerable character in support of a lost cause with a familiar tightly-controlled pick-and-drive game. Soon Kevin Maddox was worked into the visitors’ 22 and a clever reverse pass set up Jerome Bryan for a drive to the line. Replacement scrum-half Rhys Goodfellow was injecting a lot of pace into the game with tapped penalties and pin-point passing and this led directly to a second try in the last-minute, as Maddox again fed Bryan for the score.

Next up at the Athletic Field are Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd. An entertaining encounter at Llandaff Fields back in October saw the Cardiff club just squeeze home in a 30-24 win; James Thatcher, Kevin Maddox, Rhys Morgan and James Docherty being the Penarth try-scorers on the day.

PENARTH Rhys Morgan (Jamie Halpin), Nathan Palmer, James Thatcher, Tom Luck, James Crothers, Kevin Maddox, Gareth Mathias (Rhys Goodfellow). Jerome Bryan, James Docherty, (Sean O’Sullivan, Mike Clare, Louis Chandler, Scott Mackie [C], Elliott Smith, Tom Bartlett.

Scorers: Jerome Bryan 2T
James Docherty 2P,1 C

League 2 East Central
Saturday 7th February 2015
PENARTH v Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd
The Athletic Field, Lavernock Road
Kick-off 2.30pm

SEASIDERS PATIENCE HOLDS

Penarth 20 Fairwater 13 – Saturday 17 January 2015

Fairwater surprised no-one one with their negative approach to last Saturday’s game at the Athletic Field which, for a club in possession of a lively and imaginative back division, has to be disappointing. As expected, the Penarth pack was dominant, but that didn’t guarantee an easy ride.

All the early signs in the boggy conditions were ominous for the visitors as the first two scrums were won decisively by the hosts. Stuart Clarke was held up over the line and the Seasiders were over the line again from ensuing scrum five, disallowed, so when the dose was repeated a third time with the Fairwater scrum in total disarray, Elliott Smith was in for his fourth try in as many games.

Fairwater gained good field position from the restart and gained a penalty which was hooked wide. Penarth were soon forging their way up-field again and the visitors open-side flanker was already in the bin. The scrum-half should have followed him as he got between Gareth Mathias and his driving pack; the referee obviously felt the penalty try was sufficient punishment.

After 16 minutes, the serious part of the of the game was over and the remainder descended in to farce. Thereafter, every attempt by the Seasiders to drive Fairwater back in the tight ended in wheeled scrum, with the home side consistently adjudged to have failed to scrummage straight.

Penarth appeared to remain in control, but a single missed touch from a penalty proved costly as Fairwater ran in back brilliantly from half-way and right wing Kerry Birch scored a good try in the corner.

The Seasiders continued to depend on the scrum as an attacking ploy, but referee wasn’t having any of it and consistently penalised them. Scot Mackie departed with a yellow card and the Fairwater backs began to see a little more of the ball. The left wing ran clear on half-way, chipped ahead, but knocked on in the act of scoring, but Penarth were again penalised and a swift handling movement saw Birch in at the same corner for his second try.

Right on the stroke of half-time, a Docherty penalty allowed the Seasiders to turn around an uncomfortable 5 points in the lead.

Five minutes into the second half Fairwater converted a penalty to close the gap to 2 points, at which point Penarth adopted a more cerebral approach and tried mauling. This worked well, despite Fairwater’s loose interpretation of the rules. A Seasiders catch-and-drive was superbly executed and Gareth Mathias peeled off down the blindside to score. The referee’s response was to award Fairwater a penalty, we must assume for a double movement.

However, the maul was definitely the way forwards and Fairwater had no answer to it apart from conceding successive penalties. Eventually Penarth decided a scrum was close enough to the line to risk a drive and Kevin Maddox scored his side’s third try after 57 minutes.

The remaining 23 minutes were a poor advertisement for the game and despite losing another two players to the bin, the home side held their nerve and repelled several chaotic and nerve-racking attempts by the visitors to claw back the seven points they trailed by.

This desperately-needed victory has to be put down to a display of great character by the Seasiders and next Saturday’s fixture away at Blackweir against St Joseph’s offers a chance to progress even further than the dizzy heights of seventh place where they now find themselves.

PENARTH Rhys Morgan, Nathan Palmer (Jamie Halpin) Alex Thau, Kevin Maddox, James Crothers, James Docherty, Gareth Mathias. Richard Merrett, Simon Barry, Sean O’Sullivan, Mike Clare, Stuart Clarke (Jerome Bryan), Scott Mackie [C], Elliott Smith, Richard Howells.

SEASIDERS HIT THEIR STRIDE TOO LATE

Abercynon 27 Penarth 19 – Saturday 6 December 2014

The first game following the Autumn International Series break saw Penarth playing away from Home at Y Parc, Abercynon last Saturday.

Abercynon being that much faster to the breakdown. On the occasions when the visitors attempted to move the ball, the hosts were also comfortable in defence. Nevertheless, it was not until ten minutes of the game had gone by and the Penarth three quarters were caught offside that Abercynon actually took the lead. Kurtis Williams their number 14 converting the penalty from 30metres.

Despite Penarth trying to gain ground any progress was consistently halted by the home team who continued to put the visitors on the back foot with a well-drilled defence. At the other end of the park, things weren’t going quite so well. When the Seasiders won possession inside their own 22 metre area that they attempted a long miss pass to the right wing, this was not gathered and Matthew Turner the Abercynon left wing was able to gain possession and score in the corner. The try was converted by Kurtis Williams and the hosts led 10-0.

