SEASIDERS FALL SHORT

Penarth 19-21 Pontyclun (HT 7-18)

After the chastening defeat away to Llanharan in their last game Saturday saw Penarth play their first home game of the season looking to bounce back against divisional rivals Pontyclun. Unfortunately, despite a much improved performance, a sloppy first half display and a lack of discipline ultimately cost the Seasiders victory as they came up just two points short.

The game was a cagey affair in the opening stages with both sides feeling the other out and showing some willingness to spread the ball in beautiful, if not a bit breezy conditions. Penarth made some inroads into the visitors half with the wind behind their backs but from a line out deep in their own half the Badgers launched a slick move which caught the Seasiders short in midfield and saw their right winger cross for the opening score.

Penarth reacted well and took the game to Pontyclun setting up camp in the opponents half and exerting serious pressure, particularly in the set piece which was functioning far more efficiently than in their previous match. However, Pontyclun showed how dangerous they were with another break from deep which looked sure to result in a try but for the final pass going to ground with their centre clear for a run in under the posts.

Not to be deterred Penarth stuck to the task and got their reward after a period of sustained pressure saw Owen Lloyd break off the back of a scrum to feed the ever alert Spencer Robinson who darted through the defensive line to score out wide with Andy Richards adding the extras to level the scores at 7-7.

The remainder of the first half however was an indication of where Penarth desperately need to improve and that is in the area of discipline. A number of mis-demeanours were picked up by the referee and the Pontyclun kicker was in no mood to let Penarth off the hook slotting two penalties to re-establish the lead.

The decisive moment in the game, as it turned out, came just before half time as Penarth squandered possession inside the Pontyclun half and the visiting side broke loose, Penarth regained possession only to kick it away again and there then followed a bizarre run of play where the ball was juggled, kicked, blocked, hacked on and finally Pontyclun winning the race to the ball and the line to score a try and leave themselves 7-18 up at half time.

Whilst Penarth’s efforts in the second half were not quite enough to win the game the display they put on will certainly be a consolation to the coaching team who watched on their side dominated proceedings, although not initially affecting the scoreboard. When the inevitable score did come, with 20 minutes to play, it was somewhat of a throwback as the pack converted a 5 metre lineout into an irresistible rolling maul and eventually a try for second row Cameron Sultana.

Unfortunately Penarth failed to clear their lines from the resultant kick off and having handed over possession on their own 22 then compounded the problem by conceding a penalty right under the posts allowing Pontyclun to open a 9 point gap.

Penarth pressed on and finally got their rewards with yet another dominant lineout catch and drive which saw Sultana add a second try on the full time whistle to leave Penarth agonisingly short with a final score of 19-21.

PENARTH: Rhys Morgan ©, George Roberts, Andy Richards, Chris Mortimer (Danny Davidson), James Crothers, Kevin Maddox, Spencer Robinson (Ellis Shewring), Harry Wood, Liam Richards (Luke Ellis), Cam Sultana, Ben Heywood, Josh Spragg (Geraint Williams), Miles Jones, Owen Lloyd (Andy Lang).

CLASSY SEASIDERS STROLL TO VICTORY

Old Penarthians 7-48 Penarth (HT 0-19)

The 2021-22 WRU Bowl competition kicked off early this week as Penarth travelled across Lavernock Road to meet Old Penarthians in the first game of the round-robin phase. A lengthy pre-season had suggested that the Seasiders had a lot going for them and so it proved.

They started strongly, dominating territory and possession against an Old Pens who were well-organised and tenacious in defence. Rhys Beynon nevertheless opened the scoring with a clean break inside the 22 to go under the posts. The Penarth set piece was dominant and this caused Old Pens problems in lineout and scrum. The visitors continued to build pressure into the 2nd quarter and that eventually told as the hosts infringed one too many times and got a yellow card. From the lineout Tom Griffiths went over from a rolling maul.

Shortly after a loose kick from the Old Pens was fielded by James Docherty and spun wide to Will Hardy who drew the last man and put Rhys Morgan over in the corner for a half-time score of 19-0.

The second half stated with a well-organised Old Pens throwing everything at the Seasiders, with former Penarth players Chris Poole, James Beaton, Louis Chandler and Joe Page to the fore. Penarth slowly got on top and wore them down and a few chances went begging. With 25 minutes to go Jerome Bryan was yellow carded for a high tackle and that along with the impact of the players off the bench (in particular Harry Wood) saw the floodgates open as Will Hardy crossed out wide.

The Old Pens got a consolation try shortly afterwards but that was as good as it got for them. More Penarth tries soon followed, firstly for the outstanding second row pair of Alex Shore and Nathan Frost and later for George Roberts, who crossed twice in the last 5 minutes. The first after an outrageous offload from a tackle by Beynon and the second from a clean break from Alex Thau, who carried a huge amount of ball throughout.

