Rugby-packed weekend at the Athletic Field
With several WRU League matches suspended for Six Nation weekends, not to mention the inclement weather that led to numerous cancellations, the much needed help for the rugby-hungry Penarth supporters arrives in the shape of two overseas sides this week. The first to sample Penarth RFC hospitality are the Veterans of ES Gimont, a club in Gers region of Gascony, a county with rich cultural and rugby traditions. In fact Penarth RFC visited Gers in 1977, when they were entertained by the local club Auch RC, the leading club in Gascony. The locals, led by the then French captain and scrum-half Jacques Fouroux lost to the fired up visitors from Wales, in a match still remembered by the Gesrsois. “It was an incredible match, and we had so much fun” recalled Penarth RFC Chairman Mike Gooding, one of the then Welsh tourists.
Two years ago, a French Veterans side visited Penarth and the welcome of the Seasiders and the fun they had convinced one of the then tourists Jerome Escalas to relaunch another adventure to the country of “Les Dragons” this March. The match, between Penarth Old Souls – a combined side of local veterans – will be played under lights kicking off at the Athletic Field at 7 pm on Friday, 18th of March. Former Penarth RFC regular Jason Allen is the player/manager/captain of the locals, while Jerome Escales will captain the visitors, appropriately called “The Limacs” which stands for snails in the local Patois dialect. According to the French liaison Stephanie Escales, the youngest French player is 37, while the oldest is 80. ES Gimont, plays in Division Three of Federale 3 league of the French Championship and is currently third in the league table.
Meanwhile, the St. John’s University RFC from Minnesota arrives from the USA, for a three match tour, that will commence on Sunday with a match against Penarth RFC, first XV. After playing Penarth the visitors, one of the leading lights of the National Small College Rugby Organisation (NSCRO) in the US, will travel to Bath and Chester for two further matches. The club nicknamed “The Johnies” has won the Colleges championship a few times during the last five year and are the reigning NSCRO champions. They are one of the 240 male student teams playing in the championship and are keen to start their tour with a win. Since the admission of rugby ion the Olympics, the interest in the game has skyrocketed in US colleges – who are keen to remind everyone that the US are the reigning Olympic Champions, title they won in 1924. The match will kick off on Sunday 20th of March, at 2.30 at the Athletic Field and Penarth Head Coach David Morgan is expected to select a healthy mixture of senior and Youth players for the game.
There are not many home matches to be fulfilled on the Penarth fixture list, so the club has decided to use the final home match of the 2015-16 season against Llantrisant, on April 2nd to celebrate 30 years since the last match against the Barbarians in 1986. The former players are invited to attend and the organisers hope to have a good turnout of former Penarth stars.
Penarth RFC Home Fixtures
- Penarth “Old Souls” v Gimont “Limacs” (France) – KO 7 pm on Friday, 18th March
- Penarth XV v St John’s University RFC (USA) – KO 2.30 pm on Sunday, 20th March
- Penarth RFC v Llantrisant RFC (WRU League) – KO 2.30 pm on Saturday 2nd April