Penarth had the opportunity to gain ground once they got into the opposition half, but the ball was lost at the breakdown. Abercynon were consistently putting in some excellent tackles and gaining ground within the visitors’ half of the field. Once again the referee caught Penarth players in an offside position and the penalty was again converted by Williams to make the half time score 13-0.

As the second half opened, the Seasiders presented a much stronger approach and began to put real pressure on the Abercynon pack.This brought immediate reward,as a Scott Mackie try, converted by James Docherty, pulled the score back to 13-7. Maintaining the from the restart, Penarth moved the ball through the forwards and across field to the right wing where Kevin Maddox went over in the corner, the attempted conversion hitting the right upright.

With the score standing at a healthier-looking 13-12, Abercynon hit back.  An attacking drive by the Seasiders broke down and from their own line, the hosts moved the ball quickly out to their left wing, where an overlap allowed left wing Turner a clear run to the line, the try again converted by Williams and taking the score on to 20-12.The home side pushed on and went further ahead with a similar move on the right creating an overlap for right wing Kurtis Williams to score, convert his own try to make the score 27-12.

By now, despite to two opportunistic which had put the game beyond reach, Penarth had really hit their stride as a number of replacements took the field. They continued to batter away at the home team’s try line and a score had to come. It was replacement hooker Simon Barry who came up with the goods, Docherty again adding the extras for a final score of 27-19.

A month after the previous league match at the beginning of November, the Seasiders now have to wait until next year for the following Div 2 SEC encounter, away at Porth Harlequins on Saturday 3rd January 2015. However, they need look no further than Boxing Day for their next competitive match, as the annual game against neighbours Old Penarthians, a morning kick-off at Cwrt-y-Vil this year, is sure to be hotly contested as always.

PENARTH Rhys Morgan, James Halpin, Kevin Maddox, Tom Luck, James Crothers, Nathan Smith,
GarethMathias. Jerome Bryan, James Docherty, Sean Sullivan, Richard Howells, Mike Clare, Louis Chandler, Alex Thau, Scott Mackie [C]
Replacements Richard Merrett, Stuart Clarke, Eliott Smith, Tom Hillman and Simon Barry.

SEASIDERS SQUEEZE HOME

Gwernyfed 18 Penarth 19 – Saturday 18 October 2014

Trefecca Road is always a good place to go: lovely scenery and the Seasiders often do well there. Usually not without the drama that unfolded last Saturday.

The Green, White and Blacks haven’t exactly burst out of the traps this season and it was soon clear to see why they had only secured the one win so far this season. The fact that Penarth had turned up with two-thirds of a front row, necessitating passive scrums, knocked them back further.

The visitors were hardly at full strength, but after a close call where a grubber just beat Jamie Halpin to the dead ball line, preventing a dramatic early try, they eased into a 6-pont lead courtesy of two penalties from James Docherty.

Penarth were looking dangerous behind the scrum, but the hosts’ disruptive tactics at the breakdown were interrupting the flow of possession and it wasn’t until the 26th minute that they managed to move the score along significantly.

Alex Thau had already made a 20-metre thrust to the line from outside centre, but possession from an unopposed scrum saw the ball moved rapidly right, where Rhys Lakin feinted to go outside, but cut inside to score.

The Seasiders were well on top now and referee Andrew Timms had finally worked put what Gwernyfed were up to at the breakdown and yellow-carded lock David Roberts. The ensuing line-out was driven to the line, with Mike Clare the scorer.

For the second week running, Penarth had the game by the scruff of the neck, but nearly managed to throw it all away in a bizarre fashion. Inexplicably fumbling the ball backwards behind a passive scrum, Rhys Morgan impeded the Gwernyfed player bursting through and the Seasiders finished the half two instead of three scores ahead and one man down.

The hosts certainly came out of those traps with a vengeance in the second half and made a one-man advantage look like many more as the Seasiders struggled to keep up. It took only four minutes to reduce the arrears as outside centre Zachariah Snape went over in the corner and after a further ten minutes with Penarth firmly on the back foot, Gwernyfed drove a line-out over for a second try to bring them to within one point.

With all the damage done, Morgan returned and something like normal service was resumed. A third Docherty penalty eased the lead back up to four points, but both sides were simply trying too hard and a string of marginal errors kept the score at 15-19 until the 73rd minute when the hosts converted a penalty to reduce the arrears again to a single point and set up an exhilarating if strange finish.

Gwernyfed outside half Gareth Dodd kicked long to touch in open play the Seasiders were forced to defend a five-metre scrum. The throw was adjudged ‘not straight’, scrum with put-in to the hosts, Penarth hands in the ruck, penalty Gwernyfed. With Dodd on excellent form with the boot, the hosts surprised everyone with a kick to touch. The catch-and drive was perfectly executed, but ferocious defence by the Seasiders deflected the final thrust, the ball was grounded short and the final whistle secured four points for the visitors.

PENARTH: Keiron Carpenter, Jamie Halpin, Alex Thau, Tom Luck, James Crothers, Rhys Lakin, Rhys Morgan, Chris Grant, James Docherty, Sean O’Sullivan, Mike Clare, Stuart Clarke, Scot Mackie, Elliot Smith, Geraint Blake
Scorers. Lakin (T), Clare T, Docherty (3P).
Swalec Plate Round 2
Saturday 25th October 2014
Penallta v PENARTH
Ystrad Fawr Ground, Ystrad Mynach
Kick-off 2.30pm