There were excellent performances from all players but MoM Nathan Frost, Alex Shore, Alex Thau, Rhys Beynon, Spencer Robinson and Joe Williams (playing at centre) were real highlights. The scrum was dominant throughout, as was the lineout, but the games to come against Pentyrch, Pontyclun and Llanharan will provide much sterner tests.

The game was of a really high quality with lots of open play and great handling and at times the Seasiders were bordering on the irresistible. The five-team Bowl group means a bye for Penarth next week, before an away tie against Pentyrch a week later.

PENARTH: Rhys Morgan ©, George Roberts, Joe Williams, Rhys Beynon, Will Hardy, James Docherty (Andy Richards), Spencer Robinson (Ellis Shewring), Geraint Williams (Harry Wood), Tom Griffiths, Alan Doyle (Ryan Jones), Nathan Frost (Cam Sultana), Alex Shore, Alex Thau, Miles Jones, Hugh Leach.

SEASIDERS FINISH STRONGLY

Pentyrch 28-26 Penarth

Since there was no scoreboard, opinions vary as to the exact number of successful conversions, but it’s absolutely clear that the sides each scored four tries, so we have to assume that the one clear miss by Penarth means the above scoreline is accurate. Probably.

Still, these warm-ups are more about giving the whole squad match time and working on combinations and this bizarre three-session game of ‘15s’ was all of that,

Let’s deal with ‘15s’ first. As it turns out, it’s still not full-contact rugby, as there are free-kicks instead of scrums, so it’s more like ‘10s’ with 15-a-side. Except there was simply no space to be exploited, as the Seasiders found to their cost.

To be fair, both sides struggled to put much together in the first session, but it was Penarth who made more of a trouble out of it all. Plenty of effort, but little cohesion, continuity or communication. It didn’t help that the line-out was a bit of a mess, but that seemed to persist all afternoon.

Discipline wasn’t too great either as the visitors got on the wrong side of the referee and collected a couple of yellow cards in the process. Although Pentyrch were broadly dominant, the first session had nearly ground to a scoreless halt when the hosts finally found a way round the Penarth defensive line with some inventive handling and scored behind the posts.

The second session began with a much-changed Pentyrch 15 tearing into the Seasiders from the whistle, but a serious ankle injury to one of their players halted the game for 15 minutes as he received necessary treatment before being stretchered off.

A tapped restart led to about 12 phases of attack which Penarth successfully repelled, only to fall victim to a quickly tapped penalty and a 14-0 deficit. At this point in the proceedings, the hosts were looking faster and more committed, while Penarth were clearly struggling. There was more possession to be had, but no-one, including the usual game-breakers, could gain more than 2 metres before being brought down and recycling at the breakdown was routinely slow.

That’s not to say that the Seasiders had their backs to the wall and when their first score finally arrived in the last play of the second session, it all looked too easy. A tapped penalty was worked quickly to the left hand corner, where Alan Doyle was on the overlap to score. 14-7.

The final session was probably disappointing for both sides. First a beautiful long-range drop-out from James Docherty gained best part of 80 metres, but no amount of Penarth pressure could bring a score. Then having regained possession, Pentyrch grabbed their own share of field position and their left wing shrugged off a tackle and scurried home. 21-7.

Now at last the Penarth line-break specialists finally got their act together as Harry Williams broke through to feed Jim Crothers who chipped ahead to score. However, the touch judge had raised his flag by mistake, so the try couldn’t stand. Suitably encouraged, the Seasiders were soon back in the red zone and some slick handling left Morgan Smith to complete the score. 21-12.

The final minutes of the game brought the most excitement, but only after Pentyrch’s right wing had exploited sloppy defending to waltz through the visitors’ defence for his side’s fourth try. 28-12. Then all of a sudden Penarth finally and decisively got their act together. Docherty expertly drilled a penalty into the corner, Ben Heywood caught Tom Griffith’s throw cleanly and the hooker was on hand in the maul to complete the score.

Way on top and strutting their stuff with the game already out of reach, the Seasiders finished in some style. This time it was Miles Jones forcing his way through desperate defence and feeding Rhys Morgan. The captain took it into the 22 with none other than Alan Doyle on his shoulder to finish with his second try.

PENARTH SQUAD: Sam Davies, Nathan Frost, Alan Doyle, Ben Heywood, Liam Richards,  Tom Griffiths, Geraint Williams, Cam Sultana, Alex Thau, Sean O’Sullivan, Richie Bowen, Josh Spragg, Ryan Jones, Alex Shore. Jim Crothers, Andy Richards, Rhys Morgan ©, Josh Powell, Ben Jones, Will Hardy, Morgan Smith, Aled Rees, Harry Williams, James Docherty, Spencer Robinson, Ellis Shewring