Seasiders on a Roll

Penarth 32 Porth Harlequins 12 – Saturday 19 October 2013

This time round, the Seasiders are starting to look like the genuine article. Not the finished product, by any means, but way more than enough to see off an energetic Porth side who clearly had greater ambitions.

An early Mike Hurley penalty eased the hosts in front, but the Harlequins struck back immediately from the restart as full-back Greg Morris broke clean through with his wing in support and only James Candy to beat, completing the formalities for the visitors to lead 3-7 after ten minutes.

Penarth these days also know how to strike back and as Porth touched a long clearance in flight, the resulting line-out was expertly driven and Richard Ball was the scorer for an 8-7 lead.

As the Seasiders piled on the pressure, there was a delay as Mike Gubb received treatment, but the hiatus didn’t affect the momentum and the re-set scrum was walked over for a Mike Clare try.

The rest of the half was a scrappy affair, mainly due to the dreadful weather and errors abounded as the rain pounded in. Penarth remained fully in control throughout and on the verge of half-time, Richard Merrett peeled off a scrum and was stopped just short of the line. The resulting five-metre scrum was driven and then abruptly stopped as Porth took it down and referee Elwyn Marfel-Jones headed straight between the posts to award a penalty try.

Leading 20-7 at the start of the second half with the Athletic Field bathed in unexpected sunshine, the Seasiders were naturally keen to move things along, but things didn’t run smoothly and it was fully 18 minutes into the half before they were able to drive a 10-metre line-out, with the irrepressible Joe Page recording his fourth try of the season and bringing up the bonus point.

At this point, with the Seasiders leading 27-7, Porth rather pointlessly pulled the usual stunt of removing a prop and asking for uncontested scrums; at least the third time this season this has happened. No doubt the cost of having a dominant scrum; well done the Penarth eight, I suppose.

While this relieved the pressure on the Porth pack and allowed their stylish backs the sort of possession they hadn’t seen for most of the match, it was the Seasiders who inevitably struck next and a fine handling movement from a line-out ended with James Docherty crashing over near the opposite corner.

Right wing Grostock was worked in at the corner for a consolation try for the visitors and then Porth outside-half Josh Worthington was dismissed for a high tackle on James Candy as the full-back threatened to break clean though and the game finished on a 32-12 scoreline and Penarth rising to third place.

Next Saturday, the Seasiders welcome Div 2 E Rhydfelen to the Athletic Field in the first round of the Swalec Plate, while a week later a mouth-watering trip to second-placed Wattstown awaits.

PENARTH James Candy, Chris Mortimer, Mike Hurley, Michael Gubb, James Crothers, James Thatcher, Rhys Morgan (Owain George), Richard Merrett, (James Docherty), Joe Page, Sean O’Sullivan, Richard Ball, Stuart Clarke, Geraint Blake, Mike Clare, Matt Sutton.

Swalec Plate, Round 1
Saturday 26th October 2013
PENARTH v Rhydfelen
The Athletic Field, Lavernock Road
Kick-off 2.30pm

Saturday 5 October 2013 – Brecon v Penarth

Brecon 16 Penarth 18

Thank you for the three championship points, but no, no thanks for the performance! Indeed it was a win, but it was one of those matches when nothing seemed to work, not even those aspects that appeared well under control the previous weekends. It was one of those bad days in the office and the body language of the 24 players gathered around head-coach Paul Williams at the end of the match said it all. There was not one amongst them who did not agree with his brisk assessment – “Guys, we did not deserve to win this one, and were lucky to walk away with three points”. Decision-making was perhaps the most significant casualty of the afternoon, with the ball-carrier electing improbable, barely credible options, both in attack and defence.

Three to one overlap! Forget it! No way should one pass to the unmarked men. Rather, try to break the cover defence singlehandedly and lose the ball in contact as a bonus. Regain possession in defence in our 22!! Instead of booting it into touch, as far away as possible, a risky chip and chase seemed an option!? And then, when needed most, the refined skills so abundantly displayed at Gwernyfed, were painfully absent – passing, kicking, tackling! There are still some Penarth players who believe that a tackle is a fishing implement, which should not be seen anywhere near a rugby pitch. This how Brecon fullback Gwyn Pengelly ended up scoring under the posts unhindered, galloping through our entire defence establishment after fielding an aimless Penarth kick near their 10 meter line.

