SEASIDERS TOE-TO-TOE WITH LEADERS

Penarth 22 Dowlais 27 – Saturday 6 April 2013

Having lost two successive matches for the first time this year, this’ll take a little explaining, but stay with us – this was the Seasiders’ most compelling performance this season. To start with, Dowlais had started the day leading the division by seven clear points having won 15 and lost only one of their games.

They hadn’t lost a league game since September, amassing ten try bonus points in the process. This was a team seriously on a roll. Yes, they’re pretty good and Penarth came within a whisker of recording a bonus-point win against them last Saturday.

The visitors were happy to set their stall out from the outset and the approach never varied. They were going to hit the Seasiders’ ball-carriers early and hard and then swarm all over the breakdown while when they were in possession themselves, the only difference was that they had a quite tidy short-passing game to add to all that physicality.

Which is why it was such a delight after only six keenly-contested minutes to watch flanker Chris Mortimer displaying a scrum-half’s eye for the main chance cutting around the fringe and through a gap to score from 25 metres. Dowlais struck back almost immediately as a tapped penalty was used to put centre Bleddyn Rees clean though on twelve minutes.

As a result of the penalty derived from visiting scrum-half Darryl Jenkins seeing yellow for a tip-tackle on Joe Page, the hooker was on the end of a smoothly-accelerated catch-and-drive and Penarth re-took the lead in commanding fashion.

The one advantage the visitors held on to at this stage was that the Seasiders were playing into the wind and the sun. A fluffed reception of the restart led to a Dowlais penalty and although they knocked-on from the line-out, they nevertheless won the ensuing scrum against the head and built slowly to a good finish in the opposite corner for lock Jonathan Davies, levelling the scores at 12-12.

At this stage, you began to wonder whether the visitors’ assumed superiority was about to tell as they began to work players into space and Rees squeezed through a gap to register his second try. However, Penarth are made of sterner stuff these days and minutes before half time they had conjured up one of the tries of the season. The pack set off on an irresistible pick-and-drive from somewhere near their own 10 metre line, with Elliott Smith running clear into the Dowlais twenty-two supported by Joe Page who fed James Beaton arriving at pace to score in the corner.

With Gareth Clancy having been awarded a yellow card in the dying seconds of the first half, the Seasiders had ten minutes to hold the score at 17-17 with 14 men, but some weak tackling allowed elusive winger James Kelly to go over under the posts on 45 minutes and the only penalty conversion attempted all afternoon allowed the visitors to extend their lead to ten points.

The rest of the game was firmly controlled by Penarth and with average luck, they’d have claimed a famous win, but it didn’t quite turn out that way. A superb Ben Donovan kick-through and follow-up forced a Dowlais knock-on and although Richard Ball was in support to pick up and run for the line, the referee played no advantage and the chance was lost. Two minutes later, the Seasiders had driven a scrum clean over the line, but the referee wasn’t happy with that either, so the visitors escaped once again.

This only brought on another superb try from the Seasiders to set up a frantic finish. Gareth Clancy began the move in his own half and Rhys Morgan, entering the line from full-back, burst into the Dowlais twenty-two, drawing the full-back to put James Crothers in at the corner.

With seven minutes remaining, a victory was still on the cards. While Penarth had all the possession they needed and Dowlais were out on their feet, the visitors nevertheless held out and their relief was palpable when the referee signalled the last play and they were able to kick the ball dead.

PENARTH Rhys Morgan, Henry Mitchell, Mike Hurley, Mike Rowe (Ben Donovan), James Crothers, James Candy, Gareth Clancy, Richard Merrett, Joe Page, Gary Power (Sean O’Sullivan), Richard Ball, James Beaton, Chris Mortimer (Adan Cole), Elliott Smith, Matt Sutton (Marc Devine)

Next fixtures:
League Division 3 South-East
Saturday 13th April 2013
Brecon v PENARTH
Parc de Pugh, The Watton
Kick-off 2.30pm

League Division 3 South-East
Wednesday 17th April 2013
St Peters v PENARTH
Harlequins Playing Field, Minster Rd, Roath
Kick-off 7.15pm

14-MAN SEASIDERS ON THE UP

Penarth 27 Tonyrefail 15 – Saturday 2 March 2013

The gap between the two teams in the latest Ely Valley derby was actually 13 points as they kicked off on a wonderfully sunny afternoon, but this seemed to have narrowed dramatically after only two minutes. Lock Jon Boland was dismissed with a red card for his part in a ruck in the home 22, so Penarth had 78 minutes to work out how to handle this.

To say that they managed four tries for the bonus-point win that raised them above tenth in the table for the first time since mid-October suggests they did rather well. Of course they had to make it even more of a challenge by falling behind to a penalty from Tonyrefail’s main man, captain and number 8 Richard Baker after 10 minutes and it took them some time to work out they couldn’t quite manage with only seven in the scrum.

In fact, they were 17 minutes on the clock before the Seasiders hauled themselves into the lead. Having won solid field position after good work by forwards and backs, they were just starting to have a little difficulty breaking down a determined Ton defence when they worked the ball out to Rhys Morgan, who dummied inside to score.

Then, as they say, nothing much happened for about twenty minutes and as it began to look as if Penarth would have to make do with a 5-3 lead after 40- minutes, the visitors’ defence gave way as the ball was kicked away from a ruck near the line, which resulted in a yellow card and a line-out drive which ended in a Joe Page try.

All the early pressure in the second half was coming from the Seasiders, so with James Beaton moving up to the second row and Jimmy Crothers packing down on the blindside flank, they casually drove a scrum to the line as the Tonyrefail front row popped up. The referee had no hesitation in going under the posts to declare a penalty try. All credit to the forwards – that was the third one this season.

