PENARTH SECOND BEST
Penarth 10-23 St.Albans (HT 10-12)
After the exhilaration of beating unbeaten Pentyrch the previous Tuesday, a much-changed Penarth side could be excused thinking it was going to be a hard act to follow. So it proved.
It’s not that anyone had a bad game and for the first twenty minutes, it looked as if the Seasiders would be able to grind out some sort of win, possibly without a bonus point!
The ‘Buns started with a rush and the energy they brought to the encounter was a feature of the whole eighty minutes. It cost them a penalty at the first ruck and Penarth attacked from the line-out, gaining a penalty for a deliberate knock-on, which Ben Jones converted.
All the momentum at this point was with the hosts, as the visitors conceded penalty after penalty. Suddenly, Harry Williams unleashed a spectacular 50-22 and the Seasiders prepared to turn the screw. The line-out was a catastrophe, but Cam Sultana saved the day and drove back into the 22. The first pass went astray, but Bradman Williams latched on to the ball and carried some defenders with him over the line for a 10-0 lead.
St.Albans seemed to be rattled, as they continued to throw themselves into it, but that all changed when they worked their way into the Penarth 22. Here’s where they knew exactly what they were up to and forced their way over for an unconverted try.
Undaunted, the Seasiders were soon back on the attack, but the visitors managed to hold on while the atmosphere of the game seemed to get a little darker. Harry Williams was forced to depart injured following a penalty-yielding tackle and then Ben Jones’ kick rebounded off the far post.
Things got worse as Matt Allen limped off minutes later and as half-time approached, the ‘Buns again found themselves in the home 22 for only the second time. Same result, though as they repeated the moves from their first visit. This time the try was converted and they went into the break with a two-point lead.
It had been noted that the visitors’ outside half had a siege-gun boot on him, but no-one expected him to drop a 50-metre goal almost straight from the kick-off. Even then, Penarth were still in the hunt and dominated the third quarter without scoring. Unfortunately, the game was getting more and more chaotic, which certainly suited the visitors’ purposes.
When St.Albans’ outside-half thumped over a rare penalty from 40m on the hour, there was a feeling that the game was slipping away from Penarth. The ‘Buns could smell blood as well and four minutes later hauled themselves into the Seasiders’ 22 for the third and decisive time. This time they went through a couple of phases before moving it wide to the left wing, who exploited a missed tackle to score. 10-23, game over.
Even now Penarth could see that just one try would bring a losing bonus point and reduce the deficit to six points. Taking matters into his own hands, Rhys Beynon made a massive break from half-way, breaking every tackle but the last one as he was stopped 1m short of the line. By now the ‘Buns were celebrating, while the Seasiders now have 11 days to regain their composure and recover from their injuries before the next game. © Peter Weston 05-Mar-23
PENARTH:
Harry Williams (George Kynaston), Ben Wellington, Andy Richards, Rhys Beynon, Josh Powell, Ben Jones, Spencer Robinson ©, Geraint Williams (Harry Wood), Bradman Williams, Ryan Jones, Matt Allen (Sam Davies), Andy Lang, Cam Sultana, Tom Griffiths, Tom Marsh.
Scorers: Bradman Williams (try), Ben Jones (penalty, conversion).