But then, unlike the self-inflicted defeat at Fairwater, this time there was character, which shone through when it mattered, as well as some-hard-nosed experience that may account for this quite improbable win. As the match was coming to an end, it all had a whiff of Fairwater ‘déjà vu’ when the Brecon tight-head prop pulled out with an undetermined neck complaint, after two consecutive scrums on their five-meter line. There was less than a minute to go and Brecon were leading by three huge points 16-13. What a Charter for underhand tactics this concern for players’ welfare has become! But then there is nothing a referee could do, when a front-rower complains of a neck pain.

And here we go for the one and only uncontested scrum, the third near the Brecon line, and probably the last of the match. What happened next was as much textbook rugby as it was fairy-tale stuff, with two of the team’s most-experienced players taking charge of the proceedings. Replacement No8 and playing Chairman Mike Clare picked up from the base of the scrum and crucially crossed the advantage line before he passed to the rampaging replacement scrum-half Chris Mortimer who crashed over for the winning try in the right had side corner. Earlier, two try-saving tackles by the defiant Mortimer and the never-say die Ben Donovan as well as the dreadful form of the Brecon place-kicker kept Penarth in contention and ultimately contributed to a labored two-point win.

Penarth (1-15) Richard Merrett, Joe Page, Gary Power (Captain), Stuart Clarke (Mike Clare), Richard Ball (Dai Morgan), Matt Sutton, Geraint Blake, Scott Mackie (Ben James), Rhys Morgan (Chris Mortimer), James Docherty, James Crothers, Michael Gubb, Mike Hurley, Ben Donovan, James Candy

Scorers: Tries: penalty try, C. Mortimer; Pens M. Hurley two, Cons M. Hurley.

Seasiders Show Class

Gwernyfed 10 Penarth 27 – Saturday 21 September 2013

This Penarth side is still ‘work in progress’, but Head Coach Paul Williams and his team have a vision and this accomplished win against undefeated Gwernyfed clearly shows how this is taking shape.

Unfortunately for the hosts, they knew none of this as they set about forcing the pace in the first twenty minutes. Full-back G.Williams missed an early penalty chance, but made no mistake after 8 minutes as the Seasiders conceded a penalty in the scrum.

Gwernyfed were generally in full control at this point, but they were struggling to take advantage of all their possession and Penarth began to make good use of what little ball they were able to get hold of as James Crothers made a break up the middle. The recycled ball was moved left and then quickly right and Joe Page was clean through with two to beat. The second tackler got his man, but conceded a penalty and the Seasiders’ pack drove over with Page the try-scorer.

That was it, the spell was broken and Penarth never again looked as if they would lose. Enter the short-passing game from the back division which all of a sudden asked Gwernyfed all sorts of problems to which they turned out to have no answers to.

After 30 minutes, the Seasiders extended their lead after conceding ground in a five-metre scrum as Michael Gubb made good use of hurried pass and touched down in the corner.

Trailing 3-10, Gwernyfed had to endure a tongue-lashing from their captain, which didn’t seem to settle their nerves to any extent. Further pressure from the visitors soon told and Mike Hurley converted a 40m penalty to leave Penarth 13-3 in the lead at half-time.

The second half didn’t start well for the hosts as the Seasiders took full control. A slow-build up in their own half suddenly erupted as Mike Hurley suddenly swerved past three defenders on his own 10-metre line and delivered a perfect back-of-the-hand pass to Matt Sutton. The replacement flanker outpaced the defence and went over under the sticks.

With the visitors now enjoying a comfortable lead of 20-3, the home side decided they had to show they were better than the scoreline suggested and made a real effort to claw their way back into the game. When inside centre G.Dodd finally broke through, it seemed easier to score the inevitable try, but all that ensued was a knock-on.

Penarth once again worked it up-field with perfectly-judged short passes, but as they crossed the home 22, Ben Donovan was given too much to do and they had to settle for a scrum. This was driven to the Gwernyfed line, but the final pick-up was fumbled. The next scrum was going the same way, but first the home scrum-half stuck his boot into the front row and then the blind-side flanker came unbound and claimed the ball illegally on the deck. Newport referee Stephen Nash had little option but to go between the posts and award a penalty try.

The Seasiders went all-out for the grand finale, but it only served to give the hosts a crumb of comfort at the end of a disappointing afternoon as replacement D.Thomas intercepted a hurried pass and sprinted 50m to score the consolation try.

Next up at the Athletic Field are old adversaries St Peters, who have enjoyed two comfortable wins against the bottom two clubs following an opening day defeat against Gwernyfed.

PENARTH James Candy, Ben Donovan, Mike Hurley, Michael Gubb (Mike Rowe), James Crothers, James Thatcher, Rhys Morgan (Chris Mortimer), Gary Power (Richard Merrett), Joe Page, Sean O’Sullivan, Richard Ball, Jon Boland, Scot Mackie (Ben James), Mike Clare, Matt Sutton

League Division 3 South-East
Saturday 28th September 2013
PENARTH v St Peters
Kick-off 2.30pm

Saturday 7 September 2013 – Fairwater v Penarth

Fairwater 30 Penarth 28

Here we go again! Rather than collecting three solid championship points for a 28-23 win, which Penarth had within its grasp with less than two minutes to go, the Seasiders ended up with a bonus point only, rewarding a gallant, though inadequate effort, as they lost both the plot and the match 30-28 against a young and spirited Fairwater side.

Penarth will rue the missed opportunities at Fairwater, as the quality of the opposition in this league has gone up considerably in the past few seasons and every match will test the Seasiders to the limit. It became obvious from the early exchanges that Penarth had to keep it tight to deny the alert Fairwater backs too many opportunities. Having said that, one felt that given the overwhelming dominance up front of Gary Power and his fellow Penarth tight-five the defeat in the dying seconds of the game was a clear case of miscarriage of justice.

There is little doubt that Penarth could have won; bar a string of unforced errors, peppered with missed tackles and a few aimless kicks. It is also quite clear that the Seasiders are short of match practice, and many of the shortcomings visible on Saturday will gradually subside and eventually disappear. But at Fairwater, they were all noticeable and contributed in various degrees to a difficult to swallow defeat.

Among the forwards Stuart Clarke, Chris Mortimer, Scott Mackie, and Geraint “Trevor” Blake, making a return after a two-year break, played their hearts out while Mike Hurley and James Thatcher, until he got injured, stood out among the backs. An abrasive and committed Gareth Clancy was the first Penarth try scorer, while Mike Clare scored another try to lift his club-record total to 130. Mike Hurley was the third Penarth try scorer, and his own conversion raised his match tally to an impressive total of 18 points. He was without doubt the Penarth “Man of the Match” and one looks forward to his flourishing partnership with the skillful Thatcher.

Closely-fought encounters like this tend to emphasize the limitations of the man with the whistle, though, as some pointed out afterwards, this one was not going to be the worst official Penarth were likely to encounter this season. It is a fact of life that the standard of play in the Third Division is higher than the quality of the appointed match officials. This is something Penarth and its various opponents have learned to live with for the past few years. The brief foray into the Second Division three years ago has exposed Penarth to a higher standard of refereeing, which was an eye-opener for most players and this alone should be a strong incentive for promotion this year.

However, there was something uncanny in the way the referee handled the Saturday’s encounter, obviously tormented by the scrum’s new intricate legalities. It was quite clear from the outset that his main areas of interest were the scrum, followed by the scrum again and the breakdown in this order, which he handled satisfactorily. The rest were unjustifiably ignored, with the lineout a shamble, the offside rarely policed, not to mention the frequent knock-ons or forward passes, which he ignored. This had a negative effect on Penarth and the type of game they practiced, which was based very much on possession and structured forward play. But it would be wrong to blame the referee for the two-point defeat. It was a match Penarth managed to lose, or as one cynical Seasider put it, a case of Penarth “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory”.
Penarth J.Candy, D.Ruell, J Thatcher, M Hurley, J. Crothers, J. Docherty, G. Clancy, S. Mackie, (M.Clare) C.Mortimer, G. Blake, S. Clarke, R Ball, S. O’Sullivan, (J.Page) G.Power (Cpt), R. Merrett.

Tries G.Clancy, M.Clare, M.Hurley
Penalties: M Hurley three
Conversions M Hurley two