Penarth were running it from everywhere now and a storming burst from James Beaton didn’t get the reward it deserved as he misjudged the pass inside to the supporting Gareth Clancy and the visitors escaped further punishment. Worse than that, they began to look a bit lively and a short siege yielded a try for Baker in the corner, which he converted from touch.

The Seasiders weren’t going to take this lying down and as Clancy ran clear, he was supported by replacement Adan Cole, who set Mike Hurley up for a 20m dash to the line. The centre was caught just short, but the fast-arriving Dan Hofmann was unstoppable as he picked up and drove over.

Even with the bonus point in the bag and the score on a comfortable-looking 24-10, there was still time for Tonyrefail to make a point by driving through a single missed tackle as Baker scored in the corner and it was a relief when he missed the conversion to leave Penarth nine points in the lead instead of seven. A late Nathan Smith penalty sealed the win and scrum-half Ryan Thompson just had time to put in an appearance.

PENARTH Rhys Morgan, Henry Mitchell, Ben Donovan, Mike Rowe (Mike Hurley), James Crothers, Nathan Smith, Gareth Clancy (Ryan Thompson), Richard Merrett, Joe Page (Gary Power), Sean O’Sullivan, Jon Boland, Dan Hofmann, James Beaton, Elliott Smith, Scott Mackie (Adan Cole).

FIVE-TRY SEASIDERS’ IRRESISTIBLE

Nantymoel 14 Penarth 34  - Saturday 17 February 2013

Despite another lengthy lay-off, Penarth continued their recent fine away form with a compelling display at the head of Ogmore Vale against bottom club Nantymoel. The result was hardly a foregone conclusion, as the home back division proved to be an accomplished outfit who could have done some real damage if the visitors’ defence hadn’t been as effective as it was.

That and the fact that the Seasiders’ pack had picked up where they left off against Cardiff Quins five weeks earlier and simply steam-rollered a handy-looking Nantymoel eight.

Making a steady start, the Seasiders went ahead with a penalty from James Candy after only eight minutes, but failed to maintain any sort of momentum as the hosts’ back division came back smartly. A break down the right wing and a chip ahead gave them field position and a penalty, but the outside half’s kick was adjudged touch-in-goal. The 22 drop-out was charged down and a neat passing move saw the full-back entering the line to touch down in the corner.

Penarth continued to dominate, but fell foul of referee Mike Davies’ insistence on releasing the ball in the tackle, taking another twenty minutes to regain the lead with Aaron Ellis’s sixth try of the season.

The first half ended with two events that would mould the outcome as the second half progressed. First Ellis came powerfully off the back of an attacking scrum and fed Chris Mortimer who scored spectacularly in the corner. Then, on the stroke of half-time, as Nantymoel fought to get back into the game, Adan Cole received a yellow card that was a surprise to him and the travelling support.

The Seasiders therefore began the second half leading 13-5, but down to fourteen men. The home side had worked out that this was their best chance to recapture the initiative and rapidly notched up two penalties to close the gap to two points.

A early as the 50th minute, this was pretty well their last throw of the dice as the Penarth pack, reinforced by the returning Cole, simply went up a gear and took over. Two minutes later, a catch-and-drive from a line out actually accelerated as it approached the try-line, but the referee didn’t wait to see how this would turn out and went between the posts to award a penalty try.

Nantymoel pulled back one last penalty, but they had never looked as if they’d breech the Seasiders’ defence since the opening skirmishes and the Penarth eight ground out another try as Mortimer claimed his second try on the hour. With the score a more comfortable 13-27, Penarth emptied the bench as Nantymoel let their backs take the initiative.
This might have brought some reward if they’d done it earlier, but the Seasiders’ defence held firm and there was time for another rumble at the far end and as the ball was released t the backs, replacement centre Mike Rowe feinted to pass outside, but cut inside to score.

With Penarth now sitting nine points above the relegation zone with two games in hand, they can look forward to calmer times ahead, but could really do with another couple of wins from their ten remaining games. That two of these will be against their nearest rivals Tonyrefail should concentrate the mind wonderfully.

The next league game is a rearranged fixture against Pentyrch this coming Friday at the Athletic Field, kick-off 7.15pm.

PENARTH Rhys Morgan, Henry Mitchell, Ben Donovan, David Jenkins (Mike Rowe), James Crothers, James Candy, Chris Mortimer (Gareth Clancy), Richard Merrett, Joe Page, Sean O’Sullivan, James Beaton, Jon Boland, Adan Cole, Aaron Ellis, Matt Sutton (Dan Hoffman).

League Division 3 South-East
Friday 22nd February 2013
PENARTH v Pentyrch
The Athletic Field, Lavernock Road
Kick-off 7.15pm

SEASIDERS’ UPWARD TRAJECTORY

Cardiff Quins 14 Penarth 21 – Saturday 12 January 2013

The obvious improvement in the Seasiders’ league form we saw up at Aberdare before Christmas had a lot to do with the ferocity of the pack. Last week’s departure from the Swalec Plate taught us little, but on a filthy afternoon up at Read more →

SEASIDERS’ FIGHT-BACK STARTS HERE

Aberdare 32 Penarth 24 - Saturday 8 December 2012

The difference between this and the last outing against Brecon was stunning, to be honest. Third-placed Aberdare found themselves struggling for most of the 80 minutes against a rejuvenated Penarth side who seemed to have solved most of their problems.

The key changes in Read